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Project Manager, Global Curriculum Management Project

Employer
HERIOT-WATT UNIVERSITY
Location
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Salary
£40,792–£48,677
Closing date
1 Jul 2019

Job Details

Closing date 1 Jul 2019 23:00 (UK time)
Salary £40,792–£48,677 (Grade 8)
Location Edinburgh
Department Student Systems Unit Registry Services
Category Professional & Managerial
Status Full Time
Duration 24 months fixed-term
        
About Heriot-Watt University

Heriot-Watt University has five campuses: three in the UK (Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Orkney), one in Dubai and one in Malaysia. The University offers a highly distinctive range of degree programmes in the specialist areas of science, engineering, design, business and languages.

With a history dating back to 1821, Heriot-Watt University has established a reputation for world-class teaching and practical, leading-edge research, which has made it one of the top UK universities for business and industry. We connect with industry at every level and develop programmes to match their needs – so employers get work-ready industry-fit graduates.

Heriot-Watt is also Scotland's most international university, boasting the largest international student cohort.

We have an established set of values that help us to nurture innovation and leadership, and show our commitment to continuous improvement and development in all our activities.

For full details on our University please view our Careers at Heriot-Watt https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/work-for-heriot-watt.htm
        
Detailed Description

The goal of the Global Curriculum Management (GCM) project is to support the full lifecycle of our portfolio of degree programmes and courses, from cradle to grave. GCM will enable academics to propose new programmes, to collaborate with their colleagues in developing their proposals, and then to submit proposals for approval. GCM will then support the approval lifecycle: academic approval, business case, marketing and fees, with separate threads for each country. Finally GCM will support the push of approved programmes into our operational student records system.  

We are looking for an experienced project manager to lead the GCM project through procurement, recruitment, development and on to closure.

The successful candidate will lead on the implementation of the new Global Curriculum Management system, co-ordinating people and tasks to ensure successful delivery. The project manager will act as a positive advocate for change, and will be involved in presenting to stakeholders, training and supporting staff through change. We are looking for a candidate with strong experience of project management; strong business systems analysis; and preferably an understanding of higher education, workflows, data migration and system integrations.
        
Key Duties and Responsibilities

  • Co-ordinate internal resources required to deliver the Global Curriculum Management project,
  • Ensure that the project phase is delivered on-time, within scope, and within budget,
  • Develop project scope and objectives, to ensure feasibility of implementation consulting with all relevant stakeholders as required,
  • Develop a detailed project plan to track progress,
  • Use appropriate verification techniques to manage changes in project scope, schedule and costs,
  • Measure project performance using appropriate systems, tools and techniques,
  • Independently manage cost, schedule, quality and scope within the delegated tolerances,
  • Report and escalate to management as needed,
  • Manage the relationship with the internal clients and all stakeholders,
  • Perform risk management to minimize project risks,
  • Establish and maintain relationships with third parties,
  • Create and maintain comprehensive project documentation using Heriot-Watt University project methodology,
  • Ensue that the project and adheres to GDPR principles,
  • Ensure proper validation, testing and user sign-off of all deliverables,
  • Ensure post-implementation procedures are in place to support the system.

Role profile

Oral Communication

  • Prepare and deliver presentations about the project to colleagues at all levels of the organisation,
  • Communicate with both experts and lay persons on the technical and business-process aspects of the project,
  • Be able to provide verbal updates on the progress of the project on demand.

Written Communication

  • Write a comprehensive and cohesive project plan,
  • Write regular project updates and minute meetings,
  • Write business, functional and technical documentation - including test documentation, where required,
  • Tailor documentation to suit the audience: this can vary between end-users: academics, administrators, students; and key stakeholders such as process owners,
  • Communicate progress towards team objectives,
  • Summarise complex specialist issues or information for managers or stakeholders.

Teamwork & Motivation

  • Support and encourage team members, colleagues and stakeholders, helping to build co-operation,
  • Lead and manage colleagues - even without having direct line-management authority,
  • Demonstrate flexibility to deliver team results, while contributing to team morale,
  • Engage with stakeholders in other teams and the wider global university to establish a common approach,
  • Monitor progress and take appropriate action to deal with difficulties or slippage,
  • Promote the positive opportunities afforded by Global Curriculum Management.

