Senior Project Manager (Web Content Management) IT Services Portfolio & Project Management Office Salary Grade 8-40,046 to 45,053 per annum Fixed term contract for 2 years (** see below for contract information) Ref: CSE00869 At Leicester we re going places. Ranked in the top-12 universities in Britain our aim is to climb further. A commitment to high quality fused with an inclusive academic culture is our hallmark and led the Times Higher Education to describe us as elite without being elitist. We are looking for a high-calibre experienced Project Manager to manage a strategically important web content management project, encompassing both the selection and implementation of a web content management system (CMS) and the rollout of new online content governance policies and processes. With excellent stakeholder management, communication and planning skills you will have significant experience of successfully managing and delivering similar projects to agreed timescales, quality and budget. The University There s never been a more exciting time to join us. At the University of Leicester we are enjoying research success on a world stage and gathering the awards and plaudits to match. A judge in a recent awards ceremony described Leicester as elite without being elitist. We are proud to be elite. But we are at least as proud to be an inclusive and progressive university. This commitment to high quality, an inclusive academic culture and belief in the synergy of teaching and research are our hallmarks. We believe that teaching is inspirational when delivered by passionate scholars engaged in world-changing research that is delivered in an academic community that includes postgraduate as well as undergraduate students. Our approach to research yields great rewards. Our research impact, measured by citations per academic, is the sixth highest in the UK. Our success in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise saw Quality Related research income rise by 18% placing us firmly amongst Britain s top 20 research universities by this measure. The RAE also revealed that Leicester is home to Britain s top-rated research department Museum Studies which has the highest concentration of world class research of any department of any discipline in the UK. For a University that believes teaching and research are synergistic, it is pleasing that the National Student Survey reveals that 91% of full-time students are satisfied with their courses. Consistently amongst the best in the country, this 2009 result is matched only by Cambridge amongst mainstream universities in England. Currently a University of 23,000 students, with a turnover of 230m and 3,800 colleagues, our future is bright. Our Strategic Vision describes our plans to invest a billion pounds in our estate as we
transform our campus. Already ranked in the top-12 universities in Britain, by 2015 we aim to rise further to become top-10. Leicester is the most inclusive of Britain s top-20 universities with the greatest proportions of students from under-represented groups. As a group of talented individuals we are more diverse than ever and stronger for it. At Leicester we are proud of our distinct approach, our achievements and our ambitious plans. If you share our approach join us. IT Services The purpose of IT Services is to create a digital campus in which students and staff can be as creative and productive as possible as they learn, teach, undertake research and run the organisation. Many of our services are typical of the corporate world and offer similar challenges: managed desktops and laptops, storage, email, printing, web content management, data and voice networking, multimedia design and production, and the ERP business applications underpinning finance, HR/ payroll, marketing, facilities management and a range of commercial enterprises. Other services are specific to the University and create an interesting range of challenges for the IT function. Here the creation, sharing, analysis and dissemination of information are defining activities. Both students and researchers tend to be demanding, innovative users of technology and we aim to provide them an information environment in which they can be as creative and productive as possible. We provide them with a Virtual Learning Environment, High Performance Computing services and a huge range of specialist software. Our researchers produce vast amounts of data and need tools to manage, mine and generate information from it. Many of them collaborate with others across disciplinary and organisational boundaries. Our students have grown up with internet technologies and expect to be constantly connected using their mobile devices. A technology rich experience is what they expect from University life. We provide equipment in teaching rooms, PC areas, wireless everywhere, and internet services in the halls of residence. We also run specialist business applications to support our students journey through the institution, aiming to provide them with a professional service through the application process, while they are studying and after they graduate. Similarly, we run systems to underpin the life cycle of each research project as it moves from grant application through to publication and dissemination. We support around 23,000 students and a further 4,000 staff and collaborators and to do this we have built an effective, customer focussed organisation and provide comprehensive support to all areas of University. We have invested heavily to modernise the IT Infrastructure and widen our service portfolio. Underpinning all of this is an appropriate governance framework, project and portfolio management processes and a number of ITIL based service support disciplines. With the infrastructure modernisation programme substantially complete, IT Services is ready to move to the next stage in its development. The goal is now for IT Services to be perceived by all as the institution s trusted IT partner. It aims to help researchers do more effective research and students derive more value from their University experience; it also aims to play a leadership role in business process transformation. In these various ways, it will create value for the University rather than simply serve it. How IT Services is organised Two Deputy Directors (Service Delivery, Systems Design and Development) report to the Director of IT and work closely with the Manager of Partnering and the Chief Architect. Collectively this group shapes and leads IT Strategy and Policy, and manages IT governance, risks and resources. University of Leicester 2 03 February 2014
Each team within IT Services has a distinct purpose and provides a particular expertise to support the wider team and its broader purpose. All teams work together as necessary to meet the overall demands on the service within a matrix environment. There are two groups of teams each led by a Deputy Director: Service Delivery, Systems Design and Development plus the Partnering team which works across both areas. Each of the major, cross cutting processes is owned by a senior role, managed from within a particular team but involves individuals as necessary from all teams. There is an IT Services Leadership team which includes all the team managers and works collaboratively to solve cross-divisional issues. Portfolio & Project Management Office This role reports to the Head of the Portfolio and Project Management Office (PPMO) which reports to the Deputy Director, Systems Design and Development. The team provides all of the supporting functions necessary for IT Services to be effective. There are two main focus areas: 1) It is responsible for managing the portfolio of current projects and ensuring that the transition of new developments into live service is smooth and effective. Where projects are interdependent it manages them as a programme. It maintains oversight of resourcing levels in IT Services and resolves conflicts as necessary. 