About the job

Job summary

House of Commons

The House of Commons a unique and exciting place to work right at the heart of the UK's thriving democratic system. 

Behind the scenes, the House of Commons Service is made up of more than 3,000 employees who support and facilitate the smooth day to day running of the House. They provide professional services to Members of Parliament, their staff, and the wider parliamentary community.

Introduction 

Parliamentary Maintenance Services Team (PMST), consists of approximately 115 in-house staff and many contractors who maintain the Parliamentary estates (Commons & Lords) buildings, engineering systems and furnishings to ensure a fully functioning, safe working environment, equipped for the demands of the 21st century. And, what an estate it is. Consisting of buildings that range from the historic Palace of Westminster to the modern Portcullis House, it’s located within a UNESCO World Heritage site and spans four conservation areas.

The Agile projects team are an integral part of PMST and provide a flexible service to a variety of internal customers. We have grown substantially over the past 18 months and have a broad remit from asset replacement and fabric preservation to small projects which add value across the estate. Simply put, we manage maintenance projects from concept, through design and construction to completion, which is incredibly rewarding, especially when you see the end product! Our ethos is as Agile as the projects we deliver, providing direct technical leadership and taking benefit from innovation as we standardise our processes. As the team expands we’re looking for people who can deliver high quality work in a challenging environment and contribute to the continued operation of Parliament.

Job description

We are looking for a Project Leader with a bias in Building Services Mechanical (HVAC & Public Health). You will be responsible for the delivery of a number of Agile Projects typically around £50k -£500k.

You will be Responsible for developing business cases, design, procurement, construction and handover for a range of Agile Projects across the Parliamentary Estate. Fundamental to this will be the ability to communicate well with an array of stakeholders and clients at various levels of the organisation.

This role is bias toward mechanical engineering, meaning that we are looking for a project manager who may have a background in mechanical engineering and manage the interfaces/ work of other disciplines. The postholder will work alongside other similar project managers.

The general duties will broadly follow the RIBA stages and start at pre-construction with project definition, production of business cases, the management of design and procure and manage other professional services such as building surveyors, QS, CDM advisors or external PM’s. The postholder will be expected to understand the design work being produced and co-ordinate the detailed review and input from a wide array of specialist stakeholders including the design authority (who police the parliamentary design standards).

Some of the responsibilities for this role include:

• Review Project requests assigned by the Line Manager.
• Meet with the Requester / Client / End User, agree the full scope of works required and ensure it is accurately recorded.
• Develop the project brief and co-ordinate any initial associated design / optioneering work (in collaboration with the design authority).
• Once the full scope of works has been formally agreed, obtain sign off agreement with other Stakeholders.
• Procure and appoint a contractor and manage the construction and CDM aspects of the project brief.

Person specification

Qualifications and Experience:

• Degree educated (or minimum equivalent NVQ L5) in a construction related topic (e.g. Mechanical Engineering or Building Services)
• Qualification in relevant construction management (e.g. APM).
• Provide evidence of significant experience of managing multiple small / maintenance projects.

To be successful in this role you will demonstrate:

• Experience in Building Services Mechanical (HVAC & Public Health)
• Experience of successfully procuring, managing and delivering Small Projects in fully compliance with all statutory requirements.
• Engages with and understands customer requirements and uses these to develop technical solutions or interventions to improve performance and achieve strategic organisational outcomes.
• Influences the behaviours of others to achieve an objective, without damaging relationships.
• Actively promotes joint working and partnerships with stakeholders and other organisations to meet shared goals.
• Ability to work successfully within a team, whilst upholding the values of equality, diversity and inclusion
• Analyses a range of analytical techniques to understand complex issues and make strategic decisions.
• Communicates information clearly, orally and in writing, to a wide variety of audiences.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £44,118, House of Commons contributes £11,911 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

CV & Supporting Statement – If you would like to apply for this role, please submit your CV and supporting statement with a 500-word limit.

More information on the role and the full criteria can be found in the Job Description. 

Please note that most job offers will be made at the minimum of the salary range, other than in exceptional circumstances.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

Open to UK nationals only.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.