Project Manager – Newport NP10 8QQ
About the job
Job summary
Project Manager
The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is the official UK government body responsible for intellectual property (IP) rights including patents, designs, trade marks, and copyright. We operate and maintain a clear and accessible IP system in the UK, which encourages innovation and helps the economy and society to benefit from knowledge and ideas. We help people get the right type of protection for their creation or invention. Delivering the best IP services to our customers is central to the IPO strategy and we are building on our strengths in rights granting and related services to improve our digital service offering and data.
This role sits within the Portfolio Management Office (PMO) in the Strategy Directorate and offers an exciting opportunity to lead the delivery of projects that directly support IPO strategic objectives and corporate priorities. As a Project Manager, you will be responsible for leading the delivery of a diverse range of business change and digital transformation projects, working with multidisciplinary teams across technology, operations and policy functions. This includes delivering projects through the full lifecycle, from initiation and planning through to implementation, transition and closure.
You will be accountable for ensuring projects are delivered to agreed scope, time, cost and quality parameters, whilst effectively managing risks, issues, dependencies and resources. The role requires strong leadership, stakeholder engagement and governance skills, with the ability to work confidently with senior leaders, technical specialists and business stakeholders to drive successful outcomes .
Working Style
This role will be carried out in-line with IPO Hybrid working arrangements where staff are currently expected to spend at least 40% of their time working onsite from one of our offices. This role is based in our Newport Office .
The requirement for attendance at an office location can vary by role so we would encourage candidates to discuss working arrangements with the recruiting manager to agree a reasonable balance between working from home and the office.
Job description
As a Project Manager, you will be responsible for:
- Delivering business and technical projects through the full project lifecycle, ensuring outcomes are achieved within agreed scope, timescales and quality standards.
- Developing, maintaining and governing project plans, schedules and delivery artefacts, identifying dependencies and ensuring effective project controls are in place.
- Managing project risks, issues, assumptions, dependencies and change requests, ensuring appropriate mitigations and escalation routes are applied.
- Leading multidisciplinary teams and coordinating activities across business, operational and technical areas to achieve successful project outcomes.
- Building and maintaining effective relationships with stakeholders at all levels, influencing decisions and ensuring alignment to project objectives and organisational priorities.
- Producing high-quality project reporting and governance documentation, providing clear insights on progress, delivery confidence, dependencies and key decisions.
- Ensuring projects comply with organisational governance, delivery frameworks and the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) where applicable.
- Supporting project boards and governance forums by preparing information that enables effective oversight and informed decision-making.
- Collaborating with resource owners and delivery teams to identify resource requirements, manage delivery constraints and support successful project delivery.
- Supporting planning, testing, assurance and implementation activities to ensure solutions are delivered and transitioned successfully into business operations.
Person specification
Essential criteria
- Proven experience delivering business and technical projects using recognised project management methodologies and tools, within diverse governance frameworks
- Expert ability to develop and maintain key project artefacts, including Project Initiation Documents, detailed Gantt charts, Level 0 plans, and milestone trackers.
- Demonstrate adaptability and resilience in fast-paced, dynamic environments, working effectively within blended teams.
- Strong organisational skills, with the ability to prioritise workload, manage competing demands, and maintain focus on critical deliverables.
- Exceptional stakeholder engagement and communication skills, fostering productive relationships and ensuring alignment across all levels.
- Experience collaborating with technical teams (developers, engineers, architects) and a solid understanding of technical dependencies and integration points.
- Must hold a recognised project management qualification, such as PRINCE2 Practitioner, APMQ, Agile Practitioner, or equivalent.
How to Apply
Click the ‘Apply now’ button and complete the application form by providing the following:
1000-word Personal Statement
- Use this to explain why you’re suitable for the role.
- Structure your statement around the essential criteria in the Person Specification.
- Make sure to provide clear examples to show how you meet each requirement.
In the event of a high number of applications, we may apply a higher sift benchmark and initially progress only the highest-scoring candidates. Candidates who meet the minimum requirements but are not initially progressed may be placed on hold and invited to interview at a later stage should vacancies remain unfilled. Any decisions to progress candidates will be made strictly in merit order and in accordance with the Civil Service Recruitment Principles.
