Senior Project Manager

As a Senior Project Manager, you will play a key role within the Digital and Transformation teams at Thames Water, leading complex IT projects and technology-enabled business change initiatives that support the organisation's strategic objectives.
Working closely with business stakeholders, technical specialists, and programme leadership, you will define project scope, objectives, plans, budgets, and resource requirements, ensuring delivery meets agreed standards for time, quality, and cost. You will lead cross-functional teams comprising Project Management, Business Analysis, Test Management, Service Introduction, and Solution Architecture capabilities to deliver successful business outcomes.
This role contributes to Thames Water's digital transformation by driving effective project governance, managing risks and dependencies, maintaining financial control, and ensuring projects comply with the organisation's delivery framework and assurance standards.
What you'll be doing as a Senior Project Manager

• Lead cross-functional project teams to deliver agreed objectives, milestones, and deliverables across IT and technology-enabled business change projects.
• Define and baseline project scope, objectives, delivery plans, budgets, and resource requirements.
• Identify, engage, and manage stakeholders, ensuring effective communication, alignment, and decision-making throughout the project lifecycle.
• Establish and lead project review meetings covering cost, schedule, resources, RAID, and RAG status.
• Produce and review project status reports, providing clear updates on progress, risks, issues, dependencies, and delivery performance.
• Manage project resources, including forecasting, allocation, prioritisation, mentoring, and team development.
• Attend project appraisal workshops, reviews, and kick-off meetings, and participate in the Thames Digital Gate 0 process to assess and manage demand.
• Maintain project cost models covering actual expenditure, accruals, forecasts, and budget performance, ensuring costs remain within approved tolerances.
• Manage project risks, issues, and dependencies across projects, programmes, and portfolios, resolving matters within agreed tolerances and escalating where necessary.
• Manage project changes relating to scope, schedule, and budget, ensuring changes outside agreed tolerances are appropriately escalated and approved.
• Implement and maintain project governance, controls, and reporting standards in line with Thames Water's delivery framework.
• Ensure project deliverables are completed, reviewed, and signed off appropriately, and participate in PMO assurance activities.
• Review project closure reports and participate in lessons learned workshops to support continuous improvement.

What you should bring to the role

• Experience managing IT projects and technology-enabled business change initiatives in complex delivery environments.
• Proven ability to define project objectives, develop delivery plans, and motivate multidisciplinary teams to achieve agreed outcomes.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, balancing diplomacy and tact with assertiveness when managing competing priorities.
• Experience managing project budgets, resources, risks, issues, dependencies, and change control.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to produce clear, compelling, and unambiguous project documentation.
• Strong planning, organisational, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage competing demands and resolve delivery challenges.
• Experience leading project boards, steering groups, and governance reviews to support effective decision-making.
• A proactive and collaborative approach, with a focus on accountability, continuous improvement, and business outcomes.

Base location - Hybrid - Clearwater Court, Reading
Working pattern - 36 hours Monday to Friday.
Technical experience and skills

• Experience managing IT and digital projects across the full project lifecycle, from initiation and planning through to delivery and closure.
• Strong understanding of industry-standard project management methodologies, including PRINCE2 and MSP planning principles.
• Experience developing and maintaining project plans, schedules, resource forecasts, and delivery milestones.
• Experience managing project budgets, cost models, financial forecasts, and reporting.
• Experience maintaining RAID logs and managing project dependencies, change control, and escalation processes.
• Experience preparing project status reports, governance documentation, and updates for senior stakeholders, project boards, and PMOs.
• Knowledge of project governance, assurance processes, approvals, and deliverable sign-off.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, including PowerPoint, Word, and Excel.

Desirable qualifications and experience

• Degree-level qualification.
• PRINCE2 Practitioner and MSP Practitioner qualifications.
• P3O qualification or a good understanding of PMO structures, governance, and assurance practices.
• Experience delivering large, complex IT and technology-enabled business change projects within a large organisation.
• Experience managing multiple projects across programmes and portfolios, including investment appraisals, business cases, and financial controls.

What's in it for you?

• Competitive salary up to £80,000 per annum, depending on experience.
• Car Allowance: £5,800
• Annual Leave - 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service. (plus bank holidays)
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON.
• Performance-related pay plan directly linked to company performance measures and targets.
• Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of you and your family's health and wellbeing, and your finances - from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance.

Find out more about our benefits and perks (Please note different T&Cs apply if on secondment)
Who are we?
We're the UK's largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people, and the planet to thrive. It's a big job and we've got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come.
Learn more about our purpose and values
Working at Thames Water
Thames Water is a unique, rewarding, and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you'll enjoy meaningful career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.
If you're looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people's lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we'll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region, and our planet.
Real purpose, real support, real opportunities. Come and join the Thames Water family. Why choose us? Learn more.
We're committed to being a great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and want to ensure you feel supported throughout the recruitment process. If you need any adjustments, whether that's extra time, accessible formats, or anything else just let us know, we're here to help and support.
When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you'll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It's also a great opportunity to learn more about our business and meet colleagues.
Disclaimer: Due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.