Project Management Practice Manager – The University of Auckland – Auckland City, Auckland

Te Whiwhinga mahi | The opportunity

We are looking for a Project Management Practice Manager to join the team in University Strategic Programme Office (USPO). This is a team leadership position that would be well suited to a Programme Manager or Project Management people leader with a background in change initiatives and agile methodologies.

You will report to our USPO Manager who reports to the Director of Organisation Performance and Improvement, and work alongside four Programme Managers who will manage their portfolio of projects whilst you provide Developmental and Operational Leadership to our team of 15 permanent and contract Project Managers, providing them with best practice guidance and supporting their career development. You will also be responsible for Quality Assurance and Resource Management of projects, using our standards and your expertise to identify problems before they cause adverse impacts to timescales and budgets.

This role will include some project management of selected initiatives, whether that be end-to-end project management or short-term remediation activities but your core focus will be on people management, high level guidance of best practice and Quality Assurance.

For more detailed information, please refer to the Position Description.

Mō tō mātou rōpū | About the team

The University Strategic Programme Office (USPO) are members of the Organisation Performance and Improvement department. Our office manages the strategic portfolio consisting of programmes and projects typically enterprise wide, which have large change impacts for the University. This includes establishing an optimised portfolio and the delivery of that portfolio utilising the P3M (portfolio programme and project management) methodology. This methodology has been built with the support of our strategic partners: Business Transformation Office (BTO), and Digital Services.

He kōrero mōu | About you

We are searching for someone with a Bachelor’s degree or relevant tertiary qualification ideally, in Business or Management and a Project Management qualification (e.g. PgMP, MSP, PMP, Prince2), and you will need to be able to demonstrate:

• At least 3 years Team Leadership Experience working in a PMO or project environment
• Experience with improving Resource Management maturity, designing & implementation
• Demonstrable experience of Quality Assurance implementation for strategic improvement projects
• Previous experience working in a hybrid project / agile environment
• Experience in leadership and team development
• Good practice knowledge of resource management processes and methods in complex organisations
• Previous experience working as a resource manager, team manager or project manager
• Strong communication skills including but not limited to designing reports, and documents for internal/external audiences and presenting to various internal audiences

From a software perspective your application will stand-out if you have experience with:

• Project and resource management software e.g. Microsoft Project, Smartsheet and Sentient.
• Experience with O365 collaboration tools e.g. Teams and SharePoint

Ngā āhuatanga kei a mātou | What we offer

The University of Auckland is New Zealand’s leading university and maintains significant computational, laboratory and analytic facilities. Auckland itself is frequently rated as one of the world’s most liveable cities.

The University is committed to providing an excellent working environment through:

• Flexible employment practices (including working from home, flexible hours)
• Up to 6.75% company superannuation scheme
• A competitive salary with five weeks’ annual leave

In addition, we also offer career development programmes, discounted car parking, a generous parental leave allowance, childcare and a number of other discounts on internal and external services.

For more information please visit Staff Benefits.

Me pēhea te tuku tono | How to apply

Applications must be submitted online, by the closing date of 4 March 2022 to be considered. Please include your cover letter and your CV highlighting how you can meet the skills and experiences detailed above.

Please reach out to Neil Constable (Senior Recruitment Consultant) via Neil.constable@auckland.ac.nz for a confidential conversation. Please note we are happy to answer your questions but we do not accept applications by email.