Candidates must hold a recognised project management qualification, such as PRINCE2 Practitioner, APMQ, Agile Practitioner, or an equivalent qualification, to be considered for interview. Candidates invited to an experience-based interview will be required to provide evidence of their qualification at this stage. Failure to provide satisfactory evidence may result in your application being withdrawn from the recruitment process.
If you require job-specific information, please contact.: Julie ThomasEmail: Julie.thomas@ipo.gov.uk
Behaviours
We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Making Effective Decisions
- Working Together
Technical skills
We’ll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- At interview you will be assessed on technical criteria.
Benefits
Alongside your salary of 47,766, Intellectual Property Office contributes 13,837 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).
- A flexible working scheme with excellent development opportunities
- 25 days annual leave moving to 30 days in annual increments (1 day per year) over 5 years of reckonable service. You will also get 8 days public leave and 1 day privilege leave
- Family friendly policies that support modern working families and individuals with caring responsibilities
- A variety of support functions; Staff Counselling Service, Peer to Peer Support Group
- Eligibility for special and office-wide bonus payments
- The opportunity to form part of our many inclusive network groups, find out more by looking at Intellectual Property Office (IPO) (diversityjobsgroup.com)
- A range of wellbeing initiatives; Onsite Gym (Newport office), Eye Care Scheme, Volunteering Programme, Cycling facilities
- Free car parking is available on site at our Newport office
- On-site shop, restaurant and coffee shop at our Newport office
For more information about what’s on offer at the Intellectual Property Office please review our IPO benefit pack attached to the bottom of this advert.
Please note that benefits may be subject to change.
Things you need to know
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window) , and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.
Additional details on security and vetting
Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check and if successful you must also hold, or be willing to obtain, a higher Security Clearance.
For meaningful checks to be carried out individuals will need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time, depending on the level of clearance, to enable appropriate checks to be carried out and produce a result which provides the required level of assurance. For this role the successful individual will need to have consistently lived in the UK for a minimum 5 years in order to meet the relevant security clearance.
Further information on the vetting process can be found at National security vetting: clearance levels – GOV.UK
If you have questions regarding this or are unsure if you meet the eligibility criteria, please contact Recruitment@ipo.gov.uk
Stage 1 – Sift
An initial sift of applications will be carried out to create a shortlist. This will be based on the evidence provided for the following Success Profile elements:
Experience
Your 1000 word Personal statement will demonstrate your Experience against the listed person essential criteria.
Stage 2 – Interviews
Candidates who pass the initial sift will be invited to a teams interview where they will be assessed on there Experience.
Stage 3 – Interviews
If invited to interview Behaviours and Technical based questioning will be used.
Specific information regarding the Success Profile elements that will be assessed at interview will be contained within the interview invitation.
Interviews for this role will be carried out in person at our Newport Office.
This recruitment campaign will keep a reserve list for 12 months. If you meet the requirements for this role but aren’t offered after passing the interview, you’ll be placed on the reserve list. If a suitable position opens up during this time, we will reach out to individuals in merit order.
The successful candidate would be expected to remain in the role for a minimum of 12 months before applying for another role.
The Recruitment team operational hours are 09:00 to 17:00 Monday – Friday excluding bank holidays.
Applicants to note :CVs sent direct to the IPO will not be accepted.
This post is being advertised to Internal, across Government and external candidates at the same time.
Incomplete and/or late submissions will not be accepted or considered. Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
We do not routinely reimburse travel expenses for candidates, however if participating in the selection process would cause you undue financial hardship or if it restricts your ability to participate, please contact the recruitment team for more information.
In line with Government guidance, successfully appointed candidates will need to provide documents for our Right to Work checks. Information on this will be sent within the invite to interview text.
If you require a reasonable adjustment at any stage of the recruitment process, then please let the recruitment team know via; recruitment@ipo.gov.uk
In the event of a high volume of applications, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) reserves the right to raise the minimum qualifying score at sift to manage volumes and ensure a proportionate and fair assessment process.
Please be aware that only one application per candidate is permitted for each recruitment campaign. Multiple applications, including those made using different accounts, may result in your application being withdrawn or rejected at any stage of the process.
For more information on the IPO’s terms and conditions, please review the attached IPO Modernised Terms and Conditions document attached at the bottom of this advert.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window) .
See our vetting charter (opens in a new window) .
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.
Nationality requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
- UK nationals
- nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
- individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
- Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s recruitment principles (opens in a new window) .
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.
Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window) ….