{"id":2610278,"url":"https://alion.io/job/heriot-watt-university-transit-programme-manager","title":"TransiT Programme Manager","company":{"id":1762508,"name":"Heriot-Watt University","domain":"hw.ac.uk","url":"https://alion.io/company/hw-ac-uk","size_band":"501-1000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Oracle","truth_index":null},"role":"Management","role_family":"Management","seniority":null,"employment_type":null,"work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Edinburgh, United Kingdom"],"countries":["GB"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":{"min_usd":45000,"max_usd":101000,"period":"year","method":"role_country_seniority_unknown","sample_n":745},"experience_years_min":null,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"Digital Twin","optional":false},{"name":"Multimodal AI","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-10-15T08:30:00Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-15","last_verified_at":"2026-10-15T17:59:58Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":0,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":0},"description":"Position Title: TransiT Programme Manager\nGrade and Salary: Grade 9 - £59,390 - £70,878 per annum\nFTE and working pattern: Full-time, Fixed term until June 2029\nReward and Benefits: 33 days annual leave, plus 9 buildings closed days for all full time staff.\nPurpose of the Role\nTransiT is the UK’s largest research hub dedicated to rapidly decarbonising transport through digital twinning. The role of Programme Manager is to provide leadership and focus to the team of nearly 100 academic, research and support staff to deliver the objectives of the programme.The Programme Manager sits on the core Management Team of the Hub with the two programme directors,Prof Greening (Heriot-Watt) and Prof Flynn (Glasgow) and convenes the Transit Research Leadership team of around 10 senior co-investigators. The role includes close liaison with the funder and key stakeholders as well as convening the TransiT Advisory Board and sub-boards.\nThe TransiT research programme is highly challenging and complex, demanding close collaboration across work packages and challenge led demonstrators.Research teams need to work in an integrated way in coordination with researchers from a broad range of disciplines.This leading-edge research environment raises complex challenges that demand creativity and sensitivity to address effectively. The maintenance and enhancement of a collegiate and supportive working environment is essential to the success of the programme. The Programme Manager plays a critical role in maintaining that ethos across the eight institutional partners and the ten integrated research teams.\nDetailed Description\nLed by Heriot-Watt University and the University of Glasgow, this £46 million initiative unites 8 universities and 67 industry partners to address transport decarbonisation. TransiT is creating a Federated Transport System of Systems (FTSoS), integrating digital twins across road, rail, air, and maritime transport modes. The Hub is building national capability in digital twinning by attracting and engaging with a wide range of stakeholders in industry, government and civil society.The research informs debates in many areas of national policy, including transportation, energy, cyber-security, connectivity and digital twinning. This national research hub is responsible for delivering new knowledge, technical capabilities and policy advisement relating to UK transport decarbonisation priorities through the development of digital twinning.\nDigital twinning allows different transport configurations to be tested and developed much faster than real-world engineering projects, until the lowest cost pathway to net-zero carbon emissions is identified.UKRI and the Department for Transport have committed to support TransiT to take a ‘learning by doing’ approach to test the feasibility of integrated and federated digital twins to inform policy choices.TransiT has developed four Challenge Led Demonstrators focussed on key multi-modal transport challenges in passenger and freight logistics. These have been supported by close collaboration with critical industrial stakeholders, to address current and future decarbonisation challenges.\nWork package research teams focus on common aspects of digital twinning that apply to all demonstrators, covering specialisms such as ontologies, connectivity and cyber-security, human factors, federation and policy. The demonstrators provide real-world context for the testing of approaches developed within the work packages, and raise practical issues to be addressed.To support common approaches across the demonstrator teams, a Digital Architecture Working Group has been established.\nThe planningand co-ordination of these research teams is the responsibility of the PM team, which includes the Programme Manager, the Head of Data and two Project Managers. Each Project Manager manages a number of research teams, meeting regularly to assess progress and identify challenges. This team utilises the normal range of management tools (risk register, project plans, stakeholder engagement,publications, data processes, etc.)\nThe support team includes a number of professional specialists - communications, finance, contracts,stakeholder engagement, hub co-ordinator. These roles are held by highly competent and supportive individuals who work effectively as a team. The Programme Manager has line management responsibility for the support team and works closely with them individually on identification of strategic priorities and professional development opportunities, as well as providing some professional guidance as necessary.\nAbout our Directorate and Team\nThe Transit Programme is managed by a Management Team of the two project directors and the Programme manager, responsible for delivering TransiT’s research ambitions. The TransiT team includes 95 people including 42 academic investigators, 28 postdoctoral researchers, 12 PhD students and a support team of 13 professionals.\nThe Programme Manager reports to the Programme Lead, Professor Phil Greening, and manages the weekly Management team meeting with Profs Greening and Flynn.The Programme Manager directly manages the support team, which consists of two Project and Industry Engagement Managers, Stakeholder Engagement Manager, Contracts Manager,Hub Co-ordinator, Data Manager Communications Manager and Finance Manager. The Support Team is distributed between Glasgow University and Heriot-Watt University, working in a highly integrated way between the two institutions.The Programme Manager has line management responsibility for the team members based in HW and supervisory responsibility for the other team members based in Glasgow University.Most of the Support Team posts are based at Heriot-Watt University, sitting within the TransiT Research Hub.The role-holder is expected to work in person on campus at Heriot-Watt University within the TransiT Hub, with regular visits to Glasgow University.\nThe programme started in July 2024 and is funded by UKRI until June 2029, with the expectation of significant further investment from industry stakeholders beyond that date.The role has been filled by a highly experienced research manager who wishes to retire in good time to allow the new Programme Manager to take the work forward to further phases of funding.\nFor more information, please visit www.transit.ac.uk\n Summary of Key Duties and Responsibilities\nResponsible for reporting to funder, key stakeholders and Advisory Board on progress of the programme and emerging risks.