2) It provides administrative support for finance related processes (budgeting, accounting, purchasing and expenses), HR related processes (recruitment, training and absence management) and ensures that accommodation remains fit for purpose. It also provides administrative support for the various University decision making bodies which provide IT governance. Your Role Purpose: Give me the support I need to make it happen Experts on: Planning; Knowing what resources are available; Knowing how to get support from finance, estates, HR and other service providers in the University Process managers for: Project, programme and portfolio management; Finance management The purpose of this role is to provide professional project management to a large and complex project being jointly run by IT Services and the University s External Relations department, providing an effective management interface between the customer and IT Services staff and other suppliers. The project brief is to replace the University s existing web content management system and to develop and implement a new institutional strategy for content creation and governance. You will be responsible for detailed project definition and management using the IT Services project methodology (based on PRINCE2), running selection, procurement and implementation phases, ensuring that all aspects of the project are correctly specified, will meet the institution s goals and are delivered in a timely and cost effective way, meeting the quality criteria. Principal Accountabilities Provide proactive management of the assigned project leading and co-ordinating all activity across staff, documentation and technology to deliver the required objectives on-time and in budget and to quality. University of Leicester 3 03 February 2014
Establish and agree the management process for the assigned project, in line with IT Services standards and practices. Work within the IT Services project process based on PRINCE2 to ensure that documentation is produced in accordance with requirements. Ensure documentation is submitted to the PPMO for sign-off, storage and version control across the entire project lifecycle. Complete all activities and documentation required to comply with Test Management, Solution Design and Change and Release Management processes During the project initiation phase review all expressed customer requirements (including written documents, verbal communications and reasonable expectations). Integrate these quality expectations into a single project plan, resolving any anomalies. Use extensive previous experience of complex, large scale IT projects to plan and estimate the activities and resources required at each stage. Ensure that the project initiation and the project plan are complete in that all deliverables, quality criteria, key dates, milestones etc. are well defined in line with standard practice. Identify the appropriate project team members and roles and responsibilities in relation to this project. Establish and lead the team and ensure that it works effectively together at all times. Take an active part in the project Quality Assurance process. Undertake stakeholder analysis. Design and implement a communication plan to ensure that all stakeholders are engaged effectively throughout the project. Brief influential individual stakeholders, give presentations, run workshops, prepare newsletters, update the project web site etc as necessary. Address conflicts of interest and concerns as necessary. Ensure that a full project risk assessment is undertaken, a risk register is created and the risks are actively managed throughout. Develop and manage contingency plans as required. Report issues through exception reports as required and maintain an issues register. Ensure timely escalation of significant project risks and issues following the standard process. Drive the project delivery process to achieve the defined scope and deliverables to the dates and milestones set and agreed in the plan and mandate. Control out-of-scope requests and initiate corrective action either to bring back into scope or to negotiate an agreed Change to the PID. Operate tight controls to monitor and report on progress, specifically recording all costs and effort expended on the project, and relate these to the project plan ensuring planned expenditure is not exceeded. Produce project highlight reports to the frequency agreed in the project PID and complete exception reporting as appropriate if project tolerances are breached. Ensure effective project scope control managing the change control process and ensuring key project members are notified of new scope inclusions or exclusions and the associated impact on delivery time. Select and manage suppliers as necessary. This may include the preparation of Invitation to Tender documents, establishing selection criteria, reviewing tenders and presentations, reviewing and negotiating contracts, agreeing standards and monitoring delivery. Developing Self and Others Maintain and develop own skills in line with needs of the service University of Leicester 4 03 February 2014
Qualifications, Knowledge and Experience Required Essential Substantial experience working within a complex IT projects in an IT supplier, end-user or IT consultancy services company * Extensive track record of successfully delivering IT projects * Educated to degree level or with equivalent additional experience PRINCE2 Project Management Foundation or equivalent * Desirable Experience of managing large projects related to web content management and/or content management systems PRINCE2 Project Management Practitioner or equivalent * IT Service Management (ITIL) Foundation * Experience of supplier selection and management * Skills, Abilities and Competencies Essential Experience in structured Project Methodologies such as PRINCE2. Knowledge of IT development process and IT technologies, and experience using Microsoft Project or similar planning tool. Ability to understand product and technological interdependencies. Excellent ability to communicate in both written and oral forms, to technical and nontechnical audiences * Excellent ability to plan, prioritise workload and modify schedules to meet changing deadlines. Ability to work independently to objectives without close supervision. Customer focussed, with the ability to understand both institutional and customer goals and priorities. Flexible and pragmatic attitude, with a willingness to work, to liaise and to communicate with people at all levels of the organisation. (* Criteria to be used in shortlisting candidates for interview) ** Contract Information Your appointment will be for a period of 2 years on a fixed term contract basis because the skills and experience are required for this time. Your appointment will cease on the end date without further notice, you will be able to access all University vacancies on the web site in order to seek alternative opportunities. For further information or help you can contact the Recruitment team on 0116 252 5639 or recruitment@le.ac.uk. University of Leicester 5 03 February 2014
Informal Enquiries Informal enquiries are welcome and should be made to Vipin Ahlawat on va56@le.ac.uk or 0116 229 7641 Applications For further information and to apply on-line, please visit our website: www.le.ac.uk/joinus The closing date for this post is midnight on 19th February 2014. Candidates short-listed for interview will be contacted by the University. If you do not receive a communication from the University within 4 weeks of the closing date, please assume that your application has been unsuccessful. University of Leicester 6 03 February 2014