R&D Project Manager

Location: Clacton-on-Sea

The Pickering Group is a family-owned, UK-based electronics manufacturer established in 1968, specializing in high-quality switching, simulation, and relay products for industries like aerospace, automotive, and defense.

The R&D Project Manager plays a key role within the Project Management Department and the wider R&D organisation, leading the planning and delivery of multi-disciplinary projects from initiation through to release. They are responsible for ensuring projects are delivered on time, within scope, and aligned with business objectives. The Project Manager drives project execution through effective planning, risk management, stakeholder engagement, and clear communication. They communicate status and risks to R&D Leadership, and ensure teams have clarity on priorities, timelines, responsibilities, and dependencies.

A successful Project Manager is organised, proactive, and collaborative, with strong leadership and communication skills. They excel at removing barriers, managing competing priorities, and enabling teams to deliver high-quality results that support the organisation's strategic goals.

The R&D Department is made up of Hardware Design, Mechanical Design, Software, NPI, Engineering Test and Project Management, employing over 50 members located in the UK, US and Czech Republic. At any given time within R&D we expect to have in excess of 40 active projects being worked on from kick-off to final sign-off, ranging from relatively simple updates to complex instrumentation and chassis.

Key Responsibilities

Project Ownership & Delivery: Accountable for the successful delivery of all projects with R&D, ensuring agreed objectives, timelines, budgets, and deliverables are achieved. Driving projects from concept through to implementation and project closure.

Project Planning & Setup: Leading the development and maintenance of resource plans in collaboration with Department Managers and stakeholders. Clarifying project scope, objectives, deliverables, timelines, milestones and dependencies, to maximise delivery success.

Stakeholder Management: Build strong working relationships with stakeholders across R&D, Product Management, Production, Quality, Procurement, and Operations. managing expectations and ensuring alignment on priorities, timelines, risks, and delivery commitments.

Decision Making & Prioritisation: Facilitate timely project decisions through effective communication, analysis, and escalation where required, prioritising and balancing competing project activities where needed to maintain project momentum and delivery commitments.

Conflict & Risk Management: Identify, manage, and resolve project conflicts, dependencies, risks, and issues, implementing mitigation plans and driving corrective actions where project delivery is at risk, escalating significant risks and concerns to R&D Leadership as appropriate.

Project Reporting: Produce regular project status reports for the Head of Research & Development and key stakeholders, communicating project progress, risks, decisions, dependencies, and forecast delivery dates.

Project Systems Ownership: Own and maintain project management tools, systems and process’, ensuring project information, schedules, resource data, and reporting metrics remain accurate and current. Drive continuous improvement of project management processes, tools, and reporting methods.

Line Management

• Lead, motivate, and support the team, ensuring clarity of tasks, priorities, and performance expectations.
• Foster a supportive and inclusive team culture, encouraging collaboration, wellbeing, and development.
• Manage team performance through regular feedback, coaching, appraisals and objective-setting to achieve individual and collective goals.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, encouraging innovation and proactively addressing challenges.
• Support change management initiatives by guiding the team through transitions and ensuring minimal disruption to business operations.

Required Qualifications

Education

Formal Project Management qualification or equivalent experience.

Degree level qualification or equivalent experience.

Experience

• Proven experience managing and delivering projects within a fast-paced cross-functional engineering, product development, or R&D environment,
• Proven experience delivering New Product Development (NPD) projects.
• Experience line managing individuals or teams.
• Experience using project management tools (Smartsheet and Teamwork is advantageous).
• Experience using Microsoft 365 applications including Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, and PowerPoint.
• Experience presenting project status, risks, and recommendations to stakeholders.

Skills/Competencies

• Strong project planning and organisational skills.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Ability to influence without direct authority.
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making capability.
• Ability to balance multiple priorities and competing demands.
• Commercial awareness and delivery focus.
• High attention to detail and data accuracy.
• Self-motivated with the ability to work independently and proactively.
• High degree of computer literacy.

Preferred Qualifications

APM PMQ, PMI PMP, PRINCE2 Practitioner, Agile Project Management, or equivalent project management certification desirable.

Engineering or similar Degree

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM PICKERING

• People are at the heart of Pickering. We believe that each employee contributes directly to Pickering’s growth and success, in return we offer:
• A competitive salary
• 25 days annual leave, plus bank holidays
• Buying and selling holiday. Employees can buy up to 10 days if eligible.
• Life Insurance x4 annual salary, capped at £50k
• Corporate membership at the local gym and spa
• A thorough induction program, including a Pickering Pal being assigned to you to ensure you feel welcome and to check in on you during your probation
• Regular reviews and performance related pay increases (subject to business conditions)
• Employee wellbeing and mental health support through our partnership with Mind
• EAP with Sparks (Legal & General health and wellbeing digital home)

Wellbeing Program with Spa Medical

• Choice of salary sacrifice on Pension contributions
• Paid company social events such as a summer festival and Christmas party
• Career progression
• Training programmes
• Sponsoring further education

Salary sacrifice car scheme

Potential for Worldwide Business Travel (role dependant)

Free tea, coffee, and fresh fruit