Project Manager

About the role 

East London Waste Authority (ELWA) has an exciting opportunity for a Project Manager to join our passionate, friendly and successful team.

ELWA is the authority responsible for waste treatment and disposal in four East London boroughs. We pride ourselves on being a flexible, agile, and innovative organisation, and we are looking for the right individual to make a huge difference to the future of East London’s waste management services.

ELWA’s waste services are currently operated under one Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract, which expires in December 2027 and we are now transforming the way in which these services will be delivered in the future. We have established the Procurement and Contract Expiry Programme (PACE Programme) to manage, under one programme, the complex demobilisation of the existing contract and the procurement of the future services. This is one of the first large scale waste PFI contracts to expire nationally and this role could be a career defining moment for the right person given that many other organisations will want to learn from our experience in the future.

You will be a significant player in designing and implementing the procurement processes to replace the current contract and in promoting best value, social value, efficiency and reducing our environmental impact.

The role is well suited to either a project manager, who is looking to develop experience in complex waste procurements and be involved in the expiry of a large scale PFI project; or a waste professional, who is looking to develop experience in complex procurement projects.

For more information, please see the full job description:

https://eastlondonwaste.gov.uk/contact/vacancies/

For a confidential discussion about this exciting opportunity, contact Mark Simpkins, Procurement Programme Manager (07596 560360).

What we’re looking for

To deliver this role successfully, you will need the following skills, knowledge and experience:

•    Procurement knowledge to implement the complex procurement procedures required by ELWA.
•    Significant programme/project management skills to ensure that the governance that ELWA has set out for the management of the PACE Programme is successful and that risk and issue management is effective.
•    Exceptional administrative skills with a high level of proficiency in Microsoft Office. 
•    Skills in consensus-building and partnership working across a number of organisations. 
•    Practical experience of managing digital procurement processes and the use of e-tendering portals. 
•    Knowledge of the waste and recycling market would be beneficial, experience in related fields will be considered. 

About us 

Established in 1986, the East London Waste Authority (ELWA) is the statutory joint waste disposal authority for the London Boroughs of Havering, Newham, Redbridge and Barking & Dagenham. The boroughs have a combined population of around one million people living in over 400,000 households.  

More information on ELWA’s governance can be found here: East London Waste Authority - Members 

Working with our partner authorities, our long-term aims and objectives are to: reduce waste generation; increase reuse and repair; improve local recycling and composting rates; and deliver new infrastructure solutions that will be cost-effective and support continuous improvement. We want to reduce the environmental impacts of waste, including the emission of greenhouse gases, and provide opportunities for local community benefits and regeneration. 

Our promise to you

As an ELWA employee you’ll have access to high street savings, supermarkets, cashback incentives travel and holiday discounts; discounts at restaurants and cinemas; local, national, and seasonal offers; and a wide range of better-than-public deals through our Wider Wallet scheme.

You’ll also have access to an Employee Assistance Programme, delivered by Health Assured. This offers a little extra support to manage life’s everyday challenges; both work and personal. The EAP is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and provides free, impartial, confidential information and support to help you gain a better work-life balance.  

Flexible working

The role is open to flexible working unless there is a practical or operational reason that you must work set hours and times, you would need to discuss this with your manager before anything is agreed.

Other key benefits include:

Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)

As a member of the LGPS you will get a pension paid to you when you retire as well as being entitled to other benefits such as life insurance cover, a pension for your family if you die whilst employed by the council, payments if you have to retire due to ill-health. 

Diversity and Inclusivity

To deliver our commitment to equality of opportunity in the provision of services, all staff are expected to promote equality in the workplace and in the services we deliver. As such we value diversity and welcome applications from all backgrounds including from the LGBTQ+ community, genders, ages, disabilities, faiths/beliefs and candidates from Black, Asian, and ethnic minority backgrounds.

Right to work in the UK

Please only apply if you have proof of the right to work in the UK.

Deadline for applications: 07 February 2025 

Interviews are expected to be held: w/c 17 February 2025