We’re First Central Insurance & Technology Group (First Central for short), an award-winning innovative insurance and technology organisation, delivering market-leading motor insurance, underwriting, distribution, finance, technology and legal services.
We’re on the hunt for a talented Project Delivery Manager to join our Business Services team either working remotely or based in our Salford Quays, Manchester or Haywards Heath, West Sussex offices.
In this role you will lead the Group’s Project Management (PM) Practice. Setting PM standards and frameworks, incorporating Agile principles, driving continuous improvement, and ensuring alignment with best practice and the Groups Change Delivery Framework.
You will empower a high-quality PM capability to deliver a dynamic, fast paced change portfolio and assuring a level of sophistication to meet future business needs and North Star’ metrics.
Contribute to portfolio delivery plans, including annual planning activity, Quarterly Business Review (QBR) readiness and monitoring alignment to stated business objectives.
You will also assume line management responsibility for 6 direct reports comprised of Senior Project Manager and Project Manager colleagues, including the provision of effective developmental and performance management enhancing individual value-add and that of the broader capability.
To be successful in this role, you’ll need to have :
Highly developed leadership, communication, and people skills
Demonstrable experience of developing, and optimising, a project management capability in agile delivery environments
Experience of leading sustained, practical, continuous improvement activity within a change delivery framework - i.e. working in the system, and on the system
Job responsibilities :
Be an effective leader, provide strong developmental support and effective performance management across the PM function, ensuring the practice is optimized for delivery in a fast-paced, agile change environment aligned to SAFe best practice and principles, and the First Central Change Delivery Framework (CDF)
Lead on setting the standard policies and practices for the PM Team, which align and reinforce Business Agility
Ensure these standards are adhered to through Peer Review and Process Confirmation
Define the competencies which underpin PM practices and apply situational leadership for each PM. Demonstrate improvement through the PM skills and knowledge matrix
Define measurable outcomes for standard practices, track measures and lead on ensuring a full test & learn cycle is completed i.
e., Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA) and that continuous improvement is native to how the PM practice operates
Partner with the BA Practice Manager, Senior Business Analysts and Agile Coach’s to ensure systems are in place to capture and prioritize impediments to flow
Coordinate project delivery activity on strategically important programmes of work, setting the delivery approach, defining scope, shaping, and allocating work packages as well as assuring the quality of PM delivery activities and deliverables.
Coach PMs to develop delivery schedules that take both local and systemic lessons through the full PDCA cycle
Work proactively with business areas to manage and execute effective resource planning, ensuring PM effort is aligned to stated priorities across the portfolio.
Own PM Service provision, introduce and manage a performance measurement framework and a PM service catalogue
Build the PM capability through the identification of internal & external talent. Grow your own’, where possible seeking opportunities to identify and develop fresh talent into the team
Partner with the Heads of Portfolio to ensure they are confident in the quality of service delivered by the PM community and evolve the PM Community of Practice to leverage differential in performance (+ & -) and improve practices
Actively contribute to the external PM community. Identify best practice approaches, discuss with peers in the wider PM community & embed this into the PM practice
Where required, step up’ to cover the Head of Change Delivery, running & contributing to Governance Forums as required.
Similarly, step across’ to cover the Business Analysis Practice Manager where necessary.
Ensure compliance with Company Policies, Values and guidelines and other relevant standards / regulations always.
Any other reasonable duties
Job-specific competencies
Experience & knowledge
Experience of managing and developing a team of PM’s and change professionals, including developmental and performance management practices and techniques
Extensive experience of change delivery within an agile delivery environment, including CI, Lean practices, and the application of agile project management tools and techniques
Demonstrable experience of managing and influencing senior stakeholders around high-profile projects and programmes
Ideally, an insurance or financial Services background, although other backgrounds will be considered
Experience of facilitating operational change within a business unit, defining / re- engineering existing and new processes, and practices.
Demonstrable experience of delivering multiple, concurrent change initiatives within a large, complex, fast-paced environment.
Ability to explain approaches, concepts, and activities to non-technical audiences.
Detailed knowledge of FCA requirements (including TCF).
Knowledge and experience of managing a Strategic Portfolio of change
Skills & Qualifications
Highly developed leadership and people management skills
Highly developed communication and interpersonal skills
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
Strong workshop and meeting facilitation skills
Formal Project Management qualification such as APMP, PRINCE2, Agile Project Management or equivalent
Tools
MS Office / MS Project / SharePoint / Azure DevOps / Confluence / Hive PPM
Behaviours
Commercially focussed and results driven
Resilient, self-motivated, and enthusiastic
Organised and pro-active
Adaptive, flexible, and able to adopt appropriate management and leadership styles.
Coaches, mentors, empowers, and motivates
Emphasis on attention to detail and accuracy
The ability to work flexibly and under tight timescales
Takes initiative to make decisions
Strives to identify and drive business improvements
Are you the person we’re looking for? If so, we look forward to hearing from you. Apply today!
Want to know what it’s really like to work at First Central? at our Glassdoor reviews.
What can we do for you?
We believe we can offer you a great working environment as we’re so passionate about our people. Here are just some of the benefits and perks that we offer
Fantastic training and development opportunities
Employee benefit packages to suit your lifestyle
Flexible working
YOUday we give you an extra day off to celebrate a special day
The opportunity to take a paid day off each year to do charity work
A health cash plan
Help with travel expenses
The opportunity to buy additional holiday
Company pension scheme
Group life assurance
Enhanced maternity and paternity pay
Professional subscription fees paid
Employee wellbeing is high on the agenda here too. We provide a weekly free fruit delivery, discounted membership at a local health club and access to an Employee Assistance Programme, which promotes physical and emotional wellbeing at work and at home.
In addition, we provide wellbeing events throughout the year to support physical and mental health.
