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.

The Alan Turing Institute is looking to appoint a Research Project Manager. The successful candidate will coordinate and support work within the Living with Machines project.

The post holder will work with the project team to oversee the everyday management of the project and work with the project lead to ensure effective leadership and management. This will involve understanding the resource requirements, drawing up detailed financial plans, coordinating any new funding applications, agreeing on clear milestones, ensuring that the milestones and aims are completed on schedule, as well as providing regular updates to the Institute’s leadership on the progress of project.

The Research Project Manager will coordinate and support a multi-disciplinary team of research engineers, data scientists and other researchers across a range of partners. These include universities and research centres across the spectrum of UK Research and Innovation funding areas as well as UK businesses, charities and third-sector organisations.

They will coordinate the interaction between all project stakeholders and sponsors, national and international partners that comprise the Institute’s university partners and external research partners where appropriate. The successful candidate will be responsible for coordinating the organisation of project meetings, facilitating their delivery (including minuting), events and managing the relationship with funding agencies. A significant part of the role relates to documenting outcomes and impact and producing reports for different stakeholders. The Research Project Manager reports to a Senior Programme Manager or the Director of Programme Management, and will work very closely with Professor Ruth Ahnert, PI for the Living with Machines project. The Research Project Manager will also need to liaise closely with Institute research and operations staff, in London and at universities partners, to perform their duties.

Living with Machines Project

'Living with Machines' brings together historians, data scientists, geographers, computational linguists, and curators to harness the growth of digitised archives, and model the effects of mechanisation on ordinary people at the dawn of the modern era. This project aims to use computational techniques and very large datasets in order to ask questions about the ways in which technology altered the very fabric of human existence on a hitherto unprecedented scale.

The project is carried out in partnership between the Alan Turing Institute, the British Library, and the Universities of Cambridge, East Anglia, Exeter and London (QMUL). The project is led by Ruth Ahnert (QMUL), and co-led by David Beavan (Alan Turing Institute), Emma Griffin (UEA), James Hetherington (Alan Turing Institute), Jon Lawrence (Exeter), Maja Maricevic (British Library), Barbara McGillivray (Alan Turing Institute and Cambridge), Mia Ridge (British Library) and Alan Wilson (Alan Turing Institute). https://livingwithmachines.ac.uk/

Duties and Responsibilities

Project delivery

• Coordinate and oversee the delivery of the Living with Machines project. This will involve:
• Working with the research teams to outline the resource requirements, to support them in applying for funding (if needed), to agree on clear milestones, and to ensure that the deliverables are completed on schedule;
• Working with the Turing’s finance team to draw up detailed financial plans and reports and with the Institute’s legal counsel to put the right contracts in place;
• Providing regular updates to the Institute’s leadership on the progress of the project.
• Working alongside the communications team to disseminate outcomes.
• Coordinate the programme’s events, training, and knowledge exchange initiatives. This will involve:
• Working alongside researchers and the programme’s leadership to identify a suitable venue for each initiative, to shape the agenda, to create the guest list, to publicise the initiative, and to ensure that meeting minutes are taken and distributed.
• Maintain up-to-date records that enable effective monitoring, control and evaluation of the programme’s research initiatives;
• Produce regular reports on activity to external partners and funders.

Operations and Resources Management

• Perform resources planning and financial analysis for the programme. This will involve assisting in the preparation of the programme’s budget, anticipating future staffing and operational needs, identifying potential funding sources, as well as managing the programme’s office space and payment of expenses;
• Coordinate the delivery of strong programme governance. This will involve developing, writing, and editing reports and presentations for the Institute’s senior leaders, Board of Trustees, and funders, which outline the programme’s progress and initiatives;
• Working with the People team, organise the recruitment of additional programme researchers or administrative staff. This will involve writing job advertisements, organising interview panels, and overseeing the onboarding process for new hires;
• Provide day-to-day support to the project’s research leadership.

The successful candidate will have:

ESSENTIAL

Qualifications and experience

• Degree or equivalent level of professional qualifications and/or experience;
• Relevant experience in project management, preferably in an academic environment.

Skills

• Strong project management and organisational skills combined with a strong attention to detail;
• Strong multi-tasking skills: the ability to balance competing priorities with minimal direction while maintaining a high standard of accuracy and attention to detail;
• Strong problem-solving skills: the ability to pinpoint problem areas and to identify creative solutions;
• Strong analytical skills: the ability to define, measure, and track key metrics for projects;
• Strong verbal and written communications skills: the ability to communicate effectively and clearly with stakeholders in academia, the public sector, and industry;
• Strong interpersonal skills: the ability to form and maintain relationships with a wide range of people at all levels.

DESIRABLE

We do not expect any candidate to have experience of all of the below. We are a learning team, combining many approaches in our work. Successful candidates will be able to demonstrate existing knowledge of more than one, depending on experience level, and, importantly, a commitment to develop new expertise in others.

• Degree in a relevant humanities or scientific discipline, or equivalent level of professional qualifications and/or experience;
• Experience in managing complex research projects involving internal and external partners;
• Formal training in one or more project management processes (Scrum, Lean, Agile, Prince II, etc.) as well as familiarity with project management tools and software;
• Experience working closely with Finance team on budget planning, reporting, reconciliations;
• Interest in history and/or data-driven research.

Application procedure

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, covering letter and contact details for your referees. If you have questions about the role or would like to apply using a different format, please contact them on 0203 862 3575, or email [email protected].

Closing date for applications: 20 September 2020

Term and Conditions

This full-time post is offered on a fixed term basis (up to 15 weeks) starting in December 2020 until 19 March 2021. The annual salary for this post is £35,000 - £42,000 (dependent on skills and experience) plus excellent benefits, including flexible working and family friendly policies, https://www.turing.ac.uk/work-turing/why-work-turing/employee-benefits

Secondments of suitable staff from relevant organisations (business, universities, government or charities) are welcome.

Equality Diversity and Inclusion

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.

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.