Senior Project Manager

Job Description:

Your Impact

Leonardo UK is seeking a hands-on Senior Project Manager to lead the delivery of complex infrastructure and technology change within the Cyber Security Division. Working in a lean Integrated Project Team, you will combine senior delivery leadership with direct ownership of the plans, controls, requirements, verification, test and acceptance products required to deliver successfully.

You will manage multiple concurrent and interdependent changes for defence and wider government customers. The portfolio principally covers infrastructure and platform change, including software and operating-system upgrades, new application integration, cyber-security change, migration, transition and operational readiness.

The role requires resilience, sound judgement and strong negotiation skills, together with the confidence to challenge constructively while maintaining effective customer relationships.

The role is based at the customer site in London. There will be some flexibility to work from home, however, frequent site presence is required.

Security clearance is a requirement for this role. If you already hold an appropriate clearance, this would be beneficial.

What you will do as a Senior Project Manager:

• Lead projects and changes across the full lifecycle, from mobilisation and definition through implementation, verification, acceptance, transition and closure.

• Operate as a hands-on delivery leader as well as a manager. Personally produce, populate, review and maintain core project artefacts as required within a delivery environment.
• Establish and maintain integrated project schedules, delivery baselines, milestones, dependencies, critical paths, forecasts and credible recovery plans.
• Develop and maintain Project Management Plans, RAID logs, decision and assumption records, resource forecasts, governance packs, progress reports and auditable delivery records.
• Manage several concurrent deliveries, balancing competing priorities, specialist resources, operational demands and contractual milestones.
• Identify cumulative risk and cross-project dependencies, resolve priority conflicts where possible, and escalate with clear evidence, options and recommendations.
• Lead multidisciplinary teams across engineering, architecture, security, test and service management. Work collaboratively with Finance, Commercial, suppliers and customer organisations.
• Integrate security, accreditation and assurance activities into delivery plans. Coordinate the associated evidence, reviews, approvals, access constraints and security-cleared resource dependencies.

Requirements, verification, test and acceptance

• Translate contractual, customer and business needs into controlled, measurable delivery outcomes and acceptance criteria.

• Develop and maintain requirements catalogues, where required, and end-to-end traceability from requirement through design, implementation, verification and acceptance.
• Drive completion of Verification and Validation Requirements Matrices, working directly with the team to populate, maintain and update them. Identify unclear, conflicting, unallocated or untestable requirements and drive their timely resolution.
• Coordinate the creation and review of test strategies, plans, specifications, scripts and readiness evidence. Contribute directly to these products and associated test outputs where necessary.
• Develop and maintain Integrated Test, Evaluation and Acceptance Plans and associated evidence matrices, records and acceptance submissions.
• Plan and control integration, verification, validation, transition and customer acceptance activity. Ensure the supporting evidence is complete, coherent, configuration-controlled and suitable for approval.
• Drive defect, concession and acceptance-action resolution with technical specialists, suppliers and customers.

Commercial, financial and governance responsibilities

• Deliver against the contract, statement of work, agreed baselines, milestones and acceptance criteria. Maintain a clear distinction between contractual obligations, customer expectations and emerging requests.

• Control project scope, requirements, assumptions and change. Produce robust impact assessments covering cost, schedule, resources, risk, security, test, acceptance and contractual commitments.
• Recognise out-of-scope activity and engage Commercial before commitments are made. Support contract change, negotiation and commercial correspondence while protecting Leonardo’s contractual position.
• Manage budgets, forecasts, estimate at completion, resource demand and financial performance, providing accurate and timely information for decision-making.
• Lead reviews, governance and assurance activities, presenting status, evidence, decisions, options and recommendations.
• Protect configuration-controlled baselines and understand the relationship between delivery evidence, acceptance, contractual milestones and payment.

Customer leadership and ways of working

• Build effective relationships with customers, delivery partners and internal stakeholders in a formal, evidence-led environment.

