Senior Project Manager

Venesky-Brown’s client, a Major UK Infrastructure Programme in London, is currently looking to recruit a Project Manager for an initial 6 month contract on a rate of £800/day (Inside IR35). This role will be based in London 2-3 days per week.

Responsibilities:

- Lead the definition, planning, delivery, and closure of multiple large and complex IT and business change projects and programmes in line with agreed baselines.

- Oversee and provide line management to Project Managers within the organisation’s Delivery function.

- Develop robust Project Initiation Documents (PIDs) for Sponsor sign-off, including accurate cost, resource, and schedule estimates, and a detailed Quality Plan.

- Ensure project teams and delivery partners produce realistic and detailed plans with clearly identified dependencies and critical paths.

- Manage all aspects of delivery across multiple workstreams, including technical build, testing, change management, business readiness, deployment, and post-go-live support.

- Proactively manage risks, issues, dependencies, and scope changes, escalating where necessary to the Programme Manager or governance boards.

- Ensure compliance with governance, information security, and safety standards.

- Oversee and assure supplier performance and contractual compliance.

- Provide accurate, timely, and insightful reporting to the Delivery Programme Manager, PMO, and leadership.

- Lead stakeholder engagement planning and execution to maintain buy-in, resolve conflicts, and ensure delivery alignment with organisational priorities.

- Drive continuous improvement across the Delivery function, applying lessons learned from previous projects.

Essential Skills:

- Strong knowledge of project and programme management methodologies (e.g., PRINCE2 Practitioner, APM, MSP).

- Excellent leadership and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence at senior levels.

- Proficient in MS Project, Excel, PowerPoint, and other project planning tools.

- Strong financial acumen, including budget forecasting and cost control.

- Understanding of IT infrastructure, enterprise applications, and digital transformation delivery.

- Proven track record of successfully delivering complex IT-enabled change projects and programmes in regulated or safety-critical industries, ideally within large-scale infrastructure, construction, or engineering environments.

- Demonstrable experience managing budgets of up to £5m and leading multi-vendor, multi-discipline delivery teams across the full project lifecycle.

- Experience in project and programme management methodologies (e.g., PRINCE2 Practitioner, APM, MSP) with the ability to adapt methods to suit delivery needs.

- Strong financial management skills, including forecasting, cost control, and business case development.

- Experience overseeing supplier performance, contractual compliance, and commercial management.

- Demonstrated ability to engage with and influence senior stakeholders and governance boards.

Desirable Skills:

- Knowledge of Agile delivery methods.

- Understanding of ITIL service management and transition principles.

- Previous experience in the nuclear, energy, or major infrastructure sectors.

- Familiarity with EDF Group IT governance processes and standards.

- Experience in Agile or hybrid delivery methodologies.

- Understanding of ITIL service management and transition principles.

- Experience with digital transformation projects involving enterprise applications, data platforms, or infrastructure modernisation.