Associate Project Manager Apprentice

Essex County Council; Chelmsford; Hybrid; GBP 26,000; Full time

Job description

Associate Project Manager Apprentice

Fixed Term, Full Time

£25,081 per annum

Location: Chelmsford

Working Style: Anywhere worker

Closing Date: 20th April 2025

Are you eager to combine paid work with study to earn a qualification? Do you want to join a strong team dedicated to revolutionising technology in Local Government? If so, this opportunity might be perfect for you!

Essex Digital Services (EDS) is seeking an Associate Project Manager Apprentice to join our dynamic team.

About Us:

Our vision here is important: to deliver high-calibre technology services across the organisation, creating the conditions where employees, citizens and businesses can collaborate, innovate and thrive.

Over the coming years, the council will test out new approaches as part of a fundamental rethink on how it serves its 1.4 million residents.

Our aim is simple - we want to become 'the leading local authority for digital transformation in the country'.

We use world-class suppliers and platforms, fuel organisational change - at pace - through modern, service-based technology solutions, and increase Essex County Council's leadership presence in national technology initiatives.

We have an unrivalled opportunity to drive a technological revolution within local government.

The EDS Team:

EDS are focused on ensuring current and future investment in technology maximises the opportunities to support Essex County Council (ECC) from a technology perspective. Over the past year, we have:

• Managed over 120 apps across the organisation
• Managed 22,000 service requests
• Had 120 active projects
• Trained 3,700 people
• Supported 180 sites
• Fixed 36,000 incidents
• Filtered 250 million spam emails and blocked over 2500 phishing emails
• Replaced or refreshed 1600 devices

Benefits:

• Healthy work life balance; flexible and hybrid working options
• Wide range of learning and development opportunities
• 26 days annual leave + bank holidays + option to purchase extra
• Generous Local Government Salary related pension scheme
• Access to hundreds of discounts and benefits through Essex Rewards
• Access to our health and wellbeing support platform with LifeWorks
• Disability Confident Leader: we're committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job
• Up to 4 days per annum volunteering leave
• Employee support networks, to ensure everyone is treated with dignity and respect
• A fully funded Associate Project Manager Level 4 qualification delivered predominately online over 18 months

Essex County Council is proud to offer an excellent benefits package to all its employees. More information can be found here pay and reward.

The Role:

This role is crucial for delivering new and improved tech solutions, helping our customers provide the best service in line with ECC's rules and policies. It also helps ECC make the most of its tech investments, supporting ECC's goals and bringing in the latest technology.

You'll be part of a key team that leads the coordination and delivery of requests ranging from minor projects to user-specific bits of tech. It is all about managing and analysing EDS Small Projects and non-standard requests, covering anything that is not available via the standard catalogue offering. This means each request is unique and requires differing levels of coordination and resource time. It also means that you will need to be able to set priorities and coordinate with different experts to deliver secure, user-friendly solutions on time.

Our team owns and maintains the processes that make this happen. You will be a part of the work to constantly review and improve these processes.

You'll need to be organised to keep projects on track, monitor progress, and work with both internal and external stakeholders.

The Associate Project Manager Apprentice is an entry-level role in the Essex Digital Service function, providing an opportunity for career development across the service. As an apprentice, you will follow an agreed development programme that identifies the most suitable career path based on your aptitude and developing capabilities. The role will require successful completion of the Associate Project Manager Level 4 Apprenticeship and include an end of study assessment. Once the apprenticeship has been successfully completed, you will be able to apply for Associate Membership with the Association for Project Management.

As an 'Anywhere Worker' role, there will be a combination of onsite and remote working. There is an expectation that you will be required to work onsite up to 3 days each week.

About You:

• Be educated to A Level and have a keen interest in pursuing a career in IT
• Have a working knowledge and understanding of Microsoft office packages
• Be enthusiastic and able to demonstrate a determination to succeed
• Have the ability to work co-operatively with others to successfully achieve tasks and deliver results
• Possess good written, verbal and presentational skills with the ability to communicate effectively with people at all levels
• Have excellent problem-solving skills
• Have evidence of good customer service skills
• Can effectively review your own performance and progression to learn from successes and setbacks

Essential Requirements for the role:

• You will need to have Function Skills Level 2 in Maths and English, which is a grade C/4 at GCSE level. If you do not already have this, you will be required to complete the qualification alongside the apprenticeship. This will need to be completed by the time of the End Point Assessment (EPA)
• You will need to have the right to work and study in England
• You will have been ordinarily resident in the UK or EEA for three years before the apprenticeship start date

Please note that we must be provided with your education certificates at the final stage of the recruitment process. If you have international equivalent qualifications, a NARIC Statement of Comparability must be provided. If you do not already hold one you can purchase online - you can find more information here: Statement of Comparability (enic.org.uk).

What will you be doing?

• Work within our Small Change team to support the delivery of non-standard service requests across the business. This will be your base position
• Work collaboratively with different areas across the EDS team for short periods to gain an understanding of the service and to support your apprenticeship study
• Ensure you meet the objectives of the role agreed and deliver work within agreed timescales to be able to demonstrate learning and acumen for technology
• Ensure delivery of requirements agreed in your personal development plan and your apprenticeship standard
• Take responsibility for agreeing a personal development plan
• Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework

Recruitment Timeline:

• 20th April 2025: Applications close
• 5th May 2025: Video interview
• 30th May 2025: Assessment centre and final interview
• 16th June 2025: Offers made to successful candidates
• 23rd June 2025: Pre-employment checks
• 8th September 2025: Start date

How to apply:

Start your journey within Essex Digital Services by clicking the APPLY button now!

You MUST submit a supporting statement along with your CV detailing why you have applied and what you feel you could bring to this role. Applications without a supporting statement will be closed without consideration.

If you are interested in finding out more about this role or require further information, we would love to hear from you. Please email: [e-mail] or visit us at the Working for Essex website: Entry to Work.