Senior Project Manager (HR/Ops Background)

ShareAction

We are at a pivotal moment: the climate and biodiversity crises are deepening, and inequalities are even more marked in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The global investment system has an oversized impact on many of these global challenges. We want to make sure that impact is positive. At ShareAction, we work with investors, policymakers and individuals to unleash the positive potential of the investment system. We aim to build a world where our financial system serves our planet and its people.

Our organisation is growing, and the frameworks that we use to support management and leadership also need to grow to reflect our new size and structure. Growth is a fantastic opportunity but also comes with challenges as things change and evolve. Being comfortable and confident in operating within a dynamic, changing, and sometimes ambiguous context will be important for anyone joining this fantastic and welcoming organisation.

Team

We are a friendly, intellectually curious and fun team at the heart of everything the organisation does. Organisational growth has challenged our capacity to deliver everything we want to, and we are now looking for some interim part-time support to ensure we deliver some key projects to the standard we want for our colleagues.

As well as being in the process of recruiting an additional Senior HR Officer (and an 11-month cover for our lovely Senior HR Manager, who will be off on maternity leave in October), we want to bring in additional support to coordinate the annual retreat from the 11th to 13th October. We also want this resource to lead on working with the organisation to explore new ways of working both as we move back into hybrid/office working.

Position

This role will focus on coordinating the development and delivery of the annual retreat taking place from 11th to 13th October 2022 (including being a part of that event). This event was delivered to an excellent standard in 2021, and so we have a high bar to meet! The event is very much about taking time to connect, imagine and have fun, as well as work.

Responsibility for the retreat will involve convening a working group of colleagues to shape the event and its contents (so that it is very much owned by colleagues across the organisation), project management (including monitoring and evaluation), delivery of the event and logistics. There will be support for the administration of logistics both from HR and Operations Team colleagues.

The role will also lead on work to explore and develop the frameworks to support new ways of working as we return to more office-based working and consider what hybrid working might mean for us and what we need to articulate and support the optimal culture in this setting.

Reporting to the Director of People, your knowledge, skills and experience will be valuable additions to all the work of the team, and there may be other pieces of work that emerge, but these two projects will be the priority.

What you’ll do (key responsibilities):

• Working with key stakeholder groups (the Leadership Team – LT, Senior Management Team – SMT, Retreat Working Group and Union), you will be responsible for pulling together a range of objectives and aspirations for the event into a coherent whole. This will include building in M&E measures.
• You will develop light-touch project plans that help to manage delivery, risk, cost, etc., as well as map short- and longer-term measures of success as necessary.
• Working with these groups and the HR team, you will shape this into an agenda and coordinate the development of session plans, etc. This is likely to include some work with external trainers and facilitators.
• You will be responsible for overseeing the management of logistics and materials to ensure the event is well managed and an exceptional experience.
• You will lead the work to explore and develop the frameworks to support new ways of working. This will include running workshops, researching innovations and approaches from other organisations and presenting options.
• You will deliver (or coordinate the delivery of) tools to articulate the outcomes of these discussions, including policy and guidance drafts.
• You will be working closely with the Director of People to ensure that projects and other goals are met on time, including presenting feedback and findings from the end of the projects.

Requirements

What you’ll bring to the team:

• You will have experience of successfully delivering similar projects in an HR or operational setting on time, on budget and at a high standard.
• You will be highly articulate and confident to be able to present yourself in writing and in person with the ability to draft well-written documents, facilitate working groups and present to groups.
• You will be able to build relationships for influence, with the ability to quickly understand a range of different perspectives and diplomatically navigate to build consensus. You will have the professional confidence to support others to deliver on their contributions.
• Naturally collaborative and flexible, you will be able to use your professional experience to identify options and include others in agreeing on solutions and have the persistence to embed new ways of working.
• You will be a strong team player with the ability to contribute professional challenge, create opportunities for others and deliver through colleagues both within the team and beyond.
• You will have a good understanding of the principles of project management and be able to apply these.

Other information

What we will do for you:

• We are supportive of flexible working and of working with colleagues to understand what that means for them.
• With general support from the People team, you will have the opportunity to own and lead your work. You will be encouraged to think about what you want to achieve and how we can support you to develop.
• The People team meets weekly; this allows us to all stay in the loop, as well as supporting each other with challenges. Although the team currently works primarily remotely, we try and meet monthly at our London office, and there are desks available if you would prefer to work in an office space.
• We have a robust business plan and other supportive documents in place to help guide you in the role.

Hours: Part-time (4 days a week)
Contract type: 4–5 months, fixed term
Salary: From £45,000 per annum, pro rata, dependent on experience, plus 8 per cent pension (non-contributory) and benefits including a healthcare scheme.

For further information and to apply, please visit our website via the Apply button.

Closing date: As we would like to appoint ASAP, we will be recruiting on a rolling basis.

ShareAction values and respects all differences in people (seen and unseen) and welcomes applications from all backgrounds, communities and industries. We are committed to having a team that is made up of diverse skills, experiences and abilities and so if you are not 100 per cent sure that you meet all the requirements but believe you could excel in this role, we encourage you to apply and use the application questions to tell us about your experience and what you hope to bring to this role.

We also actively encourage staff to work in ways that best suit their needs, and our flexible working policy outlines many of the options available, such as part-time and term-time working, job sharing, home working and working compressed hours. Please talk to us at the interview about the flexibility you need. We can’t promise to give you exactly what you want, but we do promise not to judge you for asking.

ShareAction’s London office is based in vibrant Bermondsey and a short walk from London Bridge underground and national rail. Remote working will remain the norm for many ShareAction staff as we continue to face the Covid-19 pandemic, with office space available in London for those who wish to use it.

Please note that to be considered for this post, you must be legally eligible to work in the UK. Due to current restrictions, we are unable to hire anyone that isn’t already living in the UK. Due to our size, we are unable to sponsor visas.