Organisational Development Project Manager (Talent)

University College London (UCL) is more than just a place of education; it’s London’s Global University—a hub for innovation, research, and world-class learning. At UCL, we believe in the power of our people, and it’s the mission of our Organisational Development (OD) team to nurture and empower our 16,000-strong workforce. Spanning academic, research, teaching, and professional services, our diverse community is the heart of UCL’s success, and we are committed to their ongoing growth and development.

As part of the HR Division, the OD team plays a pivotal role in delivering on UCL’s 2022-27 strategic plan, ensuring we create the right learning and talent systems to help every colleague reach their full potential. Our work is grounded in a strong commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion, and we actively contribute to initiatives like Athena SWAN and Race Equality. For us, equity of opportunity is not just a goal—it’s the foundation of how we design our talent, learning, and leadership development practices.

The Talent team, a key component of OD, is tasked with fostering the growth and retention of our exceptional staff. We support colleagues at all stages of their careers, including through Apprenticeships, helping them build meaningful, progressive career paths at UCL. Currently, the Talent team is driving the design and implementation of a groundbreaking digital platform that will transform our approach to performance, talent management, and learning.

The first functionality of this platform, MyAppraisal, will launch in January 2025, marking the start of a new chapter in how we support, develop, and evaluate our staff. The platform’s future functionalities will further enrich our commitment to professional growth, learning, and talent development across the university.

Main Purpose of the Job:

The Project Manager will play a key role in the rollout of UCL’s new digital platform, Thrive, starting with the MyAppraisal functionality and expanding to include learning and talent management features. The postholder will support the project team with reporting, data analysis, gathering requirements, and ensuring successful coordination of project activities. They will also work closely with Learning and Development (L&D) teams and liaise with external creative agencies to deliver branding and communications in line with UCL’s strategic objectives.

The role requires project management skills, data analysis, and attention to detail, as well as the ability to work collaboratively across multiple teams. The Project Manager will also play a critical role in ensuring a smooth user experience by helping manage post-launch customer care, creating FAQs, and supporting the development of long-term guidance for the Talent team.

 

Key duties and responsibilities

Project Management Support

Provide efficient and proactive project management support for the rollout of Thrive, starting with the MyAppraisal module and expanding into Learning and Talent functionalities in 2025/26.

Collaborate closely with the Business Analyst to gather and document requirements for future platform functionalities related to learning and talent.

Coordinate key project activities, such as User Experience (UX) and User Acceptance Testing (UAT) campaigns, focus groups, stakeholder roadshows, and engagement initiatives.

Act as the main point of contact between the project team and the creative agency, ensuring consistent branding and visual identity across all deliverables.

Liaise with Learning and Leadership teams in Organisational Development to ensure the coordination and timely delivery of Learning & Development (L&D) materials.

Facilitate/deliver briefing sessions to individuals or groups as appropriate.

Build and maintain effective working relationships with key stakeholders and colleagues within the department and across UCL.

Identify opportunities to enhance project processes and contribute to best practices.

Reporting and Data Analysis

Produce regular reports on project progress, including data analysis to track user engagement, completion rates, and platform performance.

Monitor and analyse data related to appraisals, learning, and talent functionalities to identify trends, challenges, and opportunities for continuous improvement.

Provide managerial reports and briefings to Product Owner and othe stakeholder groups as required. 

Customer Care and post-launch support

Support the post-launch “customer care” process by attending to 2^nd line customer queries escalated to the Talent team in a timely and professional manner

Assist with the drafting and/or updating of FAQs, guidance documentation, and troubleshooting materials for the Talent team.

Work closely with the Talent team to develop a sustainable knowledge base for users, ensuring ongoing support for both appraisers and appraisees.

Administrative Support

Provide efficient and proactive administration and operational support for the delivery of talent team priorities.

Manage and organise meetings. This includes the coordination of agendas, contacting attendees, booking rooms/Teams meetings, capturing meeting notes and coordinating follow up actions, drafting Powerpoint presentations and reports, circulating papers.

Implement and manage efficient filing and documentation systems to ensure project information is stored appropriately and accessible to relevant stakeholders.

Work independently and use initiative to manage assigned activities across a number of priorities within the team. 

Lead and manage one-off tasks and projects as requested by the Talent team.

Draft and circulate communication on behalf of the Talent team.

Additional Responsibilities

Provide cover for colleagues during periods of absence or peaks in workload as required.

Maintain confidentiality and ensure compliance with GDPR, Data Protection Act 2018, and other relevant legislation.

Attend the office as required to attend face to face meetings, workshops or other meetings or events that require physical attendance on campus. 

Any other duties as are within the scope, spirit and purpose of the job, the title of the post and it’s grading as requested by the line manager. 

Note: this job description reflects the present requirements of the post. Duties and responsibilities may change according to the needs of the university and will be reviewed and revised in consultation with the post-holder.

*All information in the advert has been provided by the advertiser and not by AHEP