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A bit about us
Do you want to create a better world for animals? At the RSPCA, we believe all animals deserve kindness and respect. We work for the benefit of every animal – as well as pets, that includes farmed animals, wildlife, and animals used in science. Choose a career with us and make a difference for every kind.
We are looking for a Senior Project Manager to join us within our Strategy and Transformation directorate to enable, engage with, and support change across the RSPCA.
Contract: 18 Month Fixed Term Contract
Working hours: 35 hours per week - Monday to Friday.
Hybrid role: Your base will be at our London or Horsham office and you will also work from home and other RSPCA offices.
Are you ready to join our movement?
What a day might look like for you
As a Senior Project Manager at the RSPCA, you will focus on leading the complex North Site Fundraising Campaign using the society's project management framework. You will spend your time collating critical data such as: costs, timelines, and impact case studies as well as coordinating integrated campaign plans across various teams to maximise funding opportunities. A key part of your role will involve leading enthusiastic virtual teams within a matrix structure, whilst building strong relationships with internal stakeholders and supporting the Philanthropy Team with external donors. Ultimately, you will manage the full project lifecycle from initial proposition to final delivery, maintaining strict control over budgets, milestones, and risks to ensure delivery excellence.
This role will involve:
- Campaign & Multi-Project Delivery: Lead the complex North Site fundraising campaign and concurrent projects, managing tasks to meet quality, cost, and timeline targets.
- Standards & Budget Control: Ensure all work aligns with Change Portfolio Office standards while strictly managing project scopes, budgets, and expenditure forecasts.
- Risk & Governance: Proactively resolve risks and dependencies, and establish a Project Steerco to report on progress, finances, and issues.
- Stakeholder Communication: Use "soft influence" to collaborate cross-functionally and communicate persuasively with external donors, the Philanthropy team, and executives up to Board level.
- Team Leadership: Provide strong leadership to matrix and virtual teams, ensuring project objectives are clear and deadlines are met from inception to live operations.
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What will help you succeed in this role:
- Proven Charity & non-profit experience: A well demonstrated track record of leading large-scale (£500k+) charity projects and major fundraising appeals that deliver lasting benefits for the cause.
- Full Project Lifecycle Expertise: Complete comfort navigating every stage of a charity project lifecycle, from initiation through to business cases and into delivery, coupled with experience of implementing project governance to manage scope, time and budget.
- Master Collaborator & Influencer: Outstanding stakeholder management skills, with the ability to support the Philanthropy team, manage donor relationships, and adapt your presentation style for everyone from volunteers to the Board.
- Matrix Team Leader: Natural leadership skills capable of uniting, motivating, and driving diverse, cross-functional matrix teams toward shared fundraising goals.
- Experience of delivering capital projects and/or major fundraising appeals is desirable but not essential.
Successful candidates for certain RSPCA roles will need to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
Applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK as we are unable to sponsor visas.
Recruitment Journey
Our recruitment journey – key dates for you to note
Here's what the process looks like, no surprises, just a friendly guide:
Application
You'll be asked to answer 3 questions to give us a sense of your experience, skills, and potential. Don't worry if you don't tick every box - what really matters is what you can bring to the role and the team.
Panel Interview - W/C 10th August
If your application is successful, you'll be invited to a panel interview with the Hiring Manager. This is a chance to:
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
- Share more about what you've done and what you're proud of
- We encourage you to ask questions about the role, the team, and the impact you could make. Interviews are a two-way conversation, and we recognise that any career move needs to feel right for you as well as for us.
- Show off your skills and behaviours in a relaxed, supportive setting
2nd stage interview - Presentation (virtual) W/C 17th August
If you need any adjustments during the recruitment process, just let us know - we're happy to support you.
We think this role is going to be popular and are expecting to attract high interest, so we strongly encourage early applications to avoid missing out. The deadline for applications will be Wednesday 29th July.
Final note from us & good luck with your application!
We want to ensure we do all we can to give you a positive candidate experience through our recruitment. Whilst we do try to give feedback where we can, sometimes due to receiving high levels of applications, this may not always be possible.
Our vision is a world where all animals are respected and treated with kindness and compassion. Our purpose is to inspire everyone to create a better world for animals. We are building the future of a diverse Society, and our priority is to support animal welfare by finding people from all backgrounds who are committed to our purpose. For this reason we actively encourage a wide diversity of applications - in particular from members of minority ethnic groups, and people with disabilities - as these candidates are currently under-represented at the RSPCA. Your transferable skills & lived experiences could make you a valuable addition to our RSPCA Family!
We're here to support you and encourage you to let us know if you need any adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process. Please feel free to contact us at resourcingteam@rspca.org.uk or 0300 123 0685 so we can ensure the process works for you.
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