A fictional person: the names, employers and numbers are invented.
Mark Bennett
Senior Project Manager · Public-sector and construction technology programmes
Birmingham, UKmark.bennett@example.comDriving licence: Full UKSecurity clearance: BPSS
Summary
Senior project manager with twelve years delivering technology and infrastructure programmes for councils, NHS trusts and construction firms. Runs projects of up to £14m through PRINCE2 governance and agile delivery, keeps boards informed without drowning them in paperwork, and spots schedule risk early. Delivered 18 of the last 20 projects on or under budget.
Lead a £14m programme replacing housing-repairs software across four councils; 1,900 staff moved to the new system in three waves with no missed statutory deadlines.
Cut the programme's forecast overspend from £1.1m to £180k by re-sequencing data migration and renegotiating two supplier contracts.
Run a monthly programme board of directors from all four councils and report RAID logs, milestones and benefits in one page.
Manage a team of 3 project managers, 2 business analysts and a 25-person supplier delivery team.
Project Manager · Brindleyard Construction Technology, Coventry
2017 – 2021
Delivered site-management software rollouts to 46 construction sites, training 600 site staff on tablets and digital permits.
Brought the average rollout from 11 weeks to 6 by standardising a site readiness checklist and a two-day training plan.
Managed budgets of £400k–£2.5m per project with monthly forecasts accurate to within 3%.
Introduced a lessons-learned review after every rollout; repeat site issues fell by around half within a year.
Project Management Professional (PMP) · Project Management Institute2020
PRINCE2 Practitioner · PeopleCert2018
Agile Project Management (AgilePM) Foundation · APMG International2022
Languages
English — Native
Three summary options
Start from the one closest to where you are now.
Moving into PM
Project coordinator ready for a first project manager role after three years supporting construction and IT projects worth up to £3m. Owns schedules, risk logs and supplier paperwork day to day and recently ran a £250k office move alone. PRINCE2 Foundation certified.
Programme manager
Programme manager with fifteen years in public-sector transformation. Leads portfolios of six to ten projects worth £40m in total, sets up governance that boards trust and tracks benefits long after go-live. Recent programmes saved one county council £3.2m a year in operating costs.
Agile delivery
Project manager specialising in agile delivery of digital services. Runs three Scrum teams through planning, reviews and releases, and translates sprint progress into milestones and budgets that finance directors understand. Brought a delayed citizen portal back on track and live within four months.
Keywords to include
Use the ones that are true for you, inside real sentences.
Project management
PRINCE2
PMP
Stakeholder management
Risk management
Budget management
Project planning
Change control
Agile
Supplier management
What recruiters look for
Tips for this role, with the kind of numbers that count.
Lead with budget, scope and team
Put the size of each project in the first line: budget, number of sites or users, team size and suppliers. "Lead a £14m programme across four councils" tells a hiring manager in seconds which level of role you are ready for.
Report on time and on budget honestly
A track record such as "18 of the last 20 projects on or under budget" is more believable than "always on time". If a project slipped, show how you recovered it — re-planning a delayed rollout is often the strongest story you have.
Show a risk you caught early
Project managers are hired to prevent surprises. Describe one risk you spotted, what you did and what it saved: "re-sequenced data migration and cut forecast overspend from £1.1m to £180k" proves control better than listing RAID logs.
Make certifications easy to find
Many adverts filter on PMP, PRINCE2 or AgilePM, so give each its own line with the awarding body and year. Keep the methodology names in your skills too, but let the bullets show you actually used them.
Name the people you managed upwards
Senior roles depend on board and sponsor management. Mention who you reported to — directors, a programme board, an NHS trust executive — and how you kept them informed, such as a one-page monthly report.
Match the sector language
Construction adverts talk about sites, contractors and handover; public-sector roles about governance, business cases and benefits. Reuse the words from the advert where they are true for you, so both the recruiter and the applicant tracking system see a match.
Make this CV yours
Answer one question at a time; the assistant fills each section and never invents numbers.
Is PMP or PRINCE2 better on a UK project manager CV?
PRINCE2 is more common in UK public-sector and corporate adverts, while PMP is widely recognised by international and US-owned companies. List whichever you hold, with the year, and check the adverts you are targeting: if most ask for one, mention it in your summary as well.
How do I describe projects that failed or were cancelled?
Include them if you managed them well. Describe the decision and what it protected: "recommended closing a £600k project at gateway review, saving the remaining budget" shows judgement. Leave out blame and focus on what you controlled.
Should I list every project I have managed?
No. Summarise each job in three to five bullets that cover your biggest and most relevant projects, then add totals such as "46 site rollouts". If an employer needs the full list, a short project schedule can go in an appendix or be shared at interview.
