UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH WALES

PRIFYSGOL DE CYMRU

Project Manager- Curriculum Management (Ref: U008672)

Grade F, *£33,943 - £39,324 per annum

*appointment will be made to the minimum of the scale

Maternity Cover up to 12 months full time

Internal and external Vacancy

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Project Manager to play a leading role delivering Phase 2 of the University’s Curriculum Management Project, which has been in progress since January 2017. The project will develop, integrate, test, pilot and implement a new Curriculum Management System that is consistent, simple and transparent. As Curriculum Management affects all aspects of the University there is a significant Communications element to the project in addition to stakeholder and change management.

What has been achieved so far?

A number of important steps have been taken towards the development of an efficient and fit for purpose curriculum management system, over the past year.

  • A Business Case for the Project has been developed and approved including a detailed delivery plan and budget.
  • Project Controls have been established including Project Initiation Documentation, Quality Plan, Communications Plan and Risk and Issue Plan.
  • Reporting mechanisms have been established.
  • Governance structures have been established including a cross faculty and divisional Project Board has been established with executive sponsorship at the highest level of the University.
  • Buy in to change has been established through extensive consultation and communications work
  • User Groups have been established and engaged.
  • Analysis Phase is complete including the all As Is and To Be Business Process models of core processes in UML Activity Diagram format.
  • Project Officer in post and trained to manage the business analysis and change control going forward
  • Design and Development Team has been established
  • The Solution Design is currently in progress

What remains to be achieved?

The current Project Manager is about to take maternity leave and therefore a new Project Manager is required to drive the project on through the following stages.

  • The completion of the Solution Design and Development work package.
  • Complete system testing including Unit, Integration and UAT. Ensuring that the solution meets the requirements captured during the analysis phase and that the User Group are involved in testing.
  • Overseeing the Piloting of the project within a chosen school or faculty ( to be decided by the board)
  • Ensuring that feedback is captured from the Pilot stage and that the system is amended accordingly.
  • Developing a comprehensive training package that can be rolled out digitally prior to roll out as well as the delivery of information and training events across the faculties to raise awareness that can be cascaded to colleagues.
  • Ensuring that the system is rolled out efficiently and effectively according to the timescales outlined in the project plan.
  • Ensuring that the project continues to deliver against the agreed business case.
  • Ensuring that Quality Expectations are met (as defined in Requirements)
  • Ensuring that progress is maintained as defined by the project plan and that any deviation to the project plan is within tolerance or that it is approved as an exception plan by the project board and the overseeing governance authority.
  • Monitoring the project costs and expenditure to ensure that the project does not exceed the budget.
  • Overseeing the change control process and ensuring that all changes are analysed for impact and that they are approved, with a full understanding of the implications, by the Project Board.
  • Ensuring that the project engages with stakeholders across the organisation and that there is a high level of awareness of progress across the University.

The post will be located within the Academic Registry and the post-holder will report to the project sponsor ( the Academic Registrar) as well as the Chair of the Project Board ( the Deputy Vice Chancellor). The Project Manager will need to be proactive in working with team members, team leaders and other key stakeholders across the University’s academic and corporate departments, including the Registry, IT Services and faculties.

Further details on the duties associated with this post, including a job description and person specification can be found below.

Potential candidates wishing to discuss this post informally should contact the project sponsor, Sara Moggridge ().

The terms and conditions of the post (including grade and salary) will be those of the University of South Wales.

CLOSING DATE: 22nd September 2017

JOB DESCRIPTION

Title:Project Manager - Curriculum Management
Type of Contract:Up to One Year - fixed term, full-time, maternity cover
Grade:F
Responsible to:Academic Registrar
Responsible for:Project Officer
Main Purpose of the Job:
The purpose of the role is to project manage all aspects of a major project, that will lead to the development of new systems and processes for the management of the University’s curriculum.
The Project Manager will oversee the delivery of a number of linked work packages, driving forward their delivery and ensuring that the necessary co-ordination is in place, across the institution as a whole. The role demands an experienced Project Manager with a high level of project management skills and an excellent understanding of IT systems A high degree of autonomy and independence is required, as well as excellent team working skills.
Principal Duties and Responsibilities:
  • Development of the detailed work strands for the remainder of the project
  • Day to day management and co-ordination of all aspects of the curriculum management project.
  • Working alongside the Project Sponsor on the design, development and implementation of the project.
  • Liaising with and overseeing the activities of the project team
Project Scope
  • Ensuring that the Project Scope is adhered to throughout the project, avoiding scope creep.
  • Managing Change Control in accordance with the Change Control Process agreed in the Risk and Issue Strategy.
Quality
  • Ensuring that Quality Assurance and Quality Control activities and responsibilities are carried out in accordance with the Quality Strategy.
  • Ensuring that the project is delivered in accordance to the Requirements and Quality Expectations of the Project.
Project Planning
  • Ensuring that upcoming project stages are clearly defined and planned in stage plans.
  • Developing a project plan and ensuring that it is kept up to date and on track
  • Attending Project Board meetings and updating the group on progress
  • Engaging with key colleagues involved in project implementation and with other relevant stakeholders across the University.
  • Identifying risks and issues and elevating these to the Project Board as necessary.
  • Understanding business requirements and helping to develop and new systems and processes across the University.
Project Resources
  • Effective and responsible management of the project budget.
  • Functional management of the project team and co-ordinating the activities of other University staff who are contributing to the project.
  • Monitoring progress of the project team against the project and stage plans.
  • Coordinating project board and user groups.
  • Writing and collating documents and reports (including highlight reports and assurance reports) updating both the Project Board and the wider University on progress.
Project Delivery
  • Ensuring that the project is successfully delivered and that all relevant work packages are satisfactorily completed.
  • Organising any meetings that are necessary to support the development of the project.
  • Ensuring “buy-in” from all necessary stakeholders.
  • Preparing progress reports for senior management and for Project Boards.
  • Supporting the Project Sponsor in presenting and reporting progress to key stakeholders.
  • Identifying (and coordinating the delivery of) all training requirements.
Other Duties
To undertake any additional or alternative duties commensurate with the role and grade, as directed by the Project Sponsor.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

SKILLS AND ABILITIES
Essential / Desirable
a)Strongly driven and focussed on outputs.
b)Independent minded and able to exercise judgement and creativity.
c)Excellent communication and presentation skills (both verbal and written)
d)Excellent networking and stakeholder management skills.
e)Ability to work across departmental boundaries in order to achieve goals.
f)Time management skills and the ability to deal with conflicting priorities.
g)Demonstrates integrity and respects confidentiality.
h)Excellent IT skills.
i)Proficient user of Microsoft Project (or similar project management tool)
KNOWLEDGE
Essential / Desirable
j)Knowledge of the principles of project management. / k)Knowledge of the UK HE sector.
l)Knowledge of HE systems and processes.
EXPERIENCE
Essential / Desirable
m)Experience of managing successful projects including IT projects.
n)Experience of producing high quality written reports. / o)Experience of working in HE.
p)Experience of change management/stakeholder management
TRAINING
Essential / Desirable
q)Qualified PRINCE 2 Practitioner or similar (e.g. APM) / r)Educated to degree level or equivalent
s)MSP (Managing Successful Programmes)
OTHER REQUIREMENTS
Essential / Desirable
t)Ability to speak Welsh