The Project Manager (Technical) is a key delivery role within the PCE Office at Safran Electrical & Power UK. Rather than being permanently assigned to a single programme, PMs (Technical) are deployed flexibly across the portfolio by the Engineering Acceleration Manager - directed to where they are most needed at any given time, whether that is supporting an active development programme, managing a legacy or historic programme through to close out, or contributing to PCE Office improvement initiatives.
Tasked by the Senior Project Manager (SPM) of the assigned programme, the PM (Technical) takes ownership of defined Work Packages and is responsible for ensuring delivery within Quality, Cost, and Schedule (QCD) objectives. They serve as a core member of the Integrated Project Team (IPT), coordinating day to day project activities, managing risks, tracking actions, and maintaining project data in Safran's project management tools.
This role is designed both as a substantive delivery position and as a structured development pathway towards Senior Project Manager level. PMs (Technical) who demonstrate strong delivery capability and leadership potential will be supported to progress, with access to professional qualifications, mentoring, and cross programme exposure.
Key Responsibilities 1. Project Organisation & Structuration
- Contribute to the development and maintenance of the full project breakdown structure in accordance with Safran One Safran project management standards, comprising: Product Breakdown Structure (PBS) - the complete breakdown of the product into systems, sub systems, and components; Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) - the hierarchical breakdown of all tasks required to produce deliverables; Organisation Breakdown Structure (OBS) - defining Work Package ownership and team responsibilities; Resource Breakdown Structure (RBS) - identifying human and material resources by skill family; and Cost Breakdown Structure (CBS) - the financial framework aligned to Work Packages.
- Ensure each Work Package is thoroughly described in terms of objectives, budget, and duration, and is linked to one or more deliverables. Each Work Package must have a single identified owner.
- Support the development and maintenance of the Project Development Plan (PDP) - the reference document for the project specifying the development approach, management responsibilities, meeting rituals, decision making process, and applicable standards (including APQP). Ensure the PDP is updated at each major project milestone (Master Engineering Review) and remains consistent with any higher level programme plan.
- Develop an initial cost estimate (NRC, RC) for the assigned project or Work Package in line with programme targets, using the Safran cost estimation methodology and consistent with the WBS and macro schedule.
- Develop and maintain the Development Logic (DEVL) inputs for the project, including identification of Customer CTQs (Critical to Quality), Key Design Drivers (KDDs), project milestones, and project flowchart activities from project launch to entry into service and beyond.
- Ensure all project documentation is established, approved, and maintained in accordance with Safran project management standards, the development lifecycle process, and applicable regulatory requirements.
2. Project Support & Delivery
- Support the Senior Project Manager in day to day delivery of assigned projects, taking ownership of defined Work Packages, action logs, and milestone tracking.
- Coordinate the project team and all WBS elements to ensure delivery within QCD objectives, escalating risks and issues to the SPM promptly and with recommended courses of action.
- Participate in Integrated Project Team (IPT) meetings, capturing minutes, tracking actions, and following up with functional leads to drive closure.
- Maintain schedule updates, risk register entries, and action tracking in Planisware OSMOZ and other project management tools, ensuring data quality and timeliness.
- Contribute to project status reports and governance pack preparation, ensuring accuracy and consistency of data presented to senior stakeholders.
3. Planning, Scheduling & Reporting and Risk Management
- Establish and maintain project schedules at the appropriate level of the One Safran scheduling architecture: from Work Package level detailed schedules through to project level schedules aligned to the project Master Integrated Schedule.
- Develop and maintain the project Development Logic flowchart and milestone plan, identifying key milestones, dependencies, and critical path activities, and integrating with customer and project milestones.
- Apply rolling wave planning principles: maintain detailed schedule visibility for the next three to six months, extending by three months on a regular cycle; update the schedule weekly in IPT rituals.
- Establish and maintain the project baseline; trace all change requests against it and identify scope, cost, and schedule deviations clearly and promptly.
- Ensure generation of the monthly project dashboard and KPIs for all assigned projects, covering RC/NRC, milestone tracking, technical progress, deliverables, KDDs, and Earned Value data where applicable.
- Support cross site schedule alignment between UK, France, and US teams, coordinating inputs and dependencies with counterpart Project Managers and ensuring consistency with the Master Integrated Schedule.
- Maintain the APQP timeline for sensitive deliverables - those associated with preliminary project risks - and monitor their maturity through scheduled assessments in line with the Safran APQP standard.
- Manage project risks and opportunities in accordance with project development logic and the One Safran risk management process, considering return of experience (RETEX) from previous projects.
- Identify and maintain a maximum of seven key Development Logic (DEVL) parameters - those parameters whose major deviation would require a revision of the project's DEVL - and maintain a risk analysis and mitigation action plan accordingly.
- Maintain project risk and opportunity registers, supporting the SPM in risk workshops, margin analysis, and review cadences. Identify alternate development paths ('Plan B DEVL') where appropriate.
- Conduct cost, schedule, and risk impact assessments for any project evolution or change, and present recommendations to the SPM or PCE with a clear analysis.
- Raise and track Engineering Change Requests and Change Notices in the company PLM system in line with the CR CN process, supporting the Configuration Management function.
- Assess and document project margins - technical, schedule, and financial - to protect the project against non quality events and support risk mitigation planning.
4. Customer & Stakeholder Coordination
- Support the customer relationship under direction from the Senior Project Manager, including planning coordination, scope management, and coordination of technical exchanges.
- Report project status within the project team and represent the assigned project at IPT and governance meetings.
- Build effective working relationships across UK, French, and US project teams, supporting the cross site collaboration model of the PCE Office.
5. Legacy & Historic Project Management
- Take ownership of historic project activities as directed, including close out plans, concession tracking, warranty obligations, and customer correspondence management.
- Maintain accurate project records and configuration status in line with SEP document management standards and PLM requirements.
- Liaise with Engineering, Quality, and Customer Support teams to resolve legacy project queries and obligations in a timely manner.
- Manage end of project archiving activities in accordance with Safran document retention and configuration management policies.
- Provide a synthesis at project closure covering performance versus original estimate, changes in scope, risks, and lessons learned.
6. Continuous Improvement The Project Manager (Technical) plays an active role in the continuous improvement of project management practice. This includes contributing lessons learned from project delivery into the wider engineering community, supporting the improvement and consistent application of project management methods and tools, and actively participating in the Safran Project Management network and expert community. The Project Manager (Technical) is expected to champion best practice, share knowledge across sites, and support the development of good project management discipline within the team.
7. Compliance & Governance
- Ensure proper application of Safran Group project management processes and standards across all assigned projects, including compliance with the development lifecycle process, applicable internal governance controls, and APQP requirements.
- Apply the One Safran Management Cycles framework: maintain a structured calendar of project management rituals (weekly work package meetings, weekly/monthly project reviews) covering risk and opportunity management, scope and configuration management, resource and capacity management, and financial reporting (ETC/EAC/variance analysis).
- Ensure proper workload and capacity management on assigned projects using the company project management tool, flagging constraints and resourcing risks early and coordinating with line managers as required.
Person Specification Essential Experience & Qualifications
- Demonstrable experience in project management within an engineering environment . click apply for full job details