Saros Project Manager / Senior Project Manager Recruitment 2017

Transcription

1 Saros Project Manager / Senior Project Manager Recruitment 2017 Background Saros is a small, well-established market research fieldwork company, offering a specialist participant recruitment service to qualitative market researchers and user experience testers across the UK. Due to recent technical and personnel changes, we are now in a position where we require at least one additional person to join our Project Management team. We are expecting to make an initial appointment to a senior position, identifying an experienced candidate with industy background. It is also envisaged that at least one entrylevel Project Manager will be required, within the next few months. Therefore applications are encouraged at all levels. Company culture and values Saros is focussed on providing an intelligent and supportive customer service experience to our clients, adding value to their research projects by delivering accurately and ethically recruited participants - who will help them to serve their clients needs, by delivering the insights required. We believe in working flexibly, smartly, and getting the job done - solving problems, rising to challenges, and going the extra mile to ensure client satisfaction. All members of the team work from their own home, (see below). The initial senior appointment is expected to be made from within 1hr s travel to central London. Job Description To manage the process of the project lifecycle on behalf of the company from start to finish, including

2 Managing the relationship with the client (from a brand or agency) Using/updating our bespoke online database Creation of screeners, from designing wording and flow to coding in a specialist survey tool Creation of project documentation and materials, for client and applicant consumption Use of broadcasting and social media tools To liaise with research clients on behalf of Saros, being their point of contact throughout the process as you work to deliver their requirements To manage the work of freelance interviewers/research bookers, working remotely to screen potential participants To communicate and liaise with members of the public who are interested in and participating in research with Saros Research Limited Person Specification Essential requirements we will be unable to consider applications that do not clearly demonstrate that these are fully met 1. Experience of providing client service in a b2b environment 2. Experience of providing service to customers or dealing with the public effectively 3. Experience of managing the work of others, preferably remote workers 4. Either experience of, or demonstrable potential for, working from home and without direct supervision 5. Experience of managing varied and complex multiple projects, clients and deadlines simultaneously

3 6. Extensive skills and experience with the MS Office package, including as a minimum Word, Excel, Outlook and Access 7. Experience with a range of online applications and able to learn new packages and skills quickly 8. Superb written communication skills, suitable to a variety of media and contexts 9. Knowledge and understanding of social media and its role in b2b and b2c marketing 10. Excellent practical IT skills can manage a home network, troubleshoot problems, install new software, etc 11. Methodical and able to follow procedures precisely and exactly 12. Creative and intuitive, able to demonstrate initiative and solve problems effectively Additional essential requirements for the Senior role: 13. Experience of the market research industry in some client-facing capacity (this need not be in qualitative recruitment, but some background and familiarity with the industry as a whole is required) 14. Experience of face-to-face business development activities: client and prospect meetings, trade shows, conferences, etc. Desirable requirements it is likely that we will prioritise candidates who can additionally deliver on some or all of the following points: 1. Experience or knowledge of the qualitative market research industry 2. Experience or knowledge of the user experience/usability industry

4 3. Experience with web design and programming 4. Experience with broadcasting and mailmerging 5. Business development and B2B sales track record 6. Advanced social media, PR and/or marketing skills Additional desirable requirements for the Senior role: 7. Working knowledge of regulatory frameworks including employment law, data protection law and the MRS Code of Conduct 8. Experience managing teams in a remote context Day in a Life We have prepared the following description of a typical day in the life of a Saros Project Manager, to help bring to life the job description and person specification above - whilst every day and every project at Saros is different, this may give some flavour of what the work would involve... At the start of the day I log on and check my and messages, which includes responses on my current projects. Reviewing my tasks, I have groups running tonight, a new project to set up, new work to quote for, and several other jobs in progress. As the rest of the team logs on we chat on Slack, and I also liaise with my Bookers working on current projects. They send me their updates and I send confirmation details to selected participants. I read through all the details on the new project, and I call the client to talk through all the nuances that can so easily be missed in writing. This project might be most appropriate to allocate to a team member, and there is continual dialogue about current project status and

5 workload many of our clients work to tight deadlines, and we need to know immediately whether a request is viable before taking it on. Meanwhile I am working on my own live projects designing and coding screening questionnaires, checking on reminders for today s sessions and any last-minute replacements, and making sure all went well the previous evening. Dealing with real people in face-to-face situations, anything can happen and it often does. Later we have a team meeting via videoconference and review the full list of live projects - everyone is managing several, and by discussing any difficulties or challenges we can help each other unstick things and move on. There are new projects to be allocated and I get one that really interests me as its about a product I use a lot - on each job I learn something new, sometimes about a brand I use all time, other times I am introduced to something completely new and have to get up to speed fast. That keeps things interesting! Of course I have my favourite clients and specialist subjects, but we are all very interchangeable and flexible. We also discuss any upcoming diary items, changes, issues with Bookers or clients, and current business and database development activities. Speaking of clients one of my regulars has gone very quiet, and I make a diary note to schedule a catch-up call with her later in the week to see how everything s going. At one point it all gets a bit chaotic as I have last minute admin on tonight s groups, a query to resolve for a project later this week, a Booker who has missed an important point in the questionnaire, and the phone keeps ringing! But I quickly reprioritise using all the information I have, and address the most urgent and important queries quickly. Late afternoon I pop out for a walk my clients and of course colleagues know when I ll be contactable (we keep a group chat window going all day). I need to speak to one of my clients in the US later, there is an issue with his project and I need to talk through our findings in detail to find a way to move it on successfully - we always try to offer solutions and creative ideas, rather than just report problems. I also have project admin to complete that I need to get current on before tomorrow morning. Once that s all done I revise my task list for the next day, and log off.

6 Working arrangements Saros is a virtual company, and all members of the team work from their homes. We collaborate continually and work very closely together, making use of chat and videoconferencing tools, but may only physically meet a couple of times a year, We work full time, on a flexible basis. This is not a 9-5 job! When working from home boundaries can get blurred, and we expect the postholder to have the self-discipline and maturity to manage their work-life balance effectively and support others in so doing. We expect the postholder to be able to provide space to accommodate their work effectively in their home, providing for secure document storage, a quiet and professional working environment, and access to necessary utilities. An IP phone, broadband services and IT equipment will be provided. Remuneration This position is not advertised with a salary band, as this will depend upon the experience and expectations of the candidate. As indicated, we anticipate making more than one appointment, and we welcome advice in your application of the expected salary you are seeking. Whomever we appoint we expect to have to invest considerably in training, and it may be observed that for the entry-level candidate, specific industry experience is not a prerequisite - we are more interested in getting the right project management skillset and fit for our organisation, and appointments could potentially be made at a number of levels. We are anticipating a period of growth and development, and seeking people to grow with us and develop their own career with Saros. Applications Please apply to maya@, with the subject line Saros Project Manager, by May 26th th 2017 Priority will be given to candidates directly addressing the person specification above in their covering letter.