Liaison and Networking

  • Represent the team in formal internal networks outside of the project,
  • Represent Heriot-Watt University in formal external networks related to the project, if necessary. Gather information through these networks and report back,
  • Network with stakeholders to elicit requirements,
  • Manage expectations of the user community in terms of what can be delivered,
  • Liaise with a wide range of stakeholders to gather information, exchange knowledge, and smooth the introduction of the changes and enhancements to staff communication processes,
  • Keep abreast of developments which may affect the project, e.g. changes to government policy, statutory requirements, etc.

Service Delivery

  • Ensure that any changes are properly transitioned into BAU with service owners including well defined support and maintenance plans.

Decision Making

  • Make decisions on the allocation of resources to ensure project objectives are met,
  • Collaborate with others within the project and/or stakeholders to reach decisions that have an impact on the operation or function of the University,
  • Provide advice or input to others’ decisions which have an impact on the operation or function of the University,
  • Identify those decisions which require team-wide discussion – especially those which may have a wider impact – or escalation to project sponsors or, senior management or the project board.

Planning and Organising Resources

  • Plan work on an entire project basis, breaking it down into smaller sections, on a month by month basis, consulting with  colleagues and key stakeholders,
  • Work within the chosen methodologies of the project, including the Heriot-Watt Project Management Methodology,
  • Co-ordinate the work of a project on a day-to-day basis,
  • Co-ordinate groups of colleagues involved in the project,
  • Decide on the optimal order of deliverables,
  • Monitor progress against plans and report slippage,
  • Re-schedule in the event of new priorities.

Initiative and Problem Solving

  • Analyse requirements and identify best solutions to business problems,
  • Consider the relative efficiency of new processes and make recommendations,
  • Overcome complex technical, process and people problems with creative and effective solutions.

Analysis and Research

  • Gather business requirements and analyse with respect to project objectives and constraints,
  • Analyse complex information system to understand data structures and process flows,
  • Analyse complex datasets to understand how University structures can be represented.

Work Environment

  • Work on a demanding key strategic project.

Team Development

  • Take a lead in building and maintaining team and stakeholder morale,
  • Train or coach others on specific tasks, issues or activities, giving advice, guidance and feedback on the basis of their own knowledge or experience,
  • Deliver formal training, if necessary.

Teaching and Learning Support

  • Provide the business and functional documentation on which training is based,
  • Formulate end-user training delivery,
  • Produce training documentation and online resources,
  • Provide training to groups of stakeholders.

Education, qualifications and experience

  • Education and qualifications
  • A degree or equivalent
  • Formal qualifications in Project Management or Business Analysis are not an essential requirement, but demonstrable extensive experience is essential.

Experience

Essential:

Knowledge of formal project management methodologies and their practical implementation. An understanding of development project lifecycles
Computer literate
Comfortable in using MS Office applications in particular: Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Desirable:

  • Experience in Higher Education
  • Experience of business process design
  • Experience of workflow technology
  • Experience of data migrations
  • Experience of integrating systems
  • Comfortable in using MS Project
  • Comfortable in using and administering MS SharePoint.    

How To Apply

Applications can be submitted up to midnight (UK time) on 1 July 2019

This role does not meet the minimum requirements set by UKVI to enable sponsorship of non-European nationals. Therefore we cannot progress applications from candidates who require sponsorship to work in the UK. For further information on this please visit the UK Visas and Immigration website: https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas

At Heriot-Watt University we understand that being diverse makes us better which is why we support a culture of respect and equal opportunity, and value diversity at the heart of what we do. We want to increase the diversity of our workplace to underpin a dynamic and creative environment.

We welcome and will consider flexible working patterns e.g. part-time working and job share options.

Use our total rewards calculator: https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/work/total-rewards-calculator.htm to see the value of benefits provided by Heriot-Watt University.

Company

Our culture

Heriot-Watt University is one of the top UK universities for business and industry with an established reputation for world-class teaching and practical, leading-edge research.

The Vision

Heriot-Watt's vision is to be world leading, within all its specialist areas of science, engineering, technology and business.

The Mission

Our mission is to create and exchange knowledge for the benefit of society.
We are committed to attracting the very best staff to help us deliver our ambitions.

Company info
Telephone
+(44)01314495111
Location
RICCARTON
EDINBURGH
MIDLOTHIAN
EH14 4AS
United Kingdom

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