Interim HR Project Manager (Higher Education) Interim NEW

Interim HR Project Manager (Higher Education)

Location:London / Hybrid (Hybrid minimum two days per week on site in London)
Rate:£40-£45 per hour (Inside IR35)
Start date:Immediate Start

A leading London-based higher education institution is seeking an experienced Interim HR Project Manager to support the delivery of a wide portfolio of HR transformation initiatives. This is an excellent opportunity for a seasoned project professional with consultancy-level standards to join a complex, high-profile environment and make an immediate impact.

This role requires more than project coordination or IT-only project experience. You will need a comprehensive project delivery tool kit, advanced stakeholder skills, and the ability to drive cultural and behavioural change across a large organisation.

The Opportunity
Working closely with senior HR leaders, you will coordinate and oversee a programme of HR projects, using a structured, agile approach to planning, prioritisation and delivery. You will play a key role in shaping how HR manages its roadmap, facilitates termly planning cycles, and embeds new ways of working.

You will bring people together across multi-disciplinary teams, using your influence and decisiveness to maintain momentum, remove blockers and ensure timely delivery of outcomes. This is a delivery-focused role that requires someone who can hit the ground running.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and oversee a portfolio of HR projects, providing structured agile delivery and regular reporting
• Support termly planning cycles, helping prioritise initiatives and define clear deliverables
• Coach and guide HR teams in agile practice and project delivery disciplines
• Translate complex requirements into user stories and delivery plans
• Facilitate collaboration across product, service and operational teams
• Monitor progress, risks, dependencies, resource gaps and financials
• Ensure readiness for go-live of HR initiatives including testing, training and change support
• Support the development and continuous improvement of HR delivery frameworks and processes

Essential Experience
You will be an experienced Project or Programme Manager with a proven track record of delivering HR or people-focused projects in a complex organisation. You will also bring:

• Consulting-level delivery experience
• Strong background in agile project management methods
• Ability to lead and influence multi-disciplinary project teams
• Excellent facilitation, communication and stakeholder engagement skills
• Strong financial management of project budgets and reporting
• Proficiency with project management tools such as Jira
• Degree-level education (or equivalent experience) with a recognised project management qualification (PMP, APM, Prince2 etc.)