Senior Project Manager – Privileged Access Management Remediation

Defra is the UK government department responsible for safeguarding our natural environment, supporting our world-leading food and farming industry, and sustaining a thriving rural economy. Our broad remit means we play a major role in people's day-to-day life, from the food we eat, and the air we breathe, to the water we drink.

Digital, Data, Technology and Security (DDTS) is the trusted team for digital across the entire Defra Group. We have around 1000 colleagues across DDTS and our ambition is to make it easier and faster than ever for people to interact with Defra. Our main hubs are in York, Warrington, Newcastle, Reading and Bristol, however the successful candidate may be contractually based at any Defra office.

About the role

We’re looking for a Senior Project Manager to join our dynamic GIO Delivery Portfolio Team and drive innovation in a fast-paced, high-profile portfolio. This role will deliver measurable outcomes including reduction of excessive and dormant privileged accounts, implementation of controlled and auditable privileged access processes, removal of unmanaged or insecure access pathways, and establishment of consistent governance over privileged identities across the estate.

Responsibilities

• Lead delivery of complex IT infrastructure projects across multi-supplier environments.
• Manage delivery to agreed tolerances, including formal exception and change control.
• Ensure robust planning, scheduling, and critical path management.
• Establish and lead project governance in line with Defra and Project Delivery Profession standards.
• Produce high-quality highlight reports, RAID logs, and financial forecasts.
• Chair or support Project Boards and governance forums, ensuring clear decision making and escalation.
• Proactively manage risks and issues using structured approaches (cause → risk → impact → mitigation).
• Identify and actively manage cross-project dependencies within the wider portfolio.
• Escalate risks early with clear mitigation strategies.
• Act as an intelligent client, managing multiple suppliers and delivery partners.
• Ensure alignment with contracts, Statements of Work, and change control processes.
• Manage commercial risks, including cost pressures and scope changes.
• Ensure effective transition of solutions into live service.
• Support operational readiness, service acceptance, and business continuity requirements.
• Deliver change into live, business-critical environments with minimal disruption.
• Build strong relationships with Domain Leads, Service Owners, Commercial teams, and suppliers.
• Maintain clear, consistent communication with stakeholders at all levels.
• Act as a deputy to the Portfolio Lead (G6) when required, ensuring continuity of delivery and decision-making.
• Provide oversight across multiple projects, supporting prioritisation and risk.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience delivering complex identity, Active Directory (AD), Identity and Access Management (IAM) and cybersecurity programmes.
• Experience delivering legacy AD remediation across multiple domains.
• Identity and Active Directory remediation expertise.
• Experience implementing IAM upgrades, JML lifecycle controls and secure identity architectures.
• Global senior delivery roles in Active Directory transformation, MFA, Microsoft 365 security and Zero Trust uplift.
• Proven leadership in multi-supplier delivery environments (Atos, Capgemini, Eviden, Microsoft).
• Multi-supplier orchestration and contract variation.
• Strong technical grounding in AD, Kerberos, MFA, PIM, PAM, domain migrations and cloud security.
• Advanced knowledge of privileged access governance.
• Secure administrative access pathway design.
• Tier 0 / Tier 1 / Tier 2 operating model design.
• Kerberos lifecycle and trust management.
• Integration of identity controls with SOC, ITSM and monitoring tooling.
• Service transition, operational governance and BAU ownership.
• Extensive service transition, governance, risk management and stakeholder engagement experience.
• Prince2, APM, PMP or relevant project management qualification, or equivalent experience.
• CISSP Associate, NCSC Cyber Advisor, or NCSC Cyber Essentials Assessor (desirable).
• Ability to obtain SC clearance and sensitive systems delivery history. SC security clearance requires 5 years UK residency immediately prior to application.

Benefits

• Salary of £56,375.
• Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme with an average employer contribution of 28.97%.
• 25 days leave (rising to 30 days over 5 years) plus bank holidays.
• A day off per year for the King's birthday.
• Access to a range of retail discounts (supermarket, tech, gym, holiday, phone, and more).
• Flexible working options such as condensed hours, part-time, and flexi time.
• 3 paid volunteering days per year.
• Funding for professional membership of a recognised professional body.
• Learning and development tailored to your role and budget for training or qualifications.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Health cash plan to help manage health costs for a reduced monthly fee.
• Access to the Employee Assistance Programme open 24 hours, 7 days a week.
• Free access to Headspace for wellbeing.
• Season ticket loan for public transport.