• Negotiate confidently, handle difficult conversations and challenge unrealistic positions or unsupported assumptions while preserving constructive working relationships.
• Remain calm, resilient and objective under sustained customer, schedule and delivery pressure.
• Hold internal teams, suppliers, partners and customers to agreed commitments, escalating where required.
• Adapt rapidly to changing priorities and incomplete information without losing control of the delivery baseline or audit trail.
• Drive recovery activity where performance, schedule, acceptance or customer confidence is at risk.
• Promote lessons learned, continuous improvement and proportionate delivery discipline across the team.

What you’ll bring 

• Proven leadership of complex infrastructure and platform projects, including associated application or technology change, across the full delivery lifecycle.

• Demonstrable willingness and ability to produce high-quality project artefacts personally in a matrix environment.
• Advanced planning, scheduling, dependency, RAID, change and recovery-management capability.
• Practical experience of requirements management, traceability, verification, test planning and customer acceptance.
• Strong financial and commercial awareness, including budgeting, forecasting, scope control and delivery against contractual commitments.
• Experience managing multiple concurrent deliveries and prioritising constrained specialist resources.
• Strong negotiation, influencing, conflict-resolution and written communication skills.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary technical teams and suppliers without relying solely on direct line authority.
• Strong governance and assurance capability, including accurate reporting and maintenance of auditable records.
• Evidence of sound judgement, personal resilience and constructive challenge in demanding customer environments.

 

Desirable: 

• Delivery experience within defence, central government or an equivalent regulated and contractually controlled environment.

• Experience of cyber security, security accreditation, secure infrastructure, restricted environments or security-constrained delivery.
• Knowledge of IT Service Management, service transition and operational readiness.
• Experience managing subcontractors, third-party suppliers and partner organisations.
• Experience supporting bids, mobilisation and bid-to-delivery transition.
• APM, PMP, PRINCE2 Practitioner or an equivalent recognised project-management qualification.
• MSP or comparable programme-management awareness.

This is not an exhaustive list, and we are keen to hear from you even if you might not have experience in all the above. The most important skill is a good attitude and willingness to learn. 

Security Clearance 

This role is subject to pre-employment screening in line with the UK Government’s Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS). You must also be eligible for National Security Vetting (NSV), which may include Security Check (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV). For more information, please visit: UK Security Vetting 

Why join us 

At Leonardo, our people are at the heart of everything we do. We offer a comprehensive, company-funded benefits package that supports your wellbeing, career development, and work–life balance. 

• Time to Recharge: Generous leave with the opportunity to accrue up to 12 additional flexi-days each year. 

• Secure your Future: Award-winning pension scheme with up to 15% employer contribution. 

• Your Wellbeing Matters: Free access to mental health support, financial advice, and employee-led networks. 

• Never Stop Learning: Free access to 4,000+ online courses via Coursera and LinkedIn Learning. 

• Tailored Perks: Spend up to £500 annually on flexible benefits such as private healthcare, lifestyle discounts, and gym memberships. 

• Flexible Working: Flexible hours with hybrid working options. 

For a full list of our company benefits please visit our website. 
 
Leonardo is a global leader in Aerospace, Defence, and Security. Headquartered in Italy, we employ over 53,000 people worldwide including 8,500 across 9 sites in the UK. Our employees are not just part of a team—they are key contributors to shaping innovation, advancing technology, and enhancing global safety. 

Leonardo UK operates a grade-based salary framework with broad bands. The salary range shown reflects the approved grade band for this role, or a narrower hiring range published within that band, and is benchmarked against the external market. Exceptions above the standard range are managed through governance controls to protect internal equity.

Leonardo offers an additional allowances for some roles – for more information please contact [email protected]

At Leonardo we are committed to building an inclusive, accessible, and welcoming workplace. We believe that a diverse workforce sparks creativity, drives innovation, and leads to better outcomes for our people and our customers. If you have any accessibility requirements to support you during the recruitment process, just let us know. 

Be part of something bigger - apply now!

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Primary Location:

GB - London

Contract Type:

Permanent

Hybrid Working:

Onsite