Project Manager

Job Title: Senior Project Manager

Contract Length: 6 Months

Engagement Type: Umbrella/PAYE

Location: London, Hybrid

(ALL KPMG UK CONTRACTORS MUST RESIDE AND HAVE PROOF OF RIGHTS TO WORK IN THE UK)

Technology Transformation and Change

The Technology Transformation and Change Team delivers on the Digital and Technology Transformation ambitions for our Firm. It is a team which includes the Technology PMO function, change management experts, our Source team and a team of programme and project managers who deliver the technology projects and programmes for the Firm. The team’s mission is to provide expert execution to all projects, large or small, agile or waterfall across a wide range of applications; accelerating technological change and delivering impact. The team brings together multi-disciplinary stakeholders to execute technology projects and programmes through the full project lifecycle and enable robust delivery of our technology projects and programmes across our existing portfolio and in support of our future digital strategy.

Project and programme management

The Project and Programme management team have a breadth and depth of experience covering the successful delivery of technology. The Project and programme management team deliver on the Digital Transformation ambitions for our business and the wider Firm, supporting the digital strategy. The team provides a community of practice that shares knowledge and drives excellence through a strong community of Project/Programme Managers who are experts in delivery of Technology projects and programmes. The team acts as a Centre of Excellence and sets the benchmark for complying with the standards for delivery, adopting agile methodologies, modern tooling and championing the firm’s governance.

The Role:

As a Senior Project Manager within the xxx Programme, you will be reporting to the xxx Programme Director and will work closely with Technology and Business teams to ensure high quality deliverables, always maintaining strong 3rd party vendor and stakeholder relationships. Your role will be to provide the leadership guidance, stakeholder management and innovation to the day-to-day management of projects/programmes within Technology Transformation and Change. You will be responsible for establishing, running, and evolving the team’s core project management capabilities, ensuring focus around excellence in delivery, assurance, and quality.

You and your team will provide the tools and capabilities to support the delivery of the project/programme, as well as delivering project support and analysing data to assist management decision making and communication. You will be accountable for delivery of the project/programme to time, budget, and delivery of agreed outcomes. You will also contribute to the ongoing improvement of project management products, services, and process within the TTC team. You will have responsibility for supervising and performance managing Project Management staff which will include imparting knowledge, skills, and experience to support career development/coaching of team members and support provision of best practice.

The Senior Project Manager is a key leadership role responsible for overseeing complex IT sourcing projects, managing vendor relationships, and defining effective service delivery models. This role requires deep expertise in IT procurement, contract negotiation, vendor performance management, and IT service management (ITSM) principles. The Senior Project Manager will lead cross-functional teams, drive strategic sourcing initiatives, and ensure the successful delivery of IT services within defined time, cost, and quality parameters.

Key Responsibilities:

IT Sourcing Strategy & Execution:

• Develop and execute IT sourcing strategies aligned with business objectives and IT roadmaps.
• Identify and evaluate potential IT suppliers based on their capabilities, financial stability, and alignment with company values.
• Lead the RFP (Request for Proposal) process for complex IT projects, including defining requirements, evaluating proposals, and conducting due diligence.
• Negotiate contracts with IT vendors, ensuring favourable terms and conditions, service level agreements (SLAs), and risk mitigation strategies.
• Manage the transition of IT services from internal teams to external vendors, or between vendors, ensuring minimal disruption to business operations.

Vendor Management:

• Establish and maintain strong relationships with key IT vendors.
• Monitor vendor performance against contractual obligations and SLAs, using key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics.
• Conduct regular vendor performance reviews, identify areas for improvement, and implement corrective action plans.
• Manage vendor escalations and resolve disputes in a timely and effective manner.
• Ensure vendors comply with company policies, security standards, and regulatory requirements.
• Oversee vendor risk management activities, including security assessments, business continuity planning, and disaster recovery testing.

Service Delivery Model Definition:

• Define and implement effective IT service delivery models (e.g., insourcing, outsourcing, co-sourcing, cloud-based services) based on business needs and IT strategy.
• Develop service catalogues, service level agreements (SLAs), and operational level agreements (OLAs) to define service expectations and responsibilities.
• Establish processes for service request management, incident management, problem management, and change management, aligned with ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) best practices.
• Monitor service performance, identify areas for improvement, and implement service improvement plans.
• Ensure service delivery models are cost-effective, scalable, and aligned with business requirements.
• Manage the delivery of the end-to-end project lifecycle as defined by the Internal Delivery Framework.
• Ensure that all aspects of a project are organised and in conformance with the internal delivery framework, project timeline and deliverables requirements
• Day-to-day management of assigned projects including taking the project from initiation, through to closure including; Being the day-to-day person responsible for the successful delivery of the project/programme
• Effective co-ordination of the project activities across all capabilities and KBS

The Person:

Essential skills and experience

• A minimum of 7 years’ experience in IT sourcing, procurement, vendor management, or IT service management.
• Deep understanding of IT infrastructure, applications, and service delivery models.
• Knowledge of contract law, commercial terms, and IT security standards.
• Ability to work to tight deadlines and navigate ambiguous instructions with a positive and proactive attitude
• Demonstrable project and programme management expertise with experience of having delivered a number of large and complex projects from initiation to closure, on time and to budget
• Demonstrable experience of guiding, supporting, and managing project team members through complex deliveries
• Experience of managing multi-faceted projects, co-ordinating tasks, and activities, managing to deadlines, anticipating challenges, difficulties, and pressure points.
• Experience of technical delivery within highly regulated environments, ensuring strict compliance to technology policies and standards
• Excellent Stakeholder management skills and experience at all levels
• Necessary seniority to be able to take on the responsibilities required of the role
• Strong leadership and management skills
• Being able to understand the wider programme and firm objectives as well as the project/workstream aims
• A strong problem solver with a pragmatic and tenacious attitude to seek out resolutions

Desirable skills and experience

• IT Sourcing & Procurement
• Vendor Management
• Contract Negotiation
• Service Delivery Model Definition
• IT Service Management (ITSM)
• Educated to degree level in a business-related subject or relevant experience in a business or IT environment
• Professional certification in Project Management, ideally APM Practitioner, Prince 2, or Certified Scrum Master
• A good level of general technical knowledge including current, emerging, and future technology market trends and their impact on business

KPMG Overview

KPMG is part of a global network of firms that offers Audit, Tax & Legal, Consulting, Deal Advisory and Technology services. Through the talent of over 16,000 colleagues, we bring our creativity and insight to our clients’ most critical challenges.

With offices across the UK, we work with everyone from small start-ups and individuals to major multinationals, in virtually every industry imaginable. Our work is often complex, yet our vision is simple: to be the clear choice for our clients, for our people and for the communities we work in.