Project Manager

Moving systems to the cloud is rarely just a technology problem. Contracts expire at different times, suppliers have their own roadmaps, services have competing priorities, technical dependencies surface late and decisions in one area can hold up several others.

Were looking for a Project Manager who can bring that complexity under control.

WHAT IS INVOLVED?
Digital Services is delivering a significant programme to reduce the Councils reliance on legacy infrastructure and move suitable systems to modern SaaS, PaaS and supplier-hosted services. The work spans third-party applications, internally developed systems and wider infrastructure dependencies, so you wont be managing a single implementation with a neat start and finish.

Your job will be to turn that portfolio into a deliverable plan.

Youll bring together technical teams, service owners, suppliers, Finance, Procurement, Information Governance and other colleagues to establish what needs to happen, in what order, by whom and by when. Youll manage dependencies, risks, issues, budgets and decisions, and make sure problems are surfaced early enough for the right people to act on them.

Some migrations will be relatively straightforward. Others may involve procurement, contract changes, data migration, redesign, archive decisions or difficult choices about whether a system should be retained at all. Youll help make those routes clear and keep work moving where responsibilities cross organisational boundaries.

Youll provide senior colleagues with a clear view of progress and where intervention or decisions are needed. That means more than producing status reports. Youll need to understand what is really happening across the programme, challenge weak plans or unclear ownership and turn technical and commercial detail into useful decisions.

Youll also coordinate testing, cutover, service readiness and transition into business as usual, helping us make significant changes without losing sight of the services that depend on the technology.

You dont need to be highly technical. Architects and technical specialists will own the technical designs and engineering decisions. Were looking for someone who can work confidently with those specialists, understand the implications of their work and create the delivery environment in which it can succeed.

We encourage you to contact Benjamin Tulloch, Strategic Manager, Applications and Development, via email at [email protected] to arrange an informal discussion about the role.

WHAT WILL I NEED?
You will need to be educated to degree level or equivalent in related discipline and have experience of managing multiple complex projects and delivering significant organisational or technology change.

Youll be comfortable taking responsibility for work where there are competing priorities, incomplete information and dependencies between different teams and organisations. You should be able to establish structure quickly, work out where delivery is genuinely blocked and keep people focused on the decisions and actions that will move things forward.

Youll need strong project management skills, including planning, governance, risk and issue management, financial management, change management and benefits realisation.

Youll also need strong communication and influencing skills. Youll be working with senior managers, service teams, technical specialists and external suppliers, and will sometimes need to reconcile different priorities or challenge assumptions while maintaining productive working relationships.

Were looking for someone who can take complex information, understand what matters and present it clearly. You should be comfortable moving between detailed delivery discussions and concise reporting or recommendations for senior colleagues.

Experience of delivering complex digital or ICT projects, including working with suppliers and procurement, would be advantageous. Experience of cloud migration, hosting transformation or similar technology modernisation would also be useful, although specialist cloud knowledge is not required.

Please refer to the attached Person Specification for the full criteria.

INTERVIEWS
Interviews will be held on 17th November 2026.

We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that can show they meet all the essential criteria and have indicated they have a disability, are a looked after young person, care leaver or a veteran.

OUR OFFER TO YOU
We offer a competitive rewards package that includes attractive salaries, a generous annual leave entitlement of 27 days (rising to 32 after five years continuous local government service), membership of the excellent contributory career average Local Government Pension Scheme, and a range of flexible working arrangements including hybrid working (home and office) where applicable. Explore the full range of rewards and benefits on our website.

Rewards and benefits are subject to individual terms and conditions.

EQUALITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION
We are a proud equal opportunities employer and believe a diverse workforce brings fresh ideas and drives service improvement. We welcome applications from everyone and make employment decisions based on skills and ability. As a Disability Confident Leader, we actively encourage applications from disabled and neurodivergent people and offer support throughout the recruitment process.

HOW TO APPLY
Please note, we do not accept CVs. All applications must be submitted online via the Northeast Jobs portal. Use the Person Specification section of the form to clearly demonstrate how you meet the essential (and where possible, desirable) criteria. Applications that do not evidence the essential requirements will not be shortlisted.

Please visit our website to understand our position on using AI to support your application and for guidance on completing your application.

If you require assistance when applying for this role, please contact our Recruitment Helpdesk on 03000 26 27 27, or via email [email protected]

All correspondence relating to your application will be sent from [email protected]. Kindly check your spam/junk folder regularly to ensure you dont miss any updates.

CONNECT WITH US
Follow us on Instagram

Like us on Facebook
Visit our website