Sponsor

Job Description

Your new roleHere at National Highways, we have an exciting opportunity for a Project Sponsor to join our Major Projects Regional Investment Programme (RIP) South West Team.In your new role, you will initiate and oversee the sponsorship of one of our large scale, Tier 1 projects; either the A358 Taunton to Southfields scheme or the A417 Missing Link scheme. You will also have the opportunity to sponsor some of our smaller,but equally important projects within the Programme, as this role is flexible, and you could cover sponsorship for any of our projects in the South West.You will also support the Regional Sponsor in achieving the outcomes (benefits) of large scale regional and national investment, ensuring alignment with National Highways and the wider government strategic priorities. Identification and management of Benefitsand Business case for individual schemes will also play a large part in your responsibilities, where you will ensure appropriate governance and coordination is in place for projects under the post holders control. Finally, you will provide leadership, internalchallenge and support to the project delivery function, and own the relationship with the wider government.What youll be leading on

1. Assist in the development of the Project Brief Project and Portfolio benefits and business case, and that solutions are developed and delivered to meet the objectives and outcomes of the Roads Investment Strategy.
2. Develop and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders inside and outside of Highways England, building trust, gaining commitment to the programme and individual project objectives and benefits and clarifying and resolving issues and concerns.
3. Ensure that investment proposals fit with the longer-term asset strategy and secure the necessary investment for the business case. Ensure that there is adequate funding for the project throughout all stages of the lifecycle
4. Lead Value Management Review and initiate ad hoc reviews to support decision making and change control.
5. Champion the customer throughout the development and delivery of projects
6. Be accountable for managing stakeholders associated with the portfolio of projects
7. Understand the core business drivers, environment and organisation, and manage aspects of uncertainty to maintain clarity with and for project delivery teams, reconciling different stakeholder requirements.
8. Assist in the development of the project organisation structure and build the right team, ensuring provision of necessary resources and skills, role clarity and clear lines of accountability.
9. Ensure a commercially viable options appraisal is delivered which takes into account a full understanding of value for money, requirements, risks and interdependencies of asset failure throughout the local and strategic network.
10. Establish and chair the Project Committee for each project and ensure that the project is delivered in accordance with the governance requirements of Highways England and the Department for Transport; that decisions are subject to review at the appropriatepoint and are made in a timely way.
11. Be accountable for the key decision making needed throughout the project lifecycle in order to ensure that desired outcomes are delivered
12. Challenging and supporting programme teams associated with relevant portfolio/project to develop a deliverable operational concept for each project and for ensuring that customer and stakeholder needs are embodied in the delivery approach.
13. Act as an escalation point for risks, issues and changes, providing clear direction to the project management team throughout the project lifecycle. Identify and manage strategic risks within the project and work with the project delivery teams to manageand mitigate them.
14. Working with the regional Sponsor ensure the projects are adequately funded to deliver against its obligations and that timely approvals are in place;
15. Formally hand over project to operation, closing each project and ensuring a long-term benefits realisation plan is in place having conducted post implementation reviews and documented lessons learned. Transfer responsibility for post-project benefits reviewsto the Programme Committee.
16. Deputise for Regional Sponsor as required.

To be successful youll need

• Ability to evaluate situations and make appropriate level decisions pertaining to the outcome of project success.
• A good understanding of Benefits Management and Business Cases for the successful delivery of major infrastructure projects, and managing diverse teams, in a complex customer facing organisation, using a recognised Programme and Project framework.
• Evidence of working successfully to influence Programmes, Projects and Project managers both within and outside of the immediate team.
• Knowledge of the need to build successful engagement with internal and external clients and stakeholders, and development of collaborative relationships with delivery partners.
• Ability to drive best practice forward to effective implementation, dealing constructively with setbacks.

Functional / Technical Skills

• Business case and / or investment paper writing.
• Governance and assurance reviews.

A bit about usThe Regional Investment Programme is responsible for the development and delivery major infrastructure projects. We deliver capital improvements that will help to grow the economy and deliver wider social benefits and improve infrastructure.This is an exciting time to join as we begin to develop projects for our next investment period.The Regional Investment Programme South West covers the following projects, A417 Missing Link, A358 Taunton to Southfields, A30 Chiverton to Carland Cross, A303 Sparkford to Ilchester and M49 Avonmouth Junction.