Project Support Officer

**Project Support Officer - **Outside IR35**

**Contract Term: 8 Months (Possible extension)**

**Contracting Authority: DEFRA**

**Location: Remote (Occasional travel for key meetings)**

We are currently seeking experienced Project Support Officers to help us deliver our ambitious Flood Coastal Risk Management (FCRM) Improvements Portfolio.

Our work makes a huge difference to communities and businesses at risk of flooding and coastal erosion. We develop the systems and tools for world class flood forecasting and warning to support our national incident response, managing £20bn of flood defence assets and maintaining a strong digital presence on gov.uk. Underpinning those outcomes are great projects providing better data and modelling, and the delivery of long term strategies that describe and set out the FCRM vision for England.

Our programmes deliver almost all of the nationally led business improvement for the FCRM business and Incident Management.

These integral roles support project managers to manage project data and information; fulfil monthly reporting requirements; and communicate effectively with stakeholders, to ensure our live and future programmes of work are delivered effectively, embedded into BaU, and the forecast benefits are realised.

**The Team**:
The FCRM Improvements Portfolio team has an exceptional track record of delivering business improvement projects nationally.

We’re proud of our ‘one team approach’ with Operational colleagues, and our focus on supporting and developing each other. This is an opportunity to make a difference, and to shape and deliver projects that will help protect people, property and the environment from a changing climate.

**The main duties and responsibilities of the Project Support Officers would be to**:

- Enable the smooth running of the project by supporting the Project Manager through the operation of project management processes.
- Co-ordinate business management actions and activities on their behalf.
- Ensure systems are in place to enable effective planning and scheduling.
- Manage project controls, reporting on the project status.
- Ensure organisational tasks are carried out efficiently.
- Govern compliance of the project, taking a specific lead on Risks, Issues, Assumptions and Dependency management and assurance reporting.
- Manage workforce planning, providing information for effective decision making.
- Engage with a wide range of stakeholders.
- Monitor project spend and contribute to the compilation of budgets.
- Lead potential risk areas, working with the Risk Manager and escalating as appropriate.

**You’ll have/be**:

- Previous experience of working in a formal project environment.
- Highly organised, self-motivated and possess excellent planning skills and financial awareness. Attention to detail is essential.
- The ability, knowledge, flexibility and confidence to work on any project you are assigned to.
- Comfortable working to tight deadlines, using your initiative, working collaboratively and managing your own workload.
- A good communicator, both written and verbal, with the ability to develop and maintain strong customer relations and adapt your behaviour to different situations and people.
- Proactive, and use your initiative to be able to demonstrate how this opportunity has benefitted you and the Team.
- Experience of using Microsoft office tools, including Microsoft Teams, Project, Outlook, Excel and PowerPoint is highly desirable
- Prince2 and other equivalent project management qualifications are also highly desirable- Please be aware that this role can only be worked within the UK and not Overseas._