Agriculture Research Project Manager

Job content

Job Title: Agriculture Research Project Manager

Full-time (40 hours ) Monday to Friday

Salary Range:£35,000- £50,000 per annum (dependent on experience)

Are you passionate about developing new ways of feeding the planet? We are driving positive change in the agricultural industry and your skills could help us do it. We are looking for an experienced and dedicated Research & Development Scientist to join a dynamic, engaging and multidisciplinary team working in AgriTech R&D.

Educated ideally to PhD level, you will have a background in bioscience, agriculture or agri-tech/bio-tech and will bring significant project management skills, demonstrable expertise at leading multidisciplinary teams, ideally in a research environment, and an organized and outgoing nature. As one of the senior leaders in the company, you will be passionate about helping us to help the farming industry through designing, implementing and delivering a range of innovative research projects.

Join our multidisciplinary team of software developers, hardware engineers, scientists, and project management professionals, all work to bring new, innovative solutions to issues seen within the fresh produce industry, based in the B-Hive offices, integrated into the Lincoln Science and Innovation Park, in the heart of Lincoln.

We pride ourselves in out of the box thinking, bringing new ideas and concepts from other industries into agriculture. In just over 5 years, we have already spun out 2 additional companies, HarvestEye Limited and Root Extracts Limited, to bring our technological solutions to the market. B-hive’s multidisciplinary team of software developers, hardware engineers, scientists, and project management professionals, all work to bring new, innovative solutions to issues seen within the fresh produce industry. Our staff have a flexible and collaborative attitude to working and we value people who relish being an important part of a larger team.

Job Purpose

To provide project and personnel management expertise to ensure that a range of agricultural research projects are delivered in a timely fashion, on budget. To work with other members of the senior staff team to help set the strategic direction of the company, to develop new project ideas and to apply for research funding.

Responsibilities:

This senior role is for an individual to work to ensure the successful delivery of a range of agriculturally-relevant research projects through the implementation of detailed project management approaches across all levels of each project. The full list of projects to be managed will vary depending on the specific funding situation of the

company, but the job holder will be expected to balance their time with the demands of the role to ensure appropriate resource and personnel planning in order to meet objectives and deliverables of the individual projects, including liaising with external collaborators. The job holder will be expected to disseminate progress and results both internally and also in external project meetings, as well as at conferences/trade shows or other events. Since this role is part of the senior management for the organisation, the job holder will also be expected to take part in research planning sessions to help plan the strategic direction of the company, to identify opportunities for collaborative projects or funding applications and to help formulate new project outlines. The job will involve the following objectives:

• To undertake top-level project management for key funded projects as determined by consultation with senior managers. To own, and ensure delivery of, the projects’ objectives and deliverables in a timely fashion. 60%

Project management is expected to involve:

- Providing day-to-day line management of specific staff that are engaged directly on
each project and set individual work plans in line with project timelines

- Liaising with other managers to ensure access to other staff with skills sets that are
required to ensure project delivery

- Undertaking regular reviews of project progress to ensure that the overall project
direction is in-line with expectations of funders and also with a view to
development of new products or revenue streams.

- Taking part in data acquisition and field experiments where required

• To maintain and monitor project-specific risk registers alongside senior managers, and agree updates to project scope as necessary, including identifying skills gaps to allow corrective action to be taken 5%
• To own and monitor project finances, sign off expenditure (within agreed limits) and ensure that staff effort on each project is in-line with project budgets/forecasts 5%
• To maintain relationships with project-specific external stakeholders, including collaborators and funders. To organise and chair regular project update meetings as dictated by funding agreements 10%
• In conjunction with the Marketing Manager, to represent B-Hive Innovations at external events (conferences, trade shows) and help to communicate project results to peers and to lay members of the agricultural industry, including farmers 5%
• To provide updates on project progress to senior managers at agreed frequencies 5%
• To keep abreast of project-related scientific and innovation landscapes in relevant parts of the agritech field to allow participation in corporate strategic planning session 10%

- Provide expertise to help plan future directions
- Help to identify new funding schemes, collaborators or corporate clients - Help to draft bids for new funding initiatives

Skills & Knowledge:

· Experience in managing large, multifaceted and multicentred projects (E)

· Line management expertise with excellent interpersonal skills, using both written and
verbal communication (E)

· Attention to detail and an ability to multi-task and prioritise appropriately (E)

· Innovative approach to problem solving (E)

· Experience of UKRI (particularly Innovate UK) funding rules would be an advantage (D)

· Full UK driving licence (E)

· Innovative approach to problem solving (D)

· Excellent communication skills (E)

· Adaptable and proactive with good attention to detail (E)

· Ability to work with others and manage stakeholder demands (E)

· Able to work independently and take the initiative to do what needs doing (E)

· Strong report, presentation and spreadsheet authorship skills – IT literacy (E)

Desired qualifications:

• At least to a degree level

or

• Equivalent experience in a relevant field (bioscience, agriculture etc) essential and plant biology extremely desirable
• Ideally possessing a PhD and > 3 years research experience

Working Relationships

The job holder will report to the B-hive General Manager. The job holder may have direct reports, depending on the project landscape, and will also be expected to liaise with Engineering and Machine Learning Team Leaders to access expertise from within their teams to deliver specific objectives. The job holder is expected to develop productive and professional working relationships with external collaborators and stakeholders.

Benefits

· Employer pension contributions

· 26 days holiday plus Bank Holidays

· Group Life Insurance

· Salary Exchange optional

· Sick Pay

· Private Medical Insurance

· Access to “Grocery Aid” for free advice and guidance

· Enhanced maternity and paternity leave

· Regular social events & opportunities to be involved fundraising for a local charity

· Free tea, coffee, and milk

Apply to:hr@b-hiveinnovations.co.uk

Submission with CV and covering letter by: Monday 29th May 2023 at 5.00pm

If you have not heard from us after 2 weeks from the above date, then for this position you have not been successful in the next stage of our recruitment process. Thank you for your interest in our company.

Job Type: Permanent

Salary: £35,000.00-£50,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Bereavement leave
• Company events
• Company pension
• Enhanced maternity leave
• Enhanced paternity leave
• Life insurance
• Private medical insurance
• Sick pay

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Monday to Friday
• No weekends

Ability to commute/relocate:

• Lincoln: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)

Application question(s):

• Do you have your own transport?
• When are you available to start?

Licence/Certification:

• Driving Licence (required)

Work authorisation:

• United Kingdom (required)

Work Location: In person

Application deadline: 29/05/2023
Reference ID: AgriProject Manager May23