Projects Officer

ABOUT THE ROLE

This is a 12-month fixed-term contract or secondment. Based in the Education Strategy Unit, a small and friendly team within the Department for Community and Children’s Services, the Projects Officer both leads on the planning and delivery of projects and supports other team members to deliver projects in a collaborative manner. The role is varied and dynamic, with projects sitting under the strategy strands of Educational Excellence, Personal Development, Safety Health & Wellbeing, Employability and Cultural and Creative learning. Ongoing projects include managing a contractor to deliver a mentoring programme for care experienced young people, designing and delivering a pilot of the Inspiring Young Entrepreneurs programme, and supporting the delivery of the London Careers Festival with workshop planning, communications to the schools, and event management on the day. You will need to effectively plan and manage project workloads that run in parallel while ensuring there is space in your work plan to be agile and responsive to emerging challenges or urgent team tasks. A successful Projects Officer will be a team player with a high level of resilience, self-motivation and strong attention to detail.

MAIN DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Supporting the management of major departmental projects, performing duties including:

• Supporting by developing project plans in collaboration with project stakeholders and in liaison with the lead officer where appropriate.
• Reviewing and tracking project progress, including monitoring deadlines.
• Writing, filing and maintaining documents and databases, ensuring all project documents are accurate and clear.
• Identifying potential issues or risks, communicating these to senior colleagues.
• Supporting the development of marketing and communications materials.

Managing and taking ownership of medium-risk projects, performing duties including:

• Applying project management methods and systems to identify actions, produce project plans, and ensure project delivery in a timely manner.
• Identifying and taking actions to achieve project goals, ensuring deadlines are achieved and risks to deadlines are identified.
• Liaising with stakeholders and senior colleagues to ensure project outcomes are delivered.
• Reporting progress to senior colleagues, and authoring project reports.
• Creating and enacting clear and achievable project plans utilising project management methods and systems.
• Preparing and sending out information to stakeholders, supporting the development of agendas, attending meetings to take minutes and updating project documents.
• Monitoring and evaluating projects as required, including collecting and analysing data.
• Producing project and committee reports and presenting these when required.
• Conducting financial administration, including adding suppliers to the system, raising purchase orders, forwarding invoices for timely payment, and consolidating purchase card transactions.
• Completing administrative duties including minute taking, scheduling meetings, filing and printing, arranging travel and booking venues.
• Supporting to move physical project documents, event collateral, and other light manual tasks.
• Acting as an ambassador for the organisation, contributing to the effectiveness of meetings and the sharing of knowledge and experience.
• Actively seeking to implement the City of London’s Occupational Health and Safety Policy in relation to the duties of the post, and to be responsible for the health and safety of both themselves and others.
• Actively seek to implement the City of London’s Equal Opportunity Policy and the objective to promote equality of opportunity in relation to the duties of the post.
• To undertake any other duties that may reasonably be requested appropriate to the grade.

CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS

Please find below the qualifications, experience and technical skills required to undertake this post.

Technical Skills / Professional Qualifications / Relevant Education & Training:

• Batchelors Degree or equivalent
  OR
• At least NVQ Level 3 or equivalent in role-related discipline. (A)
• Work experience in the education/public sector or equivalent. (A)

Experience Required:

• Successful project management support including planning, delivery, administration, milestones, and reporting. (A)
• Supporting multiple projects including coordinating people and other teams (internal and external) to deliver to deadlines. (A)
• Managing both large-scale and small-scale projects from planning to completion. (A)
• Engaging and consulting with a wide range of stakeholders to support project management. (I)
• Writing clear and engaging copy for both internal and external audiences. (T)
• Engagingly presenting work to colleagues and stakeholders. (I)
• Financial administration, including budgeting, keeping financial records, and reporting on spending. (A)
• Working with strong attention to detail and excellent organisational skills. (I)
• Working collaboratively and inclusively with a team. (A)
• Working independently with minimal supervision where appropriate. (A)
• Managing workloads effectively to meet deadlines. (I)
• Effectively managing multiple priorities, meeting deadlines and demonstrating resilience when under pressure. (I)
• Solving problems with critical thinking and analytical skills. (I)

Technical Skills & Knowledge:

• Strong IT skills and knowledge (particularly Microsoft tools). (T)
• A good understanding of the issues and challenges facing the education and skills sector. (A)
• A good knowledge of school-based learning and apprenticeships. (A)
• An understanding of budgeting and financial administration. (A)
• A basic awareness of Data Protection (GDPR) and safeguarding requirements. (I)

To view the JD and application process, please click here –>Job Information Pack – Project Officer