Project Manager

Project Manager / 6 month contract / Day rate negotiable/ Hybrid – Reading(1 day a week in the office)

Are you as excited about the intersection of technology and retail as we are? Here at Primark we have an exciting opportunity for a Project Manager to join us on an initial 6 month contract, with hybrid working where you would need to go into our Reading office 1 day a week.(Please note that we would also welcome candidates who would like to be based out of our Dublin office 1 day per week)

This is a project/change management role accountable for ensuring successful delivery of a multi workstream project. The person will be responsible for upholding robust governance processes in a highly visible project.

Key Responsibilities:

Project Management

• Working cross-functionally with the Transformation and Technology Lean Portfolio teams, drive the delivery with the 3rd party vendor to successfully launch and embed the new tool in Primark.

• Create and manage the project plans for all designated workstreams and integrate change management activities into project plans, aligning on logistical support, planned releases and operational readiness

• Supporting business leads by planning and maintaining the key activities across workstreams.

• Identify and flag any risks to the critical path and/or budget and identify mitigating actions or escalating to the business lead as required.

• Establish and facilitate the meeting rhythms and routines for the project to ensure it is within budget, on time and delivering desired outcomes.

• Manage the resources, budgets and ensure that all workstream/s within the project are delivered on time and to a high quality.

• Communicate project health and progress to key stakeholders through insightful and accurate reporting.

• Ensure project KPIs are measured, achieved, and communicated and any concerns raised and resolved.

• Prioritise tasks and deliverables whilst meeting deadlines set by business.

• Identify interdependencies and risks within the project with a view to mitigation.

• Ensure the change, training and adoption are planned and landed to the highest standards.

• Design and develop any and (potentially all) resources to launch, activate and embed within target areas of the business.

• Working with business leaders, take a strategic view (aligned to Primark 2030) to understand specific challenges, change context, climate, and capacity to implement and adopt the required changes across the total programme from initiation to evolution.

• Apply a structured methodology and lead change management activities across the programme while remaining responsive to shifting demands and ambiguity.

• Define and measure success metrics and monitor change progress, focusing on embedding the change and business accountability.

• Embed and embrace our culture of change across Primark leveraging our Values and Behaviours, using data, models, frameworks, tools, and innovative techniques.

• Maintain oversight of transition to BAU management

• Work closely with the Business Analyst and the business owners (Transformation and Technology Lean Portfolio) to drive the delivery of the project plan and the transition from one tool to the next.

Stakeholder Management

• Support the project in identifying the full range of interested or impacted stakeholders.

• Build or support effective, tailored, communication channels with business leaders and all stakeholder groups.

• Represent the project on multi-level working groups and by coordinating inputs, preparing required reports, and meeting materials or delivering updates.

• Continuously evaluate and challenge any changes in activities to ensure these are aligned to and deliver the project objectives.

• Record, track and monitor agreed actions from all meetings and assign activities and tasks to the project teams’ members.

• Collaborate with internal and external resources to deliver project milestone and objectives.

• Drive the cross functional and / or remote team and keep focused on the end goal.

Project Governance

• Seek and maintain full understanding of all areas of the project, cross functional dependencies, resources, risks, and issues, and communicate and escalate as required.

• Work within EPMO and Change frameworks to identify impacts, capacity constraints and other project related requirements.

• Design and deliver Primark’s change related work (e.g. Change Impact Assessment, Learning Needs Analysis, Comms approach, climate, and capacity analysis) complete change impact assessments, capability needs, implementation planning, measurement strategy and embedding approach.

• Prepare any relevant reporting for Governance requirements including Primark LT, ABF, and other Primark Governance forums as required.

• Initiate and drive project reporting and insights using Primark templates to enable fast-paced decision-making and risk management including progress reports to key stakeholders and forums.

Project Governance

• Seek and maintain full understanding of all areas of the project, cross functional dependencies, resources, risks, and issues, and communicate and escalate as required.

• Work within EPMO and Change frameworks to identify impacts, capacity constraints and other project related requirements.

• Prepare any relevant reporting for Governance requirements including Primark LT, ABF, and other Primark Governance forums as required.

• Initiate and drive project reporting and insights using Primark templates to enable fast-paced decision-making and risk management including progress reports to key stakeholders and forums.

Essential knowledge, education, skills, and experience:

• At least 3+ years project / change management experience with an understanding of industry standard methodologies e.g. Agile, Lean, Hybrid, Waterfall

• Formal Project Management qualification (desired).

• Carried out the same role in an FMCG or Retail company

• Experience of using PPM Tools.

• Proven experience driving big initiatives to implementation (cross border / cross functional)

• Be an initiative-taking self-starter with a can-do attitude.

• Excellent diligence and an ability to analyse and interrogate high volumes of data as well as demonstrating an ability to focus on higher level overview.

• Excellent communication skills enabling effective engagement with a diverse stakeholder group both across the business and externally (cross border / multiple international groups).

• Effective and persuasive presentation skills, including the ability to present complex information in an understandable manner to all areas of the business.

• Collaborative team player demonstrating high levels of emotional intelligence and the ability to push back with professionalism.

• Sound judgement, unquestionable ethics, and integrity with high degree of transparency and trust.

• Proven ability to build trusted relationships and collaborates across multi country, diverse and multi-functional teams to successfully drive business objectives.

• Ability to lead, influence and coach others at all levels of the organisation.

The successful project manager would have project and change management experience within a retail or FMCG environment

Please note, to be considered for this role we can only accept candidates who are happy to work through an umbrella company, this is non-negotiable.

If the above is of interested to you then please apply and we can discuss the next steps in detail.