Project Manager (Junior)

Company:                             

Shay Murtagh Precast Ltd is a leading manufacturer of concrete products in the UK and Ireland. We        specialise in pre-stressed and precast concrete products, including concrete storage tanks, bridge  beams, culverts, retaining walls, A-frame buildings, tunnel segments and a range of domestic concrete  products. Furthermore, bespoke concrete products can be designed and manufactured to any      requirement by our in-house design and engineering departments.

Due to our continuing growth and expansion, Shay Murtagh Precast are seeking a Junior Project Manager to join our team in our manufacturing facility in Raharney, Co. Westmeath.  The successful candidate will ideally have a qualification in Civil Engineering or a related discipline and approximately two to three years’ relevant experience. Experience in setting out, site engineering, construction, precast manufacturing or project coordination would be particularly beneficial.

 We are looking for an ambitious and proactive individual who wants to develop their career in project  management and gain a detailed understanding of design, manufacturing, materials planning and project delivery. Candidates who are working towards, or intend to pursue, professional accreditation will be supported and encouraged as part of their continued development.

Direct report:                       Will develop over time

 Role Purpose:                     

The Junior Project Manager is responsible for coordinating the delivery of precast projects by         converting the commercial and QS handover into a clear and achievable design, materials and                  manufacturing programme.

The initial focus will be the culvert programme, with scope to take responsibility for other product  areas and increasingly complex projects as the individual’s knowledge and capability develop. The role will coordinate each allocated project from handover through design allocation, materials   planning and production readiness, providing the business with clear weekly priorities and a reliable three-month forward view of workload, capacity, constraints and material requirements.

Working across Commercial, Design, Operations and Production, the Junior Project Manager will ensure that the correct information, approved drawings, materials, moulds and factory resources are available when required. The role does not replace day-to-day production management but is responsible for maintaining the integrated project plan, identifying risks and constraints, and driving the actions required to support safe, efficient and on-time production.

 This is a hands-on role requiring a consistently high level of personal ownership, initiative and follow-  through. The successful candidate will be expected to actively progress their projects, identify what  needs to happen next, pursue outstanding information and resolve issues without waiting to be    directed. Where an issue cannot be resolved independently, the postholder must escalate it          promptly, explain the potential impact and propose a practical course of action. The ability to work  independently, remain productive and drive actions through to completion is an essential              requirement of the role.

 An important part of the role will be developing the individual’s project leadership,  commercial awareness and operational management capability. As experience and performance  develop, the postholder will take responsibility for a broader range of products and more complex  projects, creating a clear progression route to Project Manager.

 Core accountabilities

Project handover and scope definition

·         Lead the operational handover from the QS and Commercial teams for allocated projects, initially within culverts, confirming scope, quantities, specifications, programme dates, commercial assumptions, client deliverables and known risks.

·         Break the project into a complete manufacturing requirement, including culvert units, specials, headwalls, ancillary items, cast-in components, reinforcement, mould requirements and any project-specific testing or quality documentation.

·         Identify missing, conflicting or unclear information at the earliest stage and secure decisions from the appropriate owner before the issue affects design, procurement or manufacture.

·         Establish the internal project milestones and baseline programme, maintaining a clear record of revisions, dependencies, assumptions and agreed priorities.

2  Design planning and coordination

·         Agree design priorities and resource allocation with the Design Manager and Senior Project Manager, including the allocation of work to the Portugal design team.

·         Prepare and maintain a design schedule covering calculations, models, drawings, reviews, approvals and issue-for-production dates.

·         Monitor design progress against the programme, follow up overdue inputs or approvals, and escalate risks early

·         Coordinate the flow of technical information between QS, Design, Production Engineering and Operations so that designers understand factory constraints and production receives complete, current and approved information.

·         Ensure drawing status and revision control are clear and that superseded information is removed from production use in line with the company document-control process.

3  Materials/procurement

·         Create a project materials and ancillary schedule from the handover information and developing design, including reinforcement, cast-in items, specialist components and other non-standard requirements.

·         Identify long-lead, scarce or project-specific materials early and agree required-on-site dates with Operations

·         Liaise with the Operations Manager on purchasing priorities and monitor outstanding orders, deliveries and shortages against the manufacturing programme.

·         Make the consequences of late materials or specification changes visible and adjust or escalate the programme before factory output is affected.

4  Production planning and capacity

·         Maintain an integrated programme for allocated projects, providing detailed daily and weekly priorities and, at minimum, a rolling three-month view of the production pipeline and all visable on Jarvis ERP system

·         Translate project demand into a realistic sequence by unit type, mould, building or production area, taking account of contractual dates, design release, material availability, labour, moulds, curing cycles, quality requirements, storage and logistics constraints.

·         Publish the agreed weekly manufacturing plan and next-week look-ahead, clearly identifying units due, outstanding information, shortages, constraints and decisions required.

·         Re-plan promptly when client dates, design status, material availability, factory performance or business priorities change, while preserving a controlled record of the impact.

5  Production readiness and drawing issue

·         Coordinate a formal pre-production readiness review each week for the manufacturing phase before work is released to the factory.

·         Confirm that approved drawings, bar schedules, specifications, materials, moulds, ITP and quality requirements, lifting and handling details, and any trial-build requirements are complete and available.

·         Issue controlled production packs and current drawings to the relevant Production Engineer and factory team in accordance with the agreed document-control process.

·         Work with the Production Engineer to confirm that the planned work can be delivered at full and efficient capacity, resolving technical or programme constraints before manufacture begins.

·         Coordinate trial builds, first-off reviews and client or third-party inspections where required, ensuring actions are closed without avoidable delay.

6  Programme control and communication

·         Maintain an accurate live status for every allocated project and manufactured unit using the company ERP and agreed planning systems.

·         Run a structured weekly planning meeting with Design, Operations, Production Engineering, Procurement and other stakeholders as required.

·         Report current-week performance, next-week commitments and the three-month outlook, highlighting design releases, material shortages, capacity risks, changes and required management decisions.

·         Track delivery against the agreed plan, investigate material variances and missed milestones, and coordinate corrective and recovery actions.

·         Communicate programme changes promptly to Commercial, Logistics, Quality and other affected departments so that downstream plans remain aligned.

7  Commercial, quality and risk control

·         Identify scope changes, additional requirements, changes to work or programme with potential cost implications and notify the QS or Commercial owner before work proceeds where practicable.

·         Maintain a project constraint and risk log covering design, approvals, procurement, production, quality, storage and logistics; assign owners and follow actions through to closure.

·         Ensure project-specific inspection and test requirements are incorporated into the production plan in conjunction with Quality.

·         Support lessons-learned reviews and implement practical improvements to handover, planning, information flow and factory readiness.

·         Participate in Lean and continuous-improvement initiatives that improve visibility, throughput, plan adherence and waste reduction.