Project Manager

Job Title: Project Manager – Improvement and Change Service Area: Improvement and Change
Directorate: Children and Young People
Location: Newham Dockside
Pay: £26 per hour UMBRELLA
Contract Type: Temporary - initially 3 months-36 hours per week

Shape the Future of Children and Young People’s Services Are you a strategic and innovative Project Manager with a passion for transforming services that impact children, young people, and families? We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced individual to lead a portfolio of transformation projects within our Children and Young People’s Services (CYPS) directorate – including Education, Social Care, Safeguarding, and Commissioning.
This is a pivotal role where you will drive change, lead service design, evaluate effectiveness, and work collaboratively to ensure meaningful improvements in outcomes for our communities.

About the Role As the Project Manager – Improvement and Change, you will:

• Lead and manage a complex portfolio of strategic projects aligned with our improvement agenda and Newham’s corporate priorities.
• Champion transformation across CYPS – delivering innovation, monitoring progress, and evaluating impact.
• Be the Local Authority Nominated Officer (LANO) for Ofsted and HMIP inspections, ensuring readiness and quality across all service areas.
• Build strong relationships across multi-agency partnerships, including with elected officials, professionals, parents, and children.
• Develop and maintain effective governance frameworks to enable robust performance challenge and strategic decision-making.
• Provide expert support on business change, using modern project and programme management tools and methodologies.
• Communicate complex change and improvement messages clearly to a wide audience – internally and externally.

About You: We’re looking for a highly strategic leader who thrives in complex environments and is committed to delivering real impact for children and families.
You will bring:

Knowledge and Understanding

• Deep understanding of the challenges and developments affecting children and young people’s services.
• Expertise in project/programme management methodologies (e.g., PRINCE2, MSP, APM).
• Knowledge of statutory guidance in children’s social care and education.
• Awareness of the policy landscape in local government and children’s services.

Skills and Abilities

• Ability to lead transformation and change across complex organisations.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and influencing skills.
• Outstanding analytical, planning, and communication capabilities.
• Skilled at managing multiple priorities, budgets, and deadlines.
• Politically astute, resilient, and collaborative in approach.

Experience

• Proven track record of leading successful change programmes in the public or private sector.
• Experience working across multi-agency partnerships to deliver impactful improvements.
• Demonstrated ability to evaluate performance, manage risk, and drive continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Degree level education or equivalent experience.
• Relevant professional development in project or change management (e.g., PRINCE2, APM, LEAN).

If you are interested in applying for this role, please contact Nicola at nicola.mansfield@servicecare.org.uk or call on 01772 208964