Senior Project Manager

Job title: Senior Project Manager

Location: Service Headquarters, Maidstone – mixture of office and home working (with occasional travel, based on needs)

Hours: Full time – 37 Hours per week

Base salary: £49,914 - £55,426 per annum depending on experience (Grade 8)

Pension: Automatic membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme – career average pension scheme with 18.5% employer contribution

Holidays: In addition to entitlement to bank/public holidays you will receive 31 days holiday

Reference: R000929

Total Reward value: £59, £65,679.81 per annum

Being a part of Kent Fire and Rescue Service

Everyone is unique. Everyone has value. Everyone helps to make Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) a great place to work. We are one team. Together with our customers we are creating a safer future for Kent and Medway.

Being a Senior Project Manager

A Senior Project Manager is responsible for the management and successful delivery of medium/high complex projects, ranging from change initiatives that provide improvements to ways of working and services we provide, through to large-scale projects such as the replacement of critical systems (e.g. Control Systems) which underpin the risk critical service we provide our customers.

Working with a variety of colleagues across the organisation, you will lead and guide the Project Team towards successfully achieving project, programme and service objectives and outcomes for customers. You will also work with our fire partners, suppliers and other blue light agencies to deliver successful projects.

What you'll do

• Responsibility for the management and delivery of medium to high risk/complexity business and IT projects with durations over the medium to long term.
• Plan, coordinate and manage all aspects of projects including organisational change, logistical elements such as rollout of new equipment to end users, training and the implementation of new services.
• Actively participate in the design and planning of project outputs including new processes, systems, services and/or products.
• Produce and maintain detailed proposals, plans and specifications to enable projects to be approved and progressed, and technical activities to be undertaken by suppliers.
• Provide direction and supervision to the Project Team and allocate and manage work in connection with project activities.
• Work with partner services on key collaborative projects.
• Line manage project managers and/or project coordinators.
• Manage project budgets where appropriate, up to £2M+.

What you'll bring

• Excellent knowledge of project management methods, best practice, techniques, processes and tools.
• Relevant project management qualification at practitioner level (e.g.PRINCE2 or equivalent).
• Good knowledge of project finances including cost-benefit analysis and ability to plan, monitor and report against project budgets.
• Proficient in Microsoft Project, Microsoft Office applications and other project management tools.
• Experience of delivering successful IT and/or business projects of medium to high complexity.
• Leadership, influencing, negotiation and relationship management skills.
• Ability to prioritise, plan and coordinate complex projects
• Knowledge of IT concepts, IT architecture, planning, testing and implementation.
• Experience of specifying and establishing contracts and undertaking procurement exercises.
• Experience of dealing with partners, suppliers and external contractors
• Self-motivation and commitment to ongoing personal development and continuous improvement.

Additional benefits we're offering

• Blue Light Card discount scheme
• A range of family friendly policies including promoting work-life balance
• Access to health and wellbeing services and advice
• Access to LinkedIn Learning online training
• Free parking

Above all you'll become part of a service that is committed to the safety of our community

How to apply

Please complete an online application and submit your CV by Midnight on Wednesday 19th November 2025. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to a professional discussion with the opportunity to provide evidence relating to the skills, experience, knowledge and behaviours expected for the role. Interviews will be held between 24th & 26th November

Please email HR with requests for any reasonable adjustments or disclosures at the time of applying.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy upon receiving a sufficient number of applications. If you are interested in this role we recommend that you submit your application at the earliest opportunity.

Inclusion is at the heart of everything we do. We know that great minds don't think alike, so we rely on diverse thoughts, feelings, beliefs and backgrounds to create the best working environment that we can possibly offer.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service, its employees and volunteers, are committed to safeguarding, protecting and supporting children, young people and adults at risk. As part of our safer recruitment process, we will undertake pre-employment checks to verify your suitability for the role. These checks will include your references and a standard or enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. Enhanced DBS check with barred lists are carried out for roles with direct and unsupervised access to children, young people and adults at risk. Risk assessments will be undertaken on any disclosures identified as part of the pre-employment checks.

• As a Public Sector organisation with added responsibilities under the Equality Act, 2010 the candidate must demonstrate an understanding of what is meant by Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and how this fits in with their everyday work.

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Pay: £49,914.00-£55,426.00 per year

Benefits:

• Company pension
• Enhanced maternity leave
• Free parking
• Health & wellbeing programme
• On-site parking
• Sick pay
• Work from home

Work authorisation:

• United Kingdom (required)

Work Location: In person

Application deadline: 30/05/2025

Reference ID: R000864