Project Manager – IT & Digital

Job Introduction

We are committed to the development of our workforce. This position is only available to applicants who already work for Surrey County Council. We thank you for your interest in our roles and would encourage you to review our vacancies which are open to all. 

This role has a starting salary of £48,698 per annum, based on a 36 hour working week.

We are looking for an experienced Project Manager to join our IT&D Project Delivery Team and play an important role in shaping and delivering Surrey’s future technology and digital services. This role is based at Woodhatch Place in Reigate and offers hybrid working up to 3 days per week.

Our Offer to You 

• 26 days’ holiday, rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 31 days after 5 years’ service (prorated for part time staff)
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Up to 5 days of carer’s leave and 2 paid volunteering days per year
• Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
• An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
• Wellbeing and lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, and shopping
• A chance to make a real difference to the lives of our residents. 

About the Role

As a Project Manager within the IT&D Project Delivery Team, you will lead technology-enabled business change projects and complex, cross-cutting workstreams supporting services across Surrey. A significant initial focus will be helping shape and implement Surrey’s post-Vesting Day IT operating arrangements, including supporting the establishment and maturation of East “IT as a Service”.

You will bring clarity and momentum to complex change, turning evolving strategic objectives into structured and achievable delivery plans. Working across organisational boundaries, you will coordinate senior stakeholders, service owners, partner organisations, suppliers and specialists to establish sustainable new service arrangements and move them successfully from design into operation.

An understanding of IT service management, service transition and operational readiness will be particularly valuable. You will not need to be the technical expert, but you will need to bring together the right specialists, manage their interdependencies and ensure the change is delivered with appropriate structure, governance and assurance.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Leading complex IT and digital projects through the full project lifecycle, ensuring delivery to agreed scope, timescales, budgets, quality standards and governance requirements
• Translating strategic objectives into clear delivery plans, managing milestones, deliverables, dependencies, risks, issues and implementation activities to achieve successful outcomes
• Establishing effective project governance, providing clear reporting, recommendations, decision points and escalations to support informed senior-level decision-making
• Coordinating multidisciplinary teams and interdependent activities across architecture, technical design, service management, security, procurement, finance and implementation functions
• Working collaboratively with stakeholders, partners and service users to assess current and future service needs, evaluate options and develop practical, evidence-based solutions
• Supporting organisational and technology-enabled change by developing service transition plans, operational readiness activities, service blueprints, and tracking benefits to ensure sustainable implementation.

Your Application

In order to be considered for shortlisting, your application will clearly evidence the following skills and align with our behaviours: 

• Proven experience delivering complex projects or workstreams through the full project lifecycle, including organisational and technology-enabled change
• Strong project and delivery management skills, including planning, managing scope, milestones, resources, budgets, risks, dependencies and ensuring successful outcomes
• Experience of project or programme governance, including producing reports, recommendations and escalations for senior stakeholders and governance forums
• Excellent stakeholder engagement, communication and influencing skills, with experience working collaboratively across multidisciplinary teams, senior leaders, suppliers, partners and external organisations.
• Ability to analyse complex or ambiguous information, develop evidence-based recommendations, and coordinate effective delivery solutions across a range of business and technical disciplines.
• Knowledge or experience of business change, operating model implementation, service transition or operational readiness, together with experience of recognised project management methodologies (such as PRINCE2) and project reporting tools.

To apply, we request that you submit a CV and you will be asked the following 4 questions:

1. Describe a significant IT, digital, service transformation or organisational change project that you have personally managed from initiation through to implementation or transition into operation. What were the objectives, your role, the key challenges, and how did you ensure the new arrangements were successfully embedded?
2. Give an example of where you have helped develop or implement a new service or operating model involving multiple teams, organisations or stakeholder groups. How did you establish what needed to change, gain agreement where priorities or views differed, and translate the proposed model into practical delivery activity?
3. Describe a complex project or programme workstream where significant risks, issues or dependencies across different areas threatened successful delivery. How did you manage these, what governance and reporting did you put in place, and how did you ensure senior stakeholders had the information and decisions they needed?
4. Describe your experience of managing delivery involving a combination of technical specialists, service teams, suppliers, partners or other organisations. How did you coordinate their respective responsibilities and dependencies, and ensure the resulting service or solution was operationally ready and met the required business outcomes?

Before submitting your application, we recommend you read the job description.

Contact Us

Please contact us for any questions relating to the role. This could be to discuss flexible working requests, transferable skills or any barriers to employment. Please contact Graham Drage via email.

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 15/11/2026 with interviews planned to follow.

Please note that the successful applicant must be available to commence employment on or before 31st January 2027.

We look forward to receiving your application, please click on the apply online button below to submit.

Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) 

Surrey County Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation and will move to new authorities in April 2027. This role is currently employed by Surrey County Council and will remain so until then. If you are employed by Surrey County Council on 1 April 2027, your employment will transfer under TUPE arrangements to one of the new councils, with your current terms and conditions protected. The provisional allocation for this post is East Surrey Council, subject to final confirmation through the wider transition process later this year. Please see more information here: Information for applicants on Local Government Reorganisation - Surrey County Council.

Our Commitment 

We are a disability confident employer which means if you have shared a disability on your application form and have evidenced you meet the minimum shortlisting criteria as displayed on the advert, we guarantee you an interview.  

Your skills and experience truly matter to us. From application to your first day, we’re committed to supporting you with any adjustments you need, we value inclusion and warmly welcome you to join and help build a workplace where everyone belongs.