Job Description

Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
Salary: £24,340 per annum (rising annually throughout the apprenticeship)
Contract Type: Fixed-Term, 48 months
Hours: Full-time, 37 hours
Location: Hartree Centre, Sci-Tech Daresbury, Keckwick, Warrington, WA4 4AD
Closing Date: Sunday, 2nd February 2026
Interview Date: Feb 2026 / Mar 2026
Start Date: September 2026

Are you ready to start your career in project management? Join the Hartree Centre's Programme Management Office as a Project Management Apprentice and help deliver projects that enable businesses to solve real-world challenges with the latest technologies. You'll assist both internal and external stakeholders in delivering projects that create meaningful results across industry and academia.

You'll learn first-hand how to oversee complex collaborative research projects, while assisting us in developing and advancing our methods following the UK Association for Project Management approach. Join us and engage with a team dedicated to continuous growth in a fast-paced, innovative atmosphere.

About an Apprenticeship at STFC

We're looking for enthusiastic and motivated individuals ready to develop their skills through formal training and hands-on experience. As an apprentice, you'll gain real-world experience, build technical and professional skills, and contribute to cutting-edge research and innovation in a dynamic, supportive environment.

You'll be fully supported throughout the programme with regular check-ins from a dedicated Apprenticeship Coordinator, structured training, practical experience, and mentorship from industry professionals. Plus, you'll have access to workshops, a peer network, and career development support, helping you feel confident and prepared for new challenges.

Why join the Hartree Centre at STFC?

The Hartree Centre's goal is to equip UK industry with the necessary knowledge, skills, and compute capabilities to unlock advanced digital technologies' full potential. As a part of UK Research and Innovation, it features some of the UK's most sophisticated computing, data, and AI technologies. From SMEs starting out to multinational corporations, its experts collaborate with both industry and the research community. They address real challenges and speed up the deployment of high-performance technologies, driving major gains in efficiency, performance, and time to market.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_B52ehNNGGA

Qualifications gained

• Level 6 Project Manager (integrated degree) apprenticeship
• BSc (Hons) in Project Management
• APM PMQ
• Project manager (integrated degree) / Skills England

What You'll Learn

Throughout your apprenticeship, you will develop a deep understanding of multiple elements of project management, including:

Project Governance & Compliance

• Understanding governance frameworks, roles, and responsibilities.
• Ensuring projects align with organisational strategy and legal requirements.

Planning & Scheduling

• Developing detailed project plans, schedules, and milestones.
• Applying change control and maintaining schedule integrity.

Risk & Issue Management

• Identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks.
• Managing issues proactively to minimise impact on delivery.

Financial & Resource Management

• Preparing and monitoring budgets and cost forecasts.
• Managing resources effectively to optimise performance.

Stakeholder Engagement & Communication

• Building positive relationships with stakeholders.
• Communicating clearly and managing expectations throughout the project lifecycle.

Procurement & Contract Management

• Understanding procurement processes and supplier management.
• Managing contracts to ensure compliance and value for money.

Change & Benefits Realisation

• Managing organisational change and ensuring benefits are delivered.
• Aligning projects with long-term strategic objectives.

Training provider

University of Cumbria: BSc (Hons) Project Manager Degree Apprenticeship - University of Cumbria

Delivery - Online (live sessions) and face-to-face over the Annual Summer School

What You'll Be Doing - Day-to-day responsibilities

• Supporting the delivery of Hartree Centre projects, helping meet agreed goals and deadlines.
• Assisting with planning tasks, tracking progress, and maintaining project documentation.
• Following established guidelines, techniques, and tools for project management and planning, adapting the delivery methodology as appropriate to the situation
• Working with team members and stakeholders to ensure clear communication and smooth project delivery.
• Helping identify and manage risks, resolve issues, and raise them when needed.
• Contributing to improving processes and learning best practices in project management.

Entry Requirements

The below criteria will be scored during Shortlisting (S), Interview (I) or both (S&I).

We are looking for the following:

• GCSEs in Maths and English (Grade 4/C or above) (S)
• A minimum of 96 UCAS tariff points at A Level or an equivalent Level 3 qualification i.e., BTEC National Diploma (S)
• An awareness of basic health and safety (I)
• Enthusiastic and motivated to learn, both in the workplace and through formal training (I)
• Demonstrates skills needed to work in a project delivery environment, such as problem solving, managing time well, working in a team, but also using own initiative to work independently (S &I)
• Understanding or knowledge of computing or scientific fields with good commercial awareness (I)
• Demonstrates good communication skills with a proactive demeanour to problem-solving, handling risks, and escalating issues that arise where appropriate (S&I)
• Is able to influence a range of stakeholders so that agreed project deliverables are achieved to deadlines (I)

Important Information

• To complete the apprenticeship, you will need to evidence passes at 9-4 or A*-C in GCSE (or equivalent) Maths and English. For those sitting their GSCEs in Summer 2026, we would need evidence of your predicted grades.
• You will need to have achieve, or predicted to achieve 96 UCAS points or equivalent by September 2026.
• When applying for an apprenticeship, there is a set residency eligibility criteria that must be met by the applicant. To check your eligibility please click here.
• The training provider will also ask you to complete an initial assessment during the application process. If you already have a qualification in this subject area or similar please include, as an attachment, your transcript outlining the grade/s achieved and modules covered. By applying for this apprenticeship, you are giving permission for your details to be shared with the relevant training provider.

