Senior PM (Education)

CPS

7d•Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Project Manager at CPS is a pivotal role responsible for leading complex client engagements, mentoring the Project Management Team, and ensuring robust delivery governance. This position requires a confident, commercially astute project professional with a strong background in the education sector, ideally with experience in higher education, Microsoft technology delivery, and digital transformation. The role involves managing the entire project lifecycle, from pre-sale support to handover and sustainment, while maintaining a focus on quality, financial control, and client satisfaction. Additionally, the Senior Project Manager will contribute to improving project management standards and supporting the PM Team Lead in team development and operational activities.

Requirements

End-to-end project lifecycle delivery experience in professional services, consulting or shared services.
Proven ability to manage multiple clients, projects, priorities and commercial commitments.
Strong financial control, including budget delivery, billing, forecasting and commercial performance.
Able to lead multi-disciplinary teams across CPS, clients and partners.
Experience delivering Microsoft and third-party technology projects, from design through release and sustainment.
Experience delivering Microsoft-based digital transformation programmes, ideally using Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Power Platform, Azure, Copilot or related Microsoft ecosystem technologies.
Understanding of higher education operating environments, including academic departments, professional services, student experience, research, governance and complex stakeholder groups.
Business analysis awareness, with the ability to shape, review and challenge requirements.
Experience of Agile and Waterfall delivery approaches.
Willingness to travel as required.
Relevant professional qualifications such as APM, PRINCE2 or Agile/Scrum certification.
Degree-level education or equivalent professional experience.

Nice To Haves

Experience within the education sector is essential, ideally within higher education.
Microsoft-based technology delivery and digital transformation environments.
Confident, credible and commercially aware.
Structured, thorough and quality-focused.
Resilient, persistent and solutions-focused.
Strong communicator and relationship builder.
Able to influence without imposition.
Quick to assimilate information and solve problems.
Senior Project Manager, Project Manager or Change Manager with experience delivering IT, digital or business transformation projects, ideally in higher education or wider education-sector environments.
Background in an IT consultancy, professional services or client-facing delivery environment.
Background delivering Microsoft-centred transformation, adoption or systems implementation projects for universities, colleges or comparable complex public-sector organisations.
Experience managing multiple client engagements, project teams, budgets, risks, stakeholders and commercial expectations.
Strong understanding of project governance, delivery methodologies and technology implementation lifecycles.

Responsibilities

Lead client engagements from pre-sale support through mobilisation, delivery, commercial control, handover and sustainment.
Own delivery quality, governance, scope, planning, RAID, change control, reporting, financial control and client acceptance.
Provide consultative leadership to clients and internal teams, ensuring delivery reflects client objectives, adoption needs, business change impacts and the realities of education-sector stakeholders.
Maintain strong commercial awareness, protecting project profitability while identifying opportunities to grow client relationships.
Improve and embed CPS Project Management standards across engagements.
Support resource utilisation, escalation handling, problem resolution and client issue management.
Mentor Project Managers, supporting objectives, appraisals, development plans, career roadmaps and succession planning.
Support PM Team Lead cover, annual leave planning, sickness cover and recruitment activity.

Benefits

9 Day Fortnight (compression of 10 working days into 9 to be able to not work every other Friday)
PMI with Vitality Health
Medical Cash Plan with Medicash
Life Assurance (Death in Service) with YuLife
Employee Assistance Programme
25 days holiday (plus all Public Holidays) – increasing to 26 days after 1 year, to 27 days after 2 years and to 28 days after 5 years
Your birthday day off
Access to Costco Membership
Salary Sacrifice Scheme, applicable to: Workplace Pension
EV Car Schemes
Discounted Gym Membership
Cycle Schemes
Home & Tech discounts for IKEA and Curry PC World
Holiday Exchange Scheme: buy up to 10 additional day per year and sell up to 5.
Quarterly and annual star performer awards – voted for by your peers and colleagues
Spot Awards of £25 and up, to instantly recognise excellence in you and your colleagues
Annual professional and personal training budget to support your PDP
Career Development Frameworks
Reward schemes that are designed to thank you for your hard work and make life a little more affordable.
Monthly employee experience/engagement survey
Quarterly company meetings
Social/team building events, organised by our incredible Employee Forum
Regular, meaningful 1 to 1s
Long service recognition at 5, 10, 15, 20 years and onwards
Award winning culture
Great Place to Work™ Nov 25 to Nov 26
Best Workplaces for Development™ 2026
Best Workplaces for Wellbeing™ 2026
Best Workplaces for Women™ 2025
Best Workplaces in Tech™ 2025