Associate Project Manager
The advert says the job needs UK security clearance:
“Please note that all applicants for this role must be eligible for SC clearance, as a minimum.”
SC clearance usually needs five years of living in the UK, and DV clearance usually needs ten. If you have lived here that long, for example on a Student and then a Graduate visa, you may be able to get it. Most people applying from outside the UK cannot, so the highest likelihood we give this job is Unlikely. Ask QinetiQ whether they would sponsor you.
Unlikely
Sponsorship likelihood
The advert asks for security clearance
£38,700 – £43,000 / year
Salary
Within the market range
£51,900
Going rate
Offer is 0.7× the going rate
This role may qualify for a Skilled Worker visa
Anyone can use the standard rate, but the pay clears it only if the Home Office classes the job as SOC 3543. We think SOC 2127 is more likely, and the pay is too low for that code. If you are a new entrant or a PhD holder, you can use a lower rate, and the pay clears the new entrant rate for SOC 2127. On the jobs board, Standard and the new entrant rate both show roles like this as Possible at most. The advertised pay goes up to £43,000.
We pick the code from the advert's text, so it is our best guess, not the employer's. Each code it could be has its own likelihood:
- Unlikely 2440 (Business and financial project management professionals) · 6% match
Ask QinetiQ what the duties are.
New graduate or PhD holder? Pick one of the lower rates.
What each route needs for this job
| Occupation code | New entrant 70% of going rate | STEM PhD 80% of going rate | Relevant PhD 90% of going rate | Standard rate 100% of going rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2127 Engineering project managers and project engineers Most likely code | £36,300 Clears | £41,500 Clears | £46,700 Misses | £51,900 Misses |
3543 Project support officers Also possible | £33,400 Clears | £41,700 Clears | £41,700 Clears | £41,700 Clears |
2440 Business and financial project management professionals Also possible | £39,500 Clears | £45,200 Misses | £50,800 Misses | £56,500 Misses |
We use the lowest threshold across the plausible codes. Likelihood is Possible at most when the pay clears only a lower rate, or only under a less likely code. A mark is for the top of the advertised pay. How the Home Office picks the code
About the role
Package: £38,700– £43,000 (salary dependent on experience) + Benefits
Role ID: SF20645
Are you ready to be part of the future? At QinetiQ, we’re not just imagining tomorrow we are creating it. From cutting-edge defence technology to ground-breaking innovations our mission is to empower and protect lives. Join us as an Associate Project Manager at our Portsmouth site, where you will have the opportunity to work with cutting-edge technology in partnership with some of the most brilliant minds.
The Role
As an Associate Project Manager, you will support the delivery of investment projects within the MTET Integrated Delivery Team (IDT), helping to deliver capabilities under QinetiQ's Long Term Partner Agreement (LTPA) with the MoD. Working within the BUTEC Evolution and Acoustic Signature Measurement (BEASM) pillar, you'll contribute to projects that maintain, enhance, and introduce critical capabilities across QinetiQ-operated MoD ranges.
Day-to-day, you'll coordinate multiple projects, working with multidisciplinary teams and stakeholders across QinetiQ and the MoD. You'll support project planning, budget and risk management, governance, and stakeholder engagement to help ensure capabilities remain safe, dependable, and fit for customer needs.
Your responsibilities will include:
- Support successful project delivery, ensuring outputs are achieved in line with agreed time, cost, quality, revenue, and customer satisfaction targets
- Build and maintain effective stakeholder relationships with customers, project teams, partners, suppliers, and wider business functions
- Promote a safe, secure, and values-driven culture, ensuring compliance with organisational policies, governance, and operating frameworks
- Monitor project performance, maintaining accurate financial and resource forecasts, reporting progress, and ensuring data quality across project systems
Essential experience of the Associate Project Manager:
- Demonstrates the ability to influence and motivate others, fostering a collaborative environment where diverse teams work effectively towards shared project objectives
- Builds strong relationships with stakeholders and communicates clearly and effectively, ensuring expectations, requirements, and project updates are understood by all parties
- Acts with honesty, accountability, and transparency, consistently delivering on commitments and maintaining trust with colleagues, customers, and stakeholders
- Supports the successful delivery of projects through effective coordination, prioritisation, risk awareness, and attention to detail, helping ensure project objectives are achieved
- Identifies and manages differing priorities, viewpoints, or challenges, facilitating constructive discussions and achieving positive outcomes for all stakeholders
- Demonstrates an understanding of customer needs, business development activities, and commercial frameworks, contributing to proposal development, project planning, and the delivery of customer-focused solutions
Essential qualifications for the Associate Project Manager:
- Holds Degree, apprenticeship or equivalent industry experience in a relevant discipline
We value difference and we don’t have a fixed idea when it comes to background or education, provided you can show the required level of experience and willingness to learn then we would like to hear from you.