We will be in touch after the closing date, however, please reach out on apprenticerecruitment@ukri.org if you have any questions.

Please note that we hold the right to close this vacancy early if a sufficient number of applications have been received.

Employee Benefits

• Your salary will increase annually as you progress through your apprenticeship, in line with policy.
• 30 days holiday (in addition to 10.5 bank holidays and privilege days).
• Flexible working hours.
• An excellent defined average salary pension scheme.
• Easily accessible public transport links/ free parking.
• Excellent learning and development opportunities.
• Cycle to work scheme.

For a list of our full benefits, please visit here.

As this job does not fulfil the UK Government minimum criterion for obtaining sponsored migrant worker status we will be unable to apply for sponsorship for anyone not eligible to work in the UK. At interview, all shortlisted candidates are required to bring with them identification documents and original documents that prove they hold or can obtain the right to work in the UK. You can check your eligibility here: https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa/y

How to apply

Part of our application process involves submitting your CV and a cover letter. Your cover letter should address your suitability for the opportunity based how you meet each essential criteria stated in this advert.

Please note that we hold the right to close this vacancy early if a sufficient number of applications have been received.

We ask some of the biggest questions in the universe, to answer some of the biggest challenges in the world. Together, our scientists, technologists, engineers and business support team explore the unknown across every field you could think of. And they turn what they find into work that changes the world around us.

What could you achieve with the world-leading facilities and experts of one of Europe's largest research organisations by your side? Join us and discover what's possible!

About Us

UKRI - UK Research and Innovation
UKRI is an organisation that brings together the seven disciplinary research councils, Research England and Innovate UK. Together, we build an independent organisation with a strong voice and vision ensuring the UK maintains its world-leading position in research and innovation.

Supporting some of the world's most exciting and challenging research projects, we develop and operate some of the most remarkable scientific facilities in the world. We are pushing the frontiers of human knowledge through fundamental research and delivering benefits for UK society and the economy through world-class research, skills and business-led innovation.

More information can be found at www.ukri.org.

Choosing to come to work at UKRI means that you will have access to a whole host of benefits from a defined benefit pension scheme, excellent holiday entitlement, access to employee shopping/travel discounts and salary sacrifice cycle to work scheme. For more details, visit benefits of working for UKRI.

How we support EDI in the workforce

At UKRI, we believe that everyone has a right to be treated with dignity and respect, and to be provided with equal opportunities to thrive and succeed in an environment that enables them to do so. We also value diversity of thought and experience within inclusive groups, organisations and the wider community. For further information, please visit 'How we support EDI in the workforce'.

Disability Confident Employer

As users of the disability confident scheme, any candidate who opts into the scheme and best meets the essential criteria, will be shortlisted for interview. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

How to apply

Online applications only preferred for this role. Please submit a CV and covering letter which clearly outlines how you fulfil the criteria specified along with your motivation for UKRI and the role. Ensure that the job reference number is included in the filename description of each document uploaded. Note that failure to address the above criteria or submit an application without a covering letter may result in the application not being considered. Assessment will only be based upon the content of your submitted covering letter and CV and not the 'experience' section of the application.

UKRI seeks to ensure it creates and maintains a system of openness, fairness and inclusion - a collaborative, trusted environment, which is attractive to and accessible to everyone who is interested in developing their career with us.

The role holder will be required to have the appropriate level of security screening/vetting required for the role. UKRI reserves the right to run or re-run security clearance as required during the course of employment.

About the Team

The Science and Technology Facilities Council is a world-leading multi-disciplinary science organisation where curiosity-driven, blue-skies thinking meets practical, application-led science and engineering. Our goal is to deliver economic, societal, scientific and international benefits to the UK and its people - and more broadly to the world.

One of Europe's largest research organisations, we're trusted to support, enable and undertake cutting-edge projects in an amazing diversity of fields. Through world-class facilities and people, we're driving ground-breaking advances in science, engineering, computing and technology. Our research seeks to understand the Universe from the largest astronomical scales to the tiniest constituents of matter, yet creates impact on a very tangible, human scale.

For more information about STFC please visit https://stfc.ukri.org/
You can also visit our careers site https://www.stfccareers.co.uk/