Project Scheduling Coordinator

Alan Turing Institute London United Kingdom Research Engineering Group
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Company Description

The Alan Turing Institute is the UK’s national institute for data science and artificial intelligence. The Institute is named in honour of the scientist Alan Turing and its mission is to make great leaps in data science and artificial intelligence research in order to change the world for the better.

Position

The Research Engineering Group supports the research work of the Institute by developing software and by undertaking data science projects to address real-world modelling challenges. We collaborate with Turing Fellows, Turing Partner Organisations, and other researchers, usually by working with these groups on projects.

The Group’s staff comprises about 30 research software engineers and research data scientists. At any one time, the team may be working on 20–30 projects, each lasting between a few months and a few years. Team members typically work on two projects simultaneously. In addition, the team has certain other responsibilities to the Turing, including providing support for certain computing platforms and software and supporting the Programmes in developing projects. The Group works on a cost-recovery model under which it is mandated to recover the majority of its costs from this project work. Thus it is important for us to have a “full pipeline” of work without over-committing to work we cannot deliver.

A significant challenge within the Group is therefore managing its portfolio of projects and the allocation of individuals to those projects. This work requires the following activities, among others:

  • Keeping track of the future project pipeline and ensuring that information about these projects is up to date;
  • Ensuring that projects that are due to start have the appropriate resource assigned to them in good time;
  • Keeping track of projects that are due to end and ensuring that the individuals allocated to those projects have a next project or projects to work on (and are not over-allocated);
  • Together with the management of the Group, allocating individuals to projects, taking into account their preferences and development needs and ensuring that their skills and level of seniority matches the requirements of the project;
  • Reporting on the present and likely future status of the pipeline, including: reporting, to Finance and to the Programmes what work has been undertaken on each project in the most recent period; reporting to the Group on the likely level of demand out to the next year or so; reporting on the Group’s likely availability for future projects within six months; ad hoc reporting on specific projects to the project team; and giving advance notice of likely problems in doing any of the above.
  • Ensuring that the Group’s view of the projects aligns with that of the Programme management team.

The group presently manages this challenge through a combination of outsourced systems (“Forecast” and “GitHub”) and manual processes. Over the next year we plan to develop better reporting and monitoring systems and we may eventually replaced some of the outsourced functionality with in-house software.


ROLE PURPOSE

The holder of this role will be responsible for the process described above, ensuring that the Group has a good understanding of its current and future projects, that individuals are appropriately allocated to projects, and that likely scheduling conflicts or under-resourced projects are identified.

The role will report directly to the Director of the Research Engineering Group. The holder will need to coordinate with the Programme Management team, Finance, and members of the Group.

The holder will be responsible for adapting the current processes as necessary or appropriate, either because the team is growing or because the holder feels that a different process would be more effective. We would expect the holder to assist in the transition to in-house software by providing feedback on usability and functionality as they will be one of the main users of that software.

The holder will also be responsible for undertaking administrative tasks that the Director may from time to time require.


DUTIES AND AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

The main duties of this role are:


  • Manage the overall process of scheduling members of the Group and their allocation to projects;
  • Liaise with the Group’s management to understand the skills requirements of projects and the career development needs of individuals;
  • Coordinate with the Programme Management team, Finance, and others, to ensure a uniform view of the Group’s activity across the Institute;
  • Ensure that the information on projects and project allocations is kept up to date using the current systems and any process that the role holder believes is appropriate;
  • Ensure that projects are staffed and that staff have projects assigned;
  • Prepare regular and ad hoc reports on the past, current and likely future status of projects and project allocations, including any under- or over-commitments, to individuals in the Group, the Group management, and for reporting historic resource to Finance;
  • Assist in the development of the scheduling process by providing a “user-centric” view and suggestions from experience;

Other duties

  • We expect the nature of the role to evolve as our processes improve and are more automated.
  • The holder will also be expected to undertake other administrative roles for the team as from time to time the Director may require.

Requirements

Essential

  • Undergraduate degree or equivalent experience
  • Strong competency with computers and applications (beyond Microsoft Office).
  • Track record of delivery, timekeeping, and managing deadlines.
  • Track record of working independently and taking ownership of a process.
  • Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
  • Ability to adapt the style of communication to suit the audience and ensure understanding.
  • Ability to keep accurate and up to date knowledge of services available in own and related areas of work.
  • Promptly deals with colleagues who require information and correctly referring them elsewhere if necessary.
  • Guides others by presenting options and choices to inform their decision making.
  • Independently makes decisions that mainly affect themselves or a small number of people and are guided by existing practices.
  • Experienced team player with the ability to work as part of a team and on own initiative
  • Commitment to meeting deadlines
  • Flexible attitude towards work
  • Commitment to EDI principles and to the Organisation values

Desirable

  • Experience in activity coordination, project planning, and/or reporting.
  • Experience supporting teams.
  • Ability to work across the Research Engineering Group to contribute and assist with the project coordination for this programme.

Other information

If you are interested in this opportunity, please click the apply button below. You will need to register on the applicant portal and complete the application form including your CV and covering letter. If you have questions about the role or would like to apply using a different format, please contact them on 0203 862 3340, or email [email protected].


CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS: Sunday 6th June 2021 at 23:59.


TERMS AND CONDITIONS

This full time post is offered on a fixed term basis for 12 months. The annual salary is £26,500-£28,000 plus excellent benefits, including flexible working and family friendly policies, https://www.turing.ac.uk/work-turing/why-work-turing/employee-benefits

This job description is written at a specific time and is subject to change as the demands of the Institute and the role develop. The role requires flexibility and adaptability and the post holder needs to be aware that they may be asked to perform tasks and be given responsibilities not detailed in this job description.


EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

The Alan Turing Institute is committed to creating an environment where diversity is valued and everyone is treated fairly. The Alan Turing Institute is committed to creating an environment where diversity is valued and everyone is treated fairly. In accordance with the Equality Act, we welcome applications from anyone who meets the specific criteria of the post regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

Reasonable adjustments to the interview process can also be made for any candidates with a disability.


Please note all offers of employment are subject to continuous eligibility to work in the UK and satisfactory pre-employment security screening which includes a DBS Check.


Full details on the pre-employment screening process can be requested from [email protected].