About us

We're a truly international company, fourth largest in our industry and operating across 120 markets. An inclusive, innovative global FMCG business supported by over 27,500 employees. As we embrace a new era of growth, we are transforming. Our ways of working and culture are driven by a challenger mindset, constantly questioning the status quo. Our agility and entrepreneurial spirit, alongside award winning development programmes, enable innovation and success while creating exciting and rewarding career choices.

As we move forward, our customers will be at the heart of what we do, evolving to needs and expectations and committing to a more meaningful contribution to harm reduction by building a successful NGP business. Integral to our long-term success is our sustainability strategy, behaving responsibly and supporting our ambitions, all underpinned by high governance.

Encouraging inclusion at local levels and supporting a developing and robust diversity agenda globally, we’re fully committed to creating and maintaining an environment that celebrates and respects difference.

The role

Reporting to the GCO Programme Director, this role is responsible for the end to end project management for selected GCO strategic projects (non-I2L).  These projects aid the delivery of our consumer agenda and therefore a consumer centric mindset is required.

Working closely with the Project Leads, subject matter experts and enabling functions to ensure that projects are appropriately managed, governed and reported as per Imperial and GCO defined project management processes.

Delivers the result to the defined scope and quality, on time, on budget, and in line with the business objectives so that it achieves the expected business outcomes.

Key accountabilities

• Manage the end-to-end project delivery of GCO strategic projects to the time, cost and quality requirements, working closely with Project Leads, subject matter experts, Steering Committee and enabling functions.
• Responsible for applying the appropriate project management processes, methods, tools, and techniques.
• Create and maintain the end-to-end project / programme plan, including highlighting the critical path and ensuring any variances that impact upon it are communicated to the Project Lead
• Create and maintain of all project / programme level documentation (budget, risk & issues, resource, change, action etc.), including highlighting any material variances from plan to Project Lead
• Ensure all required input is gathered, collated and shared with the relevant audience from project/programme teams, to enable creation of project progress reports
• Coordinate, facilitate and document E2E project planning workshops
• Coordinate, facilitate and document project team meetings to gather required input for governance forums
• Coordinate, facilitate and document weekly stand up meetings with workstream/delivery leads
• Coordinate, facilitate and document ad hoc project meetings as required (risk management, lessons learnt, best practice etc.)
• Liaise closely with Project Leads to ensure all project planning and reporting is understood, accurate and any potential risks or issues are highlighted on time with the right audience
• Actively identify, mitigate, and escalate (as appropriate) any key risks associated with the project and/or interdependencies.
• Support the development and ongoing management of project business cases in order to steward the proposed project through business and governance for sign-off to proceed
• Ensure effective project governance and reporting, in line with business programme and project management standards
• Lead, support and motivate the project team
• Proactively seeks new and/or improved ways of working
• Identify and manage dependencies with other projects and key business activities
• Ensure the controlled hand-over of the completed project deliverables to business functions
• Completes lessons learnt during and after project completion

Key Capabilities

• Project Management (Level 4)
• Process Governance (Level 3)
• Management of digital project experience desirable
• Experience in driving complex projects – C-suite stakeholder management

Key Relationships

Internal (excluding direct team and manager)

Project dependant but typically:

• GCO Leadership Team
• Project team
• Enabling functions (IT, Finance, GSC)

 External

• Global & Local third party Agency delivery partners
• Consultancies
• Contractors
• Suppliers
• Agencies
• Third parties.

Education, Qualifications, Skills and Experience

Essential

Education

• Educated to degree level in relevant field
• Track record and proven ability in managing the end to end delivery of cross-functional and cross-geography projects
• Excellent working knowledge of managing constrained project plans and managing its critical path

Skills

• Excellent Project & Programme management
• Strong analytical, problem-solving capabilities, and comfortable with uncertainty
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• High commercial awareness
• Strong independent planner
• Assertiveness and proven ability to influence cross-functional teams without formal authority

Experience

• Project managing product development projects in an FMCG environment
• Effectively planning, managing, monitoring and reporting on multiple global projects simultaneously
• Building strong collaborative and influential relationships with a range of stakeholders, without having formal authority
• Experience of successfully coordinating remote teams, spread across multiple time zones
• Effectively managing and escalating risks in complex, pioneering projects
• Risk management in complex, pioneering projects
• Ability to apply project management practices and learnings in all aspects of a project

Desirable

Education

• Professional Project Management Qualification (e.g. Prince 2, PMP) or an equivalent associate certification
• Project Management Institute (PMI) Project Management Professional (PMP) APM Project Management Qualification (PMQ) or equivalent

Skills

• Process management
• Agile principles
• Budget management
• Project managing innovation or product development projects in a heavy regulated environment
• Digital project management

Experience

• Minimum of 2-3 years full time Project Management experience, in a relevant industry sector or subject area
• Working with professional project management tools.

What we offer

Imperial Brands offer a competitive package of salary, bonus scheme, pension and 25 days holiday (with an additional 4 days on top to cover the Christmas period and bank holidays). and hybrid work.

Next steps

Interested applicants should apply with their CV highlighting their suitability for the role.