Lead Project Manager (Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, or Blackpool)

Project Manager (Lead)

Rate: £550 per day inside IR35

Clearance Required: BPSS

Start Date: ASAP

Location: Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, or Blackpool (travel required)

(Central Government experience would be advantageous)

We are seeking an experienced Project Manager to lead delivery across a portfolio of efficiency-focused initiatives. This role requires a strong leader who can operate at pace, manage tight deadlines, and deliver high-quality outcomes within budget while navigating complex stakeholder environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end delivery of multiple projects, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives
• Drive delivery at pace while maintaining governance, quality, and budget control
• Manage and resolve stakeholder conflicts, acting as a key mediator between business and technical teams
• Coordinate cross-functional teams to focus on delivery outcomes and milestones
• Challenge existing processes and make informed decisions in ambiguous or fast-moving environments
• Ensure effective planning, roadmap development, and milestone tracking
• Maintain momentum across all workstreams while managing competing priorities

Key Deliverables

• Successful delivery of efficiency initiatives within agreed timelines and budget
• Clear and consistent reporting to stakeholders
• Maintenance of RAID logs and risk mitigation strategies
• Continuous improvement in delivery processes and team performance
• High-quality outputs aligned with business objectives

Essential Skills & Experience

Delivery & Methodologies

• Strong experience with Agile, Waterfall, and Lean methodologies
• Working knowledge of frameworks such as Scrum, Kanban, PRINCE2, or SAFe
• Experience facilitating ceremonies and conducting lessons learned reviews

Risk & Dependency Management

• Proven ability to identify, assess, and mitigate risks early
• Experience managing dependencies across multiple teams using RAID logs

Stakeholder Management

• Excellent communication skills with the ability to engage both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Strong conflict resolution and negotiation capabilities

Technical Understanding

• Solid understanding of software development lifecycles (SDLC), APIs, and system architecture
• Ability to identify delivery blockers and support technical teams without hands-on coding

Planning & Operational Delivery

• Expertise in roadmap planning, milestone setting, and delivery optimisation
• Ability to manage competing priorities and ensure on-time delivery

Leadership & Team Development

• Experience leading and mentoring high-performing teams
• Ability to foster collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement

Quality & Data-Driven Decision Making

• Strong focus on quality assurance and governance
• Use of delivery metrics (e.g., burndown charts, defect rates) to inform decisions

Commercial & Financial Awareness

• Experience managing project budgets, forecasting, and ROI
• Familiarity with vendor management and SLA oversight

Key Attributes

• Proactive and decisive, with the ability to work under pressure
• Comfortable making decisions with limited information
• Strong problem-solving mindset
• Results-driven with a focus on efficiency and value delivery