\nCo-ordinating weekly Management Meeting with co-Directors of TransiT, and ensuring implementation agreed actions.\nMaintenance of key stakeholder relationships through regular meetings (DfT, EPSRC)\nManagement of quarterly meetings of TransiT Advisory Board and subsidiary boards. \nProduction of 6-monthly progress reports to EPSRC, and responding to additional information requests from the funder. \nStrategic programme management to ensure delivery of funder objectives over the course of the programme\nMaintaining effective risk management systems for programme delivery.\nManagement of the support team priorities to ensure professional services support the TransiT researchers across all institutions. \nManagement and mentorship of support team members to enhance their career opportunities and develop valuable skills for research management. \nDealing promptly and professionally with conflicts that arise within the programme and supporting collaborative working relationships among all members. \nThe maintenance and enhancement of a collegiate and supportive working across the eight institutional partners and the ten integrated research teams.\nManagement of TransiT financial resources across the TransiT programme, ensuring spend profile across all institutions is sufficient to meet funder expectations.\nManagement of financial planning of Heriot-Watt programme resources, including TransiT and other aligned projects, to maximise research resource and delivery within funder timescales.\nBalancing the skills and resource needs across research teams to deliver an integrated and impactful research programme. \nMaintaining an effective programme of internal and external research meetings to deliver a coherent, validated and impactful research programme.\nOversee the management of the TransiT Flexible Fund of £3M through open funding calls.\nOversee management of key strategic relationships with stakeholders and government departments. \nSupport the prioritization of demands on the stakeholder engagement manager and communications manager to focus on the most significant strategic objectives of the programme.\nPlan, prioritise and organise your own work and resources and others in the team to agreed objectives, including sharing responsibility for team activities and leading plans and priorities, monitoring progress against targets. \nEducation, Qualifications & Experience\nEducation & Qualifications and Experience\nEssential\nPost-graduate degree level education\nProfessional qualification and demonstrable experience in project management \nExperience of managing multi-disciplinary professional teams\nDemonstrable experience of managing resources, workloads and changing priorities for self and others \nAbility to research, analyse and present complex information and data effectively with good attention to detail.\nExcellent communication, presentation and interpersonal skills (written and oral), including a proven ability to communicate complex ideas succinctly to non-specialist audiences, and speak with confidence to senior practitioners.\nDemonstrable ability to forge and maintain mutually beneficial relationships both within academic institutions and with key strategic partners.\nProven experience of dealing with and leading in uncertainty and ambiguity \nConfident working with senior managers and colleagues across the consortium and stakeholders.\nDemonstrable ability to work quickly, flexibly and accurately in a dynamic, changing and pressured environment\nHigh level organisational skills with the ability to prioritise critical risks and to function effectively in a pressured environment\nFlexible and resilient\nCollaborative and proactive\nDesirable\nA postgraduate qualification in management or professional qualification in project management.\nExperience of project management within a research environment.\nSome knowledge of transport decarbonisation policy. \nExperience of facilitation of collaborative multi-disciplinary research exercises.\nThis job description is intended as a flexible framework which outlines the key general areas of activity in your position. Other activities may be required which are not outlined above but which are appropriate to the position and grade. Your personal objectives (Forward Job Plan) will also set out specific tasks and objectives for you to achieve, including objectives to help your career development.\nFor more information about the role, contact the TransiT Programme Manager, Dr Janey Andrews - \nHow to Apply\nApplications can be submitted up to midnight on Thursday 12 November 2026.\nPlease submit via the Heriot-Watt on-line recruitment system (1) Cover letter describing your interest and suitability for the post; (2) Full CV.\nWe may close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications. We therefore encourage you to submit your application promptly.\nWe recognise that many candidates use AI tools during the application process and are comfortable with AI being used as a supporting aid. However, we want to hear from you, not AI.\nYour application should be an authentic representation of your skills, experience and achievements. Applications that appear to have been fully generated by AI may not accurately reflect your suitability for the role and are therefore discouraged.\nAt interview, candidates will be expected to discuss and provide evidence of the experience, skills and examples included in their application.\nAt Heriot Watt we are p...","description_format":"text","description_chars":13575,"description_truncated":true,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":null,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":10,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"phd","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Annual leave","Flexible schedule","Professional development","Stock options"],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Higher Education"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-10-15T10:48:41Z"}],"visa":[{"country":"GB","licensed_sponsor":true,"evidence":"Licensed UK visa sponsor (Skilled Worker)","filings_12m":null,"filings_prev_12m":null,"green_card_filings_12m":null,"median_offered_wage_usd":null,"route":"Skilled Worker","cap_exempt":false,"checked_at":"2026-10-15T06:21:15+00:00","sources":["UK Home Office: register of licensed sponsors (workers)"],"filings_for_role_12m":0}],"liveness":{"score":86,"band":"hot","label":"Hiring now","p_open":1,"p_active":0.86,"p_room":1,"age_days":0,"expected_fill_days":12,"reasons":["conf:0","win:early"],"computed_at":"2026-10-15T18:17:15Z"},"pay":null,"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/heriot-watt-university-transit-programme-manager","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/heriot-watt-university-transit-programme-manager.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-15T18:17:15Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":27804,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-16T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":1762508},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=1762508"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fheriot-watt-university-transit-programme-manager"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fheriot-watt-university-transit-programme-manager"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fheriot-watt-university-transit-programme-manager"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/heriot-watt-university-transit-programme-manager\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fheriot-watt-university-transit-programme-manager"}]}