Project Manager - Digital SEND and Financial Projects

About Us

Compass Community is a values-driven organisation dedicated to providing care, education, and therapeutic services to children and young people across the UK. At the heart of our mission is a commitment to transforming lives by delivering exceptional services and leading impactful change. Our company values shape how we work, make decisions, support colleagues, and deliver positive outcomes for the children, young people, families, and communities we serve. As we continue to grow, we're seeking a dynamic and experienced Project Manager to join our team and lead the Digital SEND Programme alongside a portfolio of financial projects, driving high-quality business change and transformation across our organisation.

The Role

As a Project Manager within our Programme and Project Management team, you will have primary responsibility for managing the Digital SEND Programme and a portfolio of financial projects. You will lead the planning and delivery of application, process, technology, and finance-related change initiatives from initiation through to implementation, ensuring delivery to agreed scope, timelines, budgets, quality standards, intended business outcomes, and alignment with Compass Community’s values. This is a hands-on role requiring close collaboration across all business functions. You will engage stakeholders, coordinate resources and interdependent workstreams, manage risks and dependencies, and maintain robust governance and reporting standards to support successful delivery while role-modelling our values in everyday decisions, behaviours, and relationships.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end delivery of the Digital SEND Programme, coordinating its projects, workstreams, milestones, and stakeholders to achieve agreed programme objectives.
• Manage a portfolio of financial projects.
• Coordinate interdependent projects and workstreams, ensuring alignment with programme objectives, organisational priorities, and PMO governance requirements.
• Monitor and control programme and project budgets, forecasts, risks, issues, assumptions, dependencies, benefits, and delivery milestones.
• Provide clear governance, reporting, and assurance for the Digital SEND Programme and assigned financial projects.
• Ensure programme and project delivery is completed within agreed scope, timelines, budgets, quality standards, and stakeholder expectations.
• Lead multi-disciplinary teams including analysts, testers, trainers, finance specialists, change and comms, operational colleagues, and third-party suppliers.
• Track and manage project risks, issues, assumptions, and dependencies (RAID logs).
• Deliver robust change, engagement, and communications plans aligned to the Digital SEND Programme and each financial project.
• Maintain accurate and high-quality project documentation.
• Establish project scope, objectives, and success criteria from the outset.
• Use project management tools (e.g., MS Project, Azure DevOps) to manage programme plans, project schedules, resources, budgets, and dependencies.
• Produce regular programme and project reporting using PMO templates, including Project Status Reports (PSRs), budget updates, milestone tracking, and delivery assurance.
• Engage and manage stakeholders across all projects.
• Ensure alignment with PMO frameworks and governance processes.
• Actively promote and demonstrate Compass Community’s values through project leadership, stakeholder engagement, decision-making, and delivery practice.

Skills & Experience

Essential

• 5+ years of experience in Project Management.
• Degree educated or equivalent experience with strong maths and English skills.
• Industry-recognised project management certification (e.g., PRINCE2, PMP, APM) is essential.
• Proven experience managing complex projects and programmes, including multiple concurrent and interdependent workstreams.
• Strong working knowledge of project lifecycle methodologies and tools.
• Confident in using MS Project, Office 365, and other project collaboration platforms.
• Excellent written, verbal, presentation, and negotiation skills.
• Ability to adapt project delivery approach to diverse stakeholder groups.
• Strong technical and financial aptitude, with an understanding of enterprise systems, digital services, data, and finance-related change.
• Experience in change management and stakeholder engagement.
• Skilled in governance, documentation, and risk management practices.
• Proven experience leading complex programmes with multiple interdependent projects and workstreams.
• Experience managing digital transformation programmes; experience within SEND, education, care, or another regulated service environment would be advantageous.
• Demonstrable experience managing financial projects, including budget control, forecasting, financial reporting, and collaboration with Finance stakeholders.
• Ability to translate strategic programme objectives into clear delivery plans, measurable outcomes, and benefits realisation activities.

• Strong commitment to working in a values-led way, with the ability to align project delivery, stakeholder relationships, and change activity to Compass Community’s organisational values.

Why Join Compass Community?

• Play a direct role in delivering the Digital SEND Programme and improving services that support vulnerable children and families.
• Be part of a forward-thinking team delivering digital innovation, financial improvement, operational efficiency, and meaningful social impact.
• Competitive salary and benefits package.
• Opportunities for personal growth, training, and professional development.
• Flexible, supportive working environment.
• Join a values-led organisation where how we deliver change is as important as what we deliver, ensuring every project supports our wider purpose and reflects our commitment to children, young people, families, and colleagues.

Ready to use your programme and project management expertise to lead digital SEND transformation and financial change that supports vulnerable children and families?
We’d love to hear from you. Apply now or contact us at jobs@compasscommunity.co.uk for a confidential discussion.