Project Manager

Surrey County Council; Woking; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job description

• Salary: The salary range for this role is £45,680- £49,588 PA
• Category: Project Management
• Contract type: Fixed term
• Working hours: 36
• Posted on: 1 April 2025
• Location: Woking

Description

This starting salary for this role is £45,680 per annum, based on a 36 hour working week and is offered as a 12 months fixed term contract or secondment opportunity.

We are looking for four Project Managers to join our Children's, Families and Lifelong Learning Directorate supporting focused projects and programmes of work that will transform our children's social care services.

We offer hybrid working with an expectation that at least two days per week will be spent in locations across Surrey. This includes one day a week with the team who are based in our Woking office, with another spent in Surrey dependent on business requirements. You must be both willing and able to travel for meetings when required.

Rewards and Benefits:

• 26 days' holiday (prorated for part time staff), rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 30 days after 5 years' service.
• Buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• Up to 5 days of carer's leave per year
• An extensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) supporting health and wellbeing
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, shopping and many more
• 2 paid volunteering days per year
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
• Paternity, adoption and dependents leave

About Us:

Our guiding principle, 'No One Left Behind', is at the heart of everything we do in Surrey. It shapes our priority objectives and the way we deliver services. The Children, Families and Lifelong Learning (CFLL) Directorate is committed to investing in internal transformation teams. These teams are crucial in driving high-impact changes in Children's Social Care and Additional Needs and Disabilities. They will also spearhead various projects aimed at improving service delivery and efficiency, ensuring we stay true to our guiding principle.

The transformation teams are dedicated to shaping, driving, and facilitating sustainable change and improvement for children in Surrey. By partnering with, challenging, and supporting our stakeholders, we strive to achieve better outcomes for children and young people, against a challenging financial context.

We are looking for a project manager experienced in delivering complex, multifaceted transformation in Children's Social Care.

Our Children's Social Care programme will support the Corporate Parenting and Family Resilience and Safeguarding teams to deliver interventions at the earliest opportunity, working with our partners to ensure that we support families to prevent the escalation of need. For children that do come into our care, our focus is for children to be placed within 20 miles of Surrey to increase their opportunities for improved outcomes through building our own in-house residential and fostering provision.

About the Role:

As a project manager, you will manage and deliver key projects that drive the transformation of services and processes across Surrey County Council's Children, Families & Lifelong Learning (CFLL) Directorate. Working closely with Programme Managers and cross-functional teams to ensure that projects are delivered on time, within budget, and in alignment with the Council's strategic transformation objectives.

You will oversee project planning, manage resources, and mitigate risks to ensure successful implementation of change initiatives. Driving continuous improvement and fostering collaboration to contribute to enhancing the effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability of Council services, contributing to the Council's transformation and continuous improvement initiatives. You will really be able to thrive in this role if you have any knowledge or understanding of local government Children's Services and the challenges they face.

You are able to view the full list of accountabilities in the attached job description; please ensure you refer to this before applying.

Shortlisting Criteria:

To be considered for shortlisting for this position, your CV and answers to our application questions below will clearly evidence:

• Experience of leading and implementing a range of projects and seeing these through to successful completion.
• Proven problem-solving skills, and the ability to exercise high levels of initiative to devise and implement workable solutions.
• Demonstrable leadership qualities, including excellent communication, interpersonal and analytical skills.
• Ability to carry out reviews of major functions or processes and work flexibly to meet changing demands and priorities.
• Experience of collaborative working with a range of stakeholders.

In support of your application, please submit your CV and answer the following questions:

• Please tell us about a project you have either managed or led where there were competing demands. How did you manage the challenges and pressure to ensure the project remained on track? Were you successful?
• Using an example, please tell us about a time when you have used your interpersonal skills to work with diverse stakeholders to overcome a problem. What skills and strategies did you use, and were you successful in achieving your collective objective?
• Please tell us about a time when you had to change or adapt your communication style for different stakeholders. What impact were you able to realise by adapting your communication approach?

For an informal discussion about this role please email [e-mail]. Please contact us for any questions relating to role requirements, flexible working requests, transferable skills or barriers to employment.

The job advert closes at 23:59 on Sunday the 20th of April 2025.

Interviews are planned to be held in person at our Woking office on 29th, 30th April or 1st May 2025.

There will be a numeracy and scenario assessment as part of the interview. It is anticipated that the assessment and interview process will take an hour and thirty minutes.

An enhanced DBS 'Disclosure and Barring Service' check for regulated activity (formerly known as CRB) and the Children's and Adults' Barred List checks will be required for this role.

Our Values:

Our values are as important as our abilities and shape who we are as an organisation. Discover more about our values.

Before submitting your application, we recommend you read the job description. Our Life at Surrey handbook provides insights into the culture at Surrey and how as a valued employee, you can help shape our Council.

Our Commitment:

Surrey County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. A guaranteed interview will be offered to all disabled applicants where:

• The candidate has evidenced the minimum criteria for the role through their application.
• The candidate has chosen to share that they have a disability on the application form.

Our application form and onboarding process will provide an opportunity to request any reasonable adjustments for the interview and/or the role.

We want to be an inclusive and diverse employer reflecting the community we serve and particularly welcome applications from all underrepresented groups.