Principal Engineer

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.

Staff Benefits

In addition to your salary, we offer an attractive range of benefits including:   

• 30 days’ annual leave (Pro-rata) (increasing to 35 days after first full leave year). 
• Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%. 
• Access to training and development. 
• Flexible working. 
• Interest free season ticket loan and bicycle loan.

Introduction 

The Parliamentary Maintenance Services Team (PMST) is a team of approximately 250 directly employed House staff and contractors.  This team maintains the Parliamentary Estate (Commons & Lords) buildings, engineering systems and furnishings in order to ensure a fully functioning, safe working environment for the many thousands of people for who work in and visit Parliament and ensure the buildings are equipped for the demands of the 21st century.

PMST have direct interface with the other departments supporting the functions of both Houses, i.e., Security; Digital; Safety; Catering; Service Delivery and Strategic Estates (who provide project management to multi-million-pound refurbishment and build projects).

The Role 

We are looking for a Principal Engineer to join our Maintenance Projects Team. This Senior Management position will be responsible for managing the technical expertise, project assurance and direction of project delivery.

Acting as a lead subject matter expert, you will ensure the overall successful delivery of technical and operational compliance across Parliamentary Maintenance Services, by supporting accountable managers and ensuring that activities are compliant with statutory and corporate standards. Delivery of key responsibilities will best enable the Parliamentary Services Team to operate safely and effectively, ultimately ensuring the House is able to continue to function.

Some of the responsibilities for this role include:

• Lead the provision of subject matter expert advice, input and support associated with the delivery of projects within the Projects team, for example reviewing and analysing engineering design proposals and make recommendations where appropriate.
• Collaborating with the Programme Manager, and Business Planning Project Lead, ensure delivery of projects and lead redesign delivery of projects where required.
• Oversight of business plans, budgets, and ensuring forecasts and reporting are sufficient.

Skills and Experience

Qualifications – Mechanical, Electrical or Building Services Degree

To be successful in this role you will demonstrate:

• Proven experience of working in a programme management role overseeing the delivery of a portfolio of projects within a public sector body.
• Excellent knowledge of programme and project control processes and systems.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, able to communicate clearly and build effective working relationships with diverse stakeholders to achieve shared goals. Ability to create an inclusive and collaborative culture which values diversity and encourages openness, approachability, and sensitivity.
• Demonstrable experience of leading and driving process and other improvements, collecting and responding to feedback, innovating and delivering measurable results.
• Demonstrable experience of feeding into project risk management

Next Steps and Additional Information

• 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.

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