Project Manager (Higher Education) - 6 months FTC

Salary: £48,000 - £55,000 per annum

Employment type:  Fixed Term Contract for 6 months

Hours per week: 37

Reporting into: Director of the Provost Office

Department: Academic Affairs

Click here to read the full job description and view our excellent benefits here

This role operates primarily on a remote working arrangement that will require little to no travel into our Coventry head office or Campus locations. Our working model arrangements are a non-contractual benefit so please note that an Arden work location is added to our employment contracts.

We are an aspirational and multi-award-winning university, delivering rapid growth with ambitious plans to disrupt the HE sector through our passion for innovation and digital education. Our vision is to become the first-choice university for career-focused lifelong learners worldwide, ensuring that everyone, everywhere can access higher education.

There has never been a more exciting time to join Arden University, as we expand into new disciplines, forge worldwide partnerships, and expand our locations.

The Provost’s Office serves as the central hub for all academic-affairs, projects and initiatives throughout the University. This includes a Project Management, Change Management and Business Analysis function which plays a crucial role in ensuring success of academic and enhancement initiatives across Arden University. Our team provides expertise in planning, execution and transformation to ensure projects and initiatives align with objectives and goals.

This role supports the delivery of projects and change initiatives within the Provost Office, ensuring agreed activities are planned, coordinated and delivered on time, within scope and to the required quality. You will manage assigned projects, working with academic and professional services colleagues to coordinate activities, track progress, manage risks, issues and dependencies, and escalate matters where appropriate.

You will develop and maintain clear project plans, coordinate activities across project teams, and support effective stakeholder engagement through regular communication, reporting, meetings, workshops and feedback. The role will involve managing projects through the delivery lifecycle, from initial scoping and requirements gathering through to implementation, handover and closure, including supporting the introduction of new systems, processes and ways of working.

You will have experience of managing and delivering projects within Higher Education or another large or complex organisation, with a good understanding of project management principles and the project lifecycle.

You will be comfortable developing and maintaining project plans, coordinating activities across different teams, tracking actions and milestones, and identifying and managing project risks, issues and dependencies. You will be organised and able to manage competing priorities while ensuring appropriate project documentation and reporting is maintained.

You will have good analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to understand requirements, identify potential delivery challenges and work with colleagues to develop practical solutions.

You will be a confident communicator and comfortable working with a range of stakeholders, including academic and professional services colleagues. You will be able to facilitate meetings and workshops, provide clear progress updates, follow up actions and escalate issues or decisions when required.

You will have a practical and collaborative approach to project delivery and be comfortable supporting teams through the implementation of new systems, processes and ways of working.

At Arden, you will become a part of a passionate and dedicated team who are committed to removing unnecessary barriers to learning and making education more accessible. Our people work hard to ensure our students journeys are the best they can possibly be, as such we want to reward our people with fantastic benefits. Employees benefit from:

• 30 days holiday + bank holidays on-top, and even a Christmas closure!

• A generous Aviva pension plan, company contributions starting from 7%

• BUPA Cash Plan

• Private Medical Insurance

• Access to Perkbox benefits

• Study any Arden course for free, with a discount for all family and friends

• Plus, other  excellent benefits

• Our ‘Golden Ticket’ which allows you to gift anyone in your life a free Arden education
  

Stand out, Progressive, Accessible, Resourceful, Kindness, reflect who we are as an institution, a team and as individuals. If they also reflect you and you are excited by the chance to be the driving, creative force within a growing business, we want to hear from you.

There has never been a more exciting time to join Arden University, as we expand into new disciplines and locations.

Closing Date:  Wednesday 9th September

We reserve the right to close this vacancy before the specified closing date should we receive sufficient applications or in order to respond to business needs. In order to avoid missing an opportunity to apply please submit your application as early as possible.

If you are a current Arden student or have an upcoming course with us, you are not eligible to apply for Student Experience roles due to a conflict of interest related to system access.

Arden University is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. This means that if you have a disability, as defined by the Disability Equality Act 2010, you may be guaranteed an interview if you meet the essential criteria for the role.

If you wish to be considered under this scheme, you can indicate via the application form below. By doing so, you are also consenting for this information to be shared with the hiring team. For more details on what qualifies as a disability under the Disability Equality Act 2010, please refer to  the guidance here .

As an Equal Opportunity Employer we celebrate diversity and are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. Therefore, we make sure that our recruitment and selection processes never discriminate based upon people's age, disability, gender, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or other personal circumstances, and actively welcome applications from all groups.

Please be aware that some roles may not meet the points requirement for a sponsored Skilled Worker visa, or fulfil the criteria we have for providing sponsorship.  However we welcome applications from candidates who do not currently have the right to work in the UK but may be eligible for a visa through an alternative route.