Project Manager - Drones

Job Introduction

Salary: £50,281.08 plus £4,613.61 London Allowance per annum

Contract Type: Permanent

Location: Force Headquarters, 200 Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W 9TJ

Type of Working Arrangement: Blended approach of home and office-working is available

Hours: This is a full-time role (37 hours per week)

British Transport Police (BTP) is the national police force for the rail network throughout Great Britain. We are the ‘Guardians of the Railway,’ putting passenger safety at the heart of what we do. Our values are simply: We Care, We Do the Right Thing, We Strive to Be Better Every Day, We Are One BTP, and We Are Proud to Protect. Join us and help create an environment where we can all be our best every day.

The Opportunity:

British Transport Police have an opportunity for two Project Managers to join the Drone Development Programme. As a Project Manager with BTP, you will lead the successful planning, delivery and governance of projects that contribute to organisational priorities within the Force transformation portfolio. The postholder will manage the full project lifecycle - defining scope, coordinating resources, controlling budgets, assessing risks and ensuring delivery to agreed time, cost and benefit outcomes. The role will ensure that change initiatives are well-structured, stakeholder needs are understood, and the project delivers measurable benefits. Working collaboratively across departments, the postholder will champion best-practice project management and support continuous improvement across the portfolio.

What you’ll be doing:

• Leading the planning, delivery and governance of complex transformation projects, ensuring outputs meet agreed time, cost and benefit expectations.
• Managing end‑to‑end project lifecycles, including scope definition, resource coordination, risk and issue management, dependency tracking, and benefits monitoring.
• Building strong relationships with stakeholders, managing communications, resolving challenges and deputising for the Programme Manager when required.
• Driving best-practice project management, supporting interdependent workstreams, producing governance reports, and ensuring project interventions keep delivery on track.

What you’ll bring to the team:

• A recognised project management qualification (e.g. APM PMQ or PRINCE2) or willingness to work towards one.
• Experience delivering projects in a large and complex organisation, ideally involving multiple stakeholders or technical change.
• Strong financial management skills, including budget forecasting, cost control and tracking realisation of financial and non-financial benefits.
• Proficiency in risk, issue and dependency management, using analytical techniques to support decision-making and evidence project interventions.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and influencing skills, with the ability to build effective relationships at all organisational levels.
• Knowledge and practical application of core project management disciplines, including planning, benefits management, business change, business cases and resource management.

Additional Information:

• The role may involve travel to suppliers, manufacturers and railway sites across the network.
• The programme is expanding an innovative Drone‑in‑a‑Box (DIAB) capability at key rail trespass and disruption hotspots, requiring innovative, adaptable delivery approaches.
• Experience in innovation projects, public sector transformation, rail environments or drones would be beneficial but is not essential.

Further information about this vacancy can be found in the attached job description.

Vetting: Successful applicants will be required to pass Recruitment Vetting (3 years minimum UK residency required), including a full background and financial disclosure. For more information and Top Tips, please see attached document.

Medical: We’ll ask for relevant health and medical history details to support employee wellbeing.

References: We'll ask for references to cover the past 5 years.

Applications will be via an up-to-date CV and online application form, as part of this application please outline how your skills and experience demonstrate your suitability for the role.  AI can be a useful tool to spark ideas or help you organise your thoughts, but when it comes to your application, we want to hear from you, not an algorithm. What truly stands out to us are genuine stories, personal insights and the experiences that have shaped who you are. Authenticity matters - it helps us understand your motivations, your strengths and how you’ll contribute to our team. So, use AI if it helps you get started, but let your own voice lead the way.

Completed applications must be submitted by 11.59pm, 15th April 2026.

Inclusion & Diversity:

We are committed to building a workforce where everyone feels they belong.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, identities and lived experiences. Diversity strengthens our teams, improves our services and helps us better represent and support the communities we serve.

We are proud to be an inclusive employer and strive to create a workplace that is fair, respectful and accessible to all. We actively work to challenge discrimination, remove barriers and ensure equity throughout our recruitment and employment practices.

If you need any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment or selection process, please let us know - we are happy to support you. Your talent, your potential, and your unique perspective matter here.

For more information on Inclusion or the Disability Confident Scheme, please click the links Inclusion & Diversity Disability Confident Scheme

Join Us:

Ready to take the next step in your career? At BTP, you’ll have the opportunity to grow, make a real impact, and be part of something extraordinary.

Find out why BTP could be the perfect fit for you - About Us - British Transport Police

Curious about what life at BTP is really like? Hear directly from our people and discover what makes working here so rewarding. Explore real stories on our blog: Our Stories - British Transport Police

For further information, please contact our Resourcing Team - RecruitmentTeam@btp.police.uk.