Project Manager: Science Projects

In the Crick's Programme Management Team.

Part of Crick Operations.

Deadline for applications has passed.

Key information

Job reference
R1099
Salary
From £51,300 with benefits, subject to skills and experience
Applications closed
20 March 2023, 23:59 GMT
Hours per week
36 (full time)
Posted 06 March 2023

Project Manager: Science Projects

Reports to:

  • Head of Programme Management

Contact term:

  • This is a full-time, permanent position on Crick terms and conditions of employment.

Please note this is one of 3 roles for project managers advertised in parallel at the Crick.  If you are interested in more than one role, you only need to make one application, please specify in your covering letter which roles you are applying for.

ABOUT US

The Francis Crick Institute is a partnership between Cancer Research UK, the Medical Research Council, the Wellcome Trust, UCL (University College London), Imperial College London and King's College London. It is a registered charity whose purpose is to conduct biomedical research into all aspects of human health and disease.

The Crick is a world-leading centre of biomedical research and innovation. It promotes connections between researchers and disciplines and between academic institutions, healthcare organisations and businesses. Dedicated to research excellence, the Crick has the scale, vision and expertise to tackle the most challenging scientific questions underpinning health and disease. It is world-class with a strong national role training scientists and developing ideas for public good.

The Crick was formed in 2015 and became fully operational in 2017 at our state-of-the-art building in central London, making it the biggest biomedical research facility under a single roof in Europe.  Here 1900 researchers and support staff bring together their wide-ranging knowledge and expertise to work across disciplines and explore biology at all levels.  We work with our university partners and other organisations across academia, medicine and industry to create a space where talented researchers make discoveries about how life works. We then translate those discoveries into health benefits that improve people's lives and keep the UK at the forefront of medical innovation.

The Crick Code of Conduct sets the standard of conduct for anyone working at the Crick. It outlines the behaviour that we expect from each other and helps us to make decisions in line with the ethical principles we stand for.  It is underpinned by ten key policies and guides us to:

  • understand the Crick’s approach to open science and science integrity

  • work together with dignity, respect, and integrity to create a positive working environment

  • work together responsibly to ensure the Safety, health & wellbeing of ourselves, colleagues, and neighbours, and

  • work efficiently, optimising resources.

SUMMARY

As part of delivering on its ambition, the Crick has an increasing need for strong effective project management capability to deliver on projects that potentially involve several operational areas (e.g., HR, Health & Safety, Legal, Facilities, ITO) as well as the Science groups that are the core purpose of the Institute. Collaboration is at the heart of the Crick so projects may also include working with external organisations, typically delivery, pharmaceutical and academic partners.  

The small project management team supports a number of business-critical projects across the Crick often working to SROs in different functions.  The current portfolio is primarily operational, however project management disciplines are increasingly being applied to large science grants, particularly where they involve multiple international and/or commercial partners.  Due to recent success in securing large science grants, we have a need to increase the capacity of the team.  There is scope for team members to have diverse roles that may span operational and science projects according to preferences and the business needs of the Institute.

In order to develop Project Management capability and capacity within our team, we want to recruit people into the team who are already experienced in dealing with a range of projects and who may be looking for an opportunity to work in an ambitious and exciting science institute. 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

These include but are not limited to

  • Act as operational project manager for the science programme overseeing all day-to-day activities.

  • Act as central point of communication for all partners, internal Crick Group Leaders to ensure the smooth running of the programme.

  • Build positive, long-term relationships with all external stakeholders including funders and partners

  • Maintain oversight of and, where necessary, arrange international programme workshops and annual meetings in liaison with programme partners.

  • Arrange Steering Committee and Science Advisory Board meetings.

  • Lead on effectively monitoring and reporting KPIs and programme outputs in accordance with grant requirements.

  • Work with Crick HR Team to ensure that any recruitments and associated resource activities are managed efficiently

  • Work with Crick Finance Team to ensure that programme financial monitoring, reporting and billing is managed in line with budget and in a timely manner ensuring any necessary financial approvals are received before financial reporting is submitted.

  • Work with Crick Grants Team colleagues to ensure that necessary due diligence and audit work is undertaken in line with funder requirements and Crick policy.

  • Develop positive and productive working relationships with all internal colleagues, liaising closely with Grants, Finance, HR, Legal and other teams to ensure effective programme management.

  • Able to educate others on best practise in project management tools and practices and ensure continual improvement is delivered through capacity building and innovation.

Person specification

The post holder should embody and demonstrate our core Crick values: bold, open, and collegial, in addition to the following:

Essential skills/experience

  • Minimum HNC or equivalent qualified in a relevant discipline.

  • Working knowledge and application of project management processes (similar to Prince2, APMCI).

  • Experience in management of business projects in research and pharmaceutical environments of similar.

  • Proven recent record of accomplishment for end-to-end delivery of managing delivery of programmes of work or grants in areas of scientific focus, involving liaison with senior scientific colleagues.

  • Understands the project lifecycle stages from initial scoping through to implementation, can draw out key stakeholder and budget requirements, identifying the critical path and dependencies.

  • Able to ensure project participants are aware of their responsibilities and gets timely updates on progress for reporting.

  • Ability to analyse complex data, draw conclusions and produce reliable and accurate reports as per Grant reporting requirements.

  • Able to prioritise competing demands and manage own workload.

  • Builds positive relationships with science leads and stakeholders. Runs effective meetings that have the right people with a clear agenda and objectives.  Develops engaging presentations and delivers with confidence.

  • Supportive and effective team member, able to work collaboratively with other administrative and scientific departments and with their professional peers across the Crick.

  • Ability to work independently, managing a heavy workload to strict deadlines.

  • Be open to change and demonstrate a flexible and adaptable approach.

Desirable skills/experience

  • A postgraduate qualification in biological or life sciences.

  • Previous experience of managing international partners, specifically in Africa.

  • Understanding of Data Management within a research environment.

  • Understanding of Good Clinical Practice and Good Laboratory Practice.