Project Manager

We are looking for an experienced, professional infrastructure Project Manager to join our team in the South West to initially deliver a new Outdoor Hub at Arlington in North Devon in 2025 whilst also supporting our strategic aspirations for offering outdoor experiences across the region which will then be delivered in future years.

In this post you will lead the detailed design and implementation of our proposed new entry-level outdoor offer at Arlington near Barnstaple (in North Devon). In doing so, the learning, experience and skills gained will enable the successful candidate to help shape and deliver our longer-term outdoors infrastructure pipeline across the South.

You will work alongside the property team and other project managers within the South West region, and provide support and mentorship as needed.  You may also be asked to lead on other projects within the region, as opportunities arise.  

Please ensure you include a cover letter within your application.

You will join a skilled team of project professionals – part of the South West consultancy – who are motivated and passionate about working at pace and scale.  As one of a multidisciplinary team of experts, including curators, fundraisers, building surveyors and project managers, you’ll be working with others, including external associates, consultants and contractors to help make things happen.

You will be part of a wider Project and Programme Management community, led by our central team, with a collaborative culture enabling shared learning and opportunities to develop your career to become the best project manager you can be.  

Day-to-day in the first year you’ll be working with the team at Arlington Court in North Devon as your client, and with internal and external stakeholders. You’ll get to be out on-site at some of the most beautiful places in the South West.

Your contractual place of work will be the National Trust office at Killerton. Our hybrid working policy means you can balance office and home working with site visits and meetings at other National Trust places. We’ll talk about this in more detail at interview, but you should expect to be at a National Trust site for 40–60% of your working week.  Whilst travel and occasional overnight stays are a part of the role, we encourage you to manage your own schedule to maintain a healthy work-life balance. 

The National Trust aspires to be the go-to provider of entry level outdoor experiences by 2030.  To help meet this aspiration, the Trust wants to improve the offer at key outdoor sites, ensuring that everyone is welcome to enjoy nature, history and beauty.

Arlington is a 2,700 acre estate sitting within the Trust’s North Devon Portfolio. The estate currently comprises principally of a Mansion (GII*), Carriage Museum, and Registered Park and Garden (GII*) with the remainder of the estate composed of parkland, woodland, farmland and watercourses. Very few visitors currently experience the wider estate. To address this, the National Trust is developing a new high-quality outdoor hub experience which aims to increase access to the outdoors, broaden our appeal and provide significant opportunities for people to connect with nature.

You will:

•Lead all future stages of the Arlington Outdoor Hub project lifecycle, including detailed design, implementation, close and handover.  Site work will involve managing contractors, working with site teams and using your soft skills to build relationships with internal and external stakeholders. Desk based work will involve drafting tender documentation, reviewing design information, programming works and reporting progress, ensuring CDM compliance and financial management. 

•Work with stakeholders to support the development of a viable phased pipeline of outdoor infrastructure delivery across the SW region, building on learning from the Arlington project to create efficiencies 

You can view the full role profile for this role in the document attached. 

We invite applications from people from all backgrounds and communities. This is a fantastic opportunity for someone who thrives in a complex and collaborative working environment and has the drive and ambition to deliver and make a difference. 

You will lead the Arlington Outdoor Hub project through the next stage of our Project Management Framework, delivering detailed design, overseeing the planning and consenting process, and refining the cost, time, scope, risk and benefits. You’ll then work closely with contractors, consultants, specialists and stakeholders to achieve successful delivery.

You will also contribute to the National Trust’s strategic aspirations for outdoor infrastructure delivery across the South, supporting the development of a pipeline and taking the learnings from Arlington to future projects.

As a leader, you will provide informal support and mentorship to other project management colleagues and will work with other project management colleagues at Arlington and beyond to maximise opportunities for efficient and effective delivery.

We’d love to hear from you if you're:

•able to demonstrate experience of successfully delivering complex end to end project/programme management, including defining resources, leading procurement securing project teams and matrix management across multiple projects/programmes

•a Professional with technical knowledge and skills in project management demonstrated by a recognised project (AMP PMQ/Prince) or programme management (MSP) qualification

•able to evidence ongoing CPD in your career to date

•you're a flexible thinker and problem-solver, skilled at negotiating and building productive networks, and confident in using your expertise to influence decisions with senior leaders

•a skilled communicator, with experience of managing complex and challenging situations with competing interests and a diverse range of people

•a leader for inclusion, who finds ways to create an inclusive culture

•confident and competent in budget forecasting and management

The National Trust has the motto ‘For everyone, for ever’ at its heart. We’re working hard to create an inclusive culture, where everyone feels they belong. It’s important that our people reflect and represent the diversity of the communities and audiences we serve. We welcome and value difference, so when we say we’re for everyone, we want everyone to be welcome in our teams too.