Senior Project Manager

• Lead Co-op's largest and most complex business change projects or multiple related projects to deliver the specific business outcomes and deliverables to time, cost and quality.
• Establish, lead, develop, coach and inspire the project team (both dedicated transformation delivery roles and “business as usual” members) ensuring a relentless focus on quality, execution and achievement of project outcomes and deliverables.
• Whilst line management is not a routine part of the role, there may be the opportunity to line manage a small number of project managers / junior project managers if spans of control dictate / for personal development.
• Ensure consistently excellent delivery of Project Management services to agreed standards across Co-op.
• Ensure strategic alignment across multiple workstreams and initiatives. Resolve conflicts and manage competing priorities. Influence decision making.
• Provide reporting on project progress (including timelines / accuracy) to stakeholders. 
• Communicate complex information clearly and persuasively and create sponsor and project team alignment.
• Prepare relevant project collateral for various governance forums including steering packs and stage gates.
• Perform secretariat within own projects, ensuring meetings are minuted, actions and decisions are tracked and monitored to closure.
• Work closely with Project Sponsors, SMEs, BAs, Business Change, and suppliers to fully identify business requirements to i) agree tangible business outcomes and benefits and ii) for efficient and effective solution design that link to horizon states, capabilities and strategic objectives
• Ensure all projects have clear sponsorship, agreed deliverables and success factors. Ensure deliverables meet agreed standards and acceptance criteria (Quality Management).
• Active maintenance, monitoring and management of project risks, issues, plan, finances, benefits, dependencies, and resources.
• Ensure that all aspects of the project are fully defined to ensure stakeholder requirements are achieved.
• Develop and execute fully resourced project plans and change management plans (sometimes with specialist change support). Coach leaders to embed change.
• Adhere to best practice delivery, adopting the appropriate methodology and tools as per the Co-op governance and delivery frameworks as set by the SPMO. 
• Meet all SPMO data accuracy and reporting requirements.
• Adapt methodology as appropriate and employ risk-based decision making to optimise delivery efficiency and effectiveness as agreed with your Head of Portfolio Delivery.
• Work with sponsors and finance to ensure that the project business case is robust, that benefits and costs have clear ownership, are accurately forecasted, estimated and tracked. 
• Ensure maximum efficiency, and value for money, through robust cost challenge and management (budgets, estimates, forecasting, resource utilisation). Role model cost-consciousness in everything you do. Manage spend within project budget.
• Where relevant, manage external suppliers, working closely and effectively with Procurement.
• Ensure technical and business readiness for implementation / handover to maximise the business’ subsequent realisation of business benefits.
• Formally close the project, hand over deliverables, ensure cost centres are closed, and all documentation is complete.
• Ensure lessons learned are documented throughout the project and presented at the post implementation review to drive into continuous improvement.
• Upskill the business with basic project management skills so they can more easily self-serve in the future.

Show You Care
We do right by our people and care about our Co-op, our member-owners and our communities.

• We support each other with kindness and compassion, listen and share honest feedback, and make sure we do things fairly and responsibly.

Do What Matters Most
Delivering our vision and purpose, and making everyone feel valued and included, is what matters most.

• We put our member-owners at the heart of what we do, take responsibility for our actions, and focus on doing the right things for our colleagues, communities and planet.

Succeed Together
Co-operation is our superpower; we're better and stronger when we work together.

• We value teamwork and shared goals, nurture an inclusive environment, and celebrate diverse thinking to create the best outcomes.

Be Yourself Always
We bring our best self to work and respect others for doing the same.

• We are confident to be ourselves, build trusting relationships, and welcome different people, change and challenge.

We Do Right By Our People

• As leaders, we know our people and do right by them every day.
• We empower, develop and care for our people with kindness and compassion, listen with honesty, and create safe, inclusive workplaces built on mutual respect.

We Think Member Owners

• There is no ‘us’ and ‘them’ — we are all members, which makes us all owners.
• We put member-owners at the heart of everything we do, make bold and sustainable decisions, and drive growth that creates economic, social and ownership value.

We Are True Co-operators

• Co-operation is our superpower and something we truly believe in.
• We work towards shared goals over individual wins, lead with curiosity and courage, and build resilience by learning from mistakes and holding ourselves accountable.

• Deploy delivery and SME resources into the project.
• Influence prioritisation & sequencing decisions in partnership with the SPMO, the Design team and business leaders.
• Shape & enforce delivery standards & practices within the project.
• Lead delivery assurance reviews & determine escalation or intervention actions.
• Hold strategic relationships with:
• Project Sponsors and business SMEs – to ensure visibility, alignment & support for critical initiatives.
• SPMO – to align delivery with governance, planning & prioritisation frameworks.
• Design Team – to ensure each project has the design capabilities required for effective delivery and partner to ensure effective upstream discovery / design activities enable change to be effectively defined for effective handover to delivery. 
• Finance – to ensure delivery performance aligns with investment plans & benefits tracking.
• DT&D & Product Delivery – to coordinate delivery across platforms & ensure feasibility of technical solutions.

Budget accountability - indirect project / programme budget accountability of up to £10m

• Able to independently facilitate effective decision making.
• Outcome-focused.
• Proven and successful leadership of complex, cross-functional projects in large organisations.
• Understanding of product, agile & traditional delivery models & when to apply them.
• Strong delivery assurance & risk management expertise.
• Experience building & leading high-performing delivery teams.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement, communication & influencing skills, including at Op Board level to drive alignment.
• Ability to coach senior leaders through change
• Strong commercial acumen and operational understanding / domain knowledge.
• Strong EQ and curiosity.
• Ability to lead through ambiguity & drive delivery momentum in complex environments.
• Strong organisation skills.
• Self-starter.

Accountability

• Contributes significantly to medium-term strategic planning for the function, ensuring alignment of activity within their own team. 
• Plans and co-ordinates work within a team, ensuring the right capabilities are in place to deliver effectively now and in the future, and responding to change that impacts on their area of responsibility. 
• Manages team delivery in accordance with agreed budgets. 

Impact

• Acts as a voice for their wider team, advising senior leaders to ensure challenges, learnings and opportunities experienced across the business inform strategic decision-making. 
• Empowers and enables their immediate team to deliver the short-term plan within clear decision-making parameters, providing resources and guidance to support them. 
• As an individual contributor, provides thought leadership to help shape the function's response to challenges, and approach to delivery of the medium-term plan. 
• Creates a Co-op culture of inclusivity which allows colleagues to be themselves always, where everyone can reach their potential. 

Co-operation

• Collaborates with peers to deliver great work that enables the function to succeed. Co-operates with other teams and SMEs to get to the best outcome for the Co-op in their work.