This role is 37 hours per week based at our Portsmouth site with a minimum average site attendance of three days per week. Travel to other QinetiQ and customer sites will be expected.
Portsmouth Technology Park (PTP) is one of QinetiQ’s key facilities, focusing on advanced technology development and engineering services. It is dedicated to research and development, ensuring that complex systems are designed, integrated, and tested effectively to meet operational requirements. The facility utilises sophisticated modelling and simulation techniques to analyse and predict performance.
Please note that all applicants for this role must be eligible for SC clearance, as a minimum.
UKSV National Security Vetting Solution: guidance for applicants - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
#UKD
Our Recruitment Process:
At QinetiQ we are committed to building an inclusive, accessible and welcoming workplace where everyone feels valued and supported. We believe that a diverse mix of backgrounds, perspectives and experiences drives innovation and leads to better outcomes for our people, customers and communities. We encourage applications from all candidates and are a disability confident committed employer. If you have a disability or need any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know by emailing [email protected]. One of our recruitment team will contact you.
Many roles in QinetiQ are subject to national security vetting being completed, applicants who already hold the appropriate level of vetting may be able to transfer it upon appointment. A number of roles are also subject to additional restrictions, which means factors such as nationality or previous nationalities may affect the roles that you can be employed in.
Why Join QinetiQ?
As we continue to grow into new markets around the world, there’s never been a more exciting time to join QinetiQ. The formula for success is our appetite for innovation and having the courage to take on a wide variety of complex challenges.
As a QinetiQ employee, you’ll experience a unique working environment where teams from different backgrounds, disciplines and experiences enjoy collaborating widely and openly as we undertake this exciting and rewarding journey. Through effective teamwork, and pulling together, you’ll get to experience what happens when we all share different perspectives, blend disciplines, and link technologies; constantly discovering new ways of solving complex problems in a diverse and inclusive environment where you can be authentic, feel valued and realise your full potential.
Visit our website to read more about our diverse and inclusive workplace culture. www.qinetiq.com/en/careers/life-at-qinetiq
Our Benefits
- Matched contribution pension scheme, with life assurance
- Generous holiday allowance, with the option to purchase additional days
- Options to join Health Cash Plan, Private Medical Insurance and Dental Insurance
- Employee discount portal: Personal Accident Insurance, Travel Insurance, Restaurants, Cinema Tickets and much more
- We are proud to support the Armed Forces community by honouring the Armed Forces Covenant and maintaining our Gold Award standard in the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme
- Volunteering Opportunities - helping charities and local community
This description is the source posting as it read when we added it. We are not affiliated with QinetiQ, so check their own site for the current details.
Where this offer sits in the market
Engineering project managers and project engineers (SOC 2127) · UK · ONS ASHE 2025 · basic pay · ~68k in sample- Offer £38,700–43,000
- Middle half £42,848–67,132
- Median £51,324
- Going rate £51,900
- Threshold £41,700
- New entrant £36,300–46,700
The range sits inside the market's middle half (£42,848–67,132), so this is typical pay for the occupation.
This pay misses the £51,900 standard floor, but clears the £36,300 new entrant rate.
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About sponsorship for this role
Does this job guarantee visa sponsorship?
Not necessarily. QinetiQ holds a sponsor licence, but sponsorship for a specific hire is always the employer's decision. Be upfront in your application that you'll require it.
What salary is needed for this role to be eligible?
The offer must clear both the general threshold and the SOC 2127 going rate of £51,900. New-entrant and shortage discounts can lower it.