Project Manager/Business Analyst

Contract to start ASAP until 31-12-26 with a possible extension.

Project Manager / Business Analyst

Hours: Full-time (37 hours per week)

Contract: Temporary, ending 31 December 2026

Lead Projects, Improve Processes and Support Organisational Change

We're recruiting an experienced Project Manager / Business Analyst – Grade 10 to join Cheshire West and Chester Council, supporting the delivery of business change, transformation, and service improvement projects across the organisation.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone with experience in project management, business analysis, process improvement, transformation, stakeholder engagement, requirements gathering, and change delivery.

You'll work closely with service managers, operational teams, senior stakeholders, technical colleagues, and external partners to understand business needs, define requirements, improve processes, and deliver projects that support better services and organisational outcomes.

About the Role

As a Project Manager / Business Analyst, you'll combine project delivery with business analysis, taking responsibility for planning and coordinating projects while also gathering requirements, mapping processes, analysing options, and supporting effective change.

You'll help ensure projects are delivered on time, risks are managed, stakeholders remain engaged, and proposed changes are supported by clear evidence and robust analysis.

What you'll be doing:

• Managing projects from initiation through to delivery and closure
• Developing project plans, timelines, milestones, and delivery schedules
• Gathering and documenting business requirements from a range of stakeholders
• Analysing existing processes and identifying opportunities for improvement
• Producing current-state and future-state process maps
• Supporting business change and transformation programmes
• Developing business cases, options appraisals, and recommendations
• Managing project risks, issues, dependencies, and actions
• Monitoring progress against agreed project objectives and milestones
• Preparing project reports, highlight reports, and governance updates
• Facilitating workshops, meetings, and stakeholder sessions
• Working with service teams to define problems and identify practical solutions
• Translating business needs into clear functional or operational requirements
• Supporting the design and implementation of new processes, systems, or ways of working
• Coordinating activity across multiple workstreams
• Supporting user acceptance testing and implementation activity where required
• Working closely with technical teams, suppliers, and service leads
• Managing stakeholder expectations and maintaining effective communication throughout delivery
• Supporting benefits realisation and measuring project outcomes
• Ensuring project documentation is complete, accurate, and up to date
• Supporting change impact assessments and implementation planning
• Providing advice and guidance on project management and business analysis methodologies
• Helping embed new processes and ways of working across services
• Ensuring projects comply with Council governance, policies, and reporting requirements

Requirements

We're looking for a highly organised, analytical, and delivery-focused professional with strong project management and business analysis experience.

You'll ideally have:

• Significant experience in project management and/or business analysis
• Experience delivering business change, transformation, or service improvement projects
• Strong requirements gathering and stakeholder analysis skills
• Experience producing process maps, business cases, and options appraisals
• Experience managing project plans, risks, issues, dependencies, and milestones
• Strong knowledge of project governance and reporting
• Experience facilitating workshops and stakeholder sessions
• Ability to analyse complex business problems and recommend practical solutions
• Experience working across multiple teams and service areas
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to communicate effectively with senior stakeholders
• Experience managing competing priorities and deadlines
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Experience supporting implementation and change adoption
• Ability to work independently and take ownership of delivery
• Experience within local government or the wider public sector would be advantageous
• Knowledge of project management methodologies such as PRINCE2, Agile, or similar would be beneficial
• Knowledge of business analysis methodologies would be advantageous
• Eligibility to work in the UK
• Ability to provide three years of references/work history
• Ability to complete a Criminal Convictions Declaration
• Ability to sign a Confidentiality Agreement

Why Apply

• Competitive Umbrella rate of £256.08 per day
• Opportunity to work with Cheshire West and Chester Council
• Senior project and business analysis role
• Opportunity to support transformation and service improvement activity
• Work closely with senior stakeholders and operational teams
• Varied role combining project delivery, analysis, and change management
• Gain further public-sector transformation experience
• Full-time 37-hour working week
• Temporary assignment running through to December 2026

Benefits

• Weekly Pay
• Company Pension
• Ongoing Agency Support

Additional Information

Client: Cheshire West and Chester Council

Job Title: Project Manager / Business Analyst – Grade 10

Location: The Portal, Ellesmere Port, CH65 0BE

Start Date: 19 October 2026

End Date: 31 December 2026

Hours: 37 hours per week

Pay Rate: Umbrella: £256.08 per day

Employment Type: Temporary

Number of Positions: 1

Job Types: Full-time, Temporary contract

Pay: £256.08 per day

Benefits:

• Company pension

Application question(s):

• Do you have experience working as a Project Manager, Business Analyst, or in a combined PM/BA role?
• Do you have experience delivering business change, transformation, or service improvement projects?
• Are you confident with requirements gathering, process mapping, and stakeholder analysis?
• Have you produced business cases, options appraisals, project plans, or governance reports?
• Do you have experience managing project risks, issues, dependencies, and delivery milestones?
• Have you worked within a local authority, public-sector, or similarly complex organisation?
• Please confirm your current location and whether you can reliably travel to The Portal, Ellesmere Port, CH65 0BE as required.

Experience:

• Project Management: 3 years (preferred)
• Business Analysis: 2 years (preferred)
• Transformation / Service Improvement: 2 years (preferred)
• Local Authority / Public Sector: 1 year (preferred)

Licence/Certification:

• PRINCE2, Agile, APM, IIBA, BCS, or equivalent qualification (preferred)

Work authorisation:

• United Kingdom (required)

Work Location: In person

Disclaimer: On applying for this vacancy, you agree that your personal details will be passed onto our client for their consideration of your suitability for the role. I acknowledge that it is my responsibility to notify iWork Recruitment Limited of any hirer who I do not want my details to be passed onto.

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