About the job

Job summary

UK Parliament

Working at the UK Parliament offers a unique and rewarding career at the heart of the UK’s democratic system.

With a wide range of roles available, our impartial colleagues enable the day to day running of the House of Commons, House of Lords and Joint Departments. Together, we make Parliament happen.

Introduction 

The Project Delivery Team is accountable for the delivery of all the current major projects across the Parliamentary Estate.  Having recently undergone a reorganisation, the team will focus on a portfolio management approach, alongside an enhanced focus on construction quality, cost scrutiny and consistency of approach whilst strengthening opportunities for professional development and career progression across the team.

We currently have approximately 120 projects with an annual spend of £100/150m, with a portfolio value of over £1bn; we have a stated aim to improve the predictability of our projects from both a time and cost perspective whilst not trading on quality or safety.

Job description

We are looking for 6 x Assistant Directors for our Project Delivery Team.

You will be ideally from highly regulated industries such as rail, aviation and pharmaceuticals, you will develop in-house teams of Project Leaders from a multi-disciplinary technical background and will be responsible for the leadership of major capital projects across the parliamentary estate.

In this role, you will consult and build relationships with the heads of a variety of in-house departments and Clerks of Domestic Committees of both Houses to translate new requests into practical, value-for-money projects.

Some of the responsibilities for this role include:

• Responsible for the good management and welfare of their team, ensuring that all human resources practices and procedures comply with the staff handbook and ‘Good Manager’ guide.
• Promote proactive communication and teamwork through regular departmental meetings/briefings. Ensures that all staff understand the department and Directorate’s objectives, and their own role in achieving them.
• Annual capital budget and forecasting responsibility of approximately £30m per annum.
• Preparation of reports to Committees of either House or to Boards of the authorities of either House, and attend these as required by the Director of Capital Projects.

Person specification

UK Parliament

Working at the UK Parliament offers a unique and rewarding career at the heart of the UK’s democratic system.

With a wide range of roles available, our impartial colleagues enable the day to day running of the House of Commons, House of Lords and Joint Departments. Together, we make Parliament happen.

Staff Benefits

In addition to your salary, we offer an attractive range of benefits including: 

• 30 days’ annual leave (increasing to 35 days after first full leave year). 
• Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%. 
• Access to training and development. 
• Flexible working. 
• Interest free season ticket loan and bicycle loan.

Introduction 

The Project Delivery Team is accountable for the delivery of all the current major projects across the Parliamentary Estate.  Having recently undergone a reorganisation, the team will focus on a portfolio management approach, alongside an enhanced focus on construction quality, cost scrutiny and consistency of approach whilst strengthening opportunities for professional development and career progression across the team.

We currently have approximately 120 projects with an annual spend of £100/150m, with a portfolio value of over £1bn; we have a stated aim to improve the predictability of our projects from both a time and cost perspective whilst not trading on quality or safety.

The Role 

We are looking for 6 x Assistant Directors for our Project Delivery Team.

You will be ideally from highly regulated industries such as rail, aviation and pharmaceuticals, you will develop in-house teams of Project Leaders from a multi-disciplinary technical background and will be responsible for the leadership of major capital projects across the parliamentary estate.

In this role, you will consult and build relationships with the heads of a variety of in-house departments and Clerks of Domestic Committees of both Houses to translate new requests into practical, value-for-money projects.

Some of the responsibilities for this role include:

• Responsible for the good management and welfare of their team, ensuring that all human resources practices and procedures comply with the staff handbook and ‘Good Manager’ guide.
• Promote proactive communication and teamwork through regular departmental meetings/briefings. Ensures that all staff understand the department and Directorate’s objectives, and their own role in achieving them.
• Annual capital budget and forecasting responsibility of approximately £30m per annum.
• Preparation of reports to Committees of either House or to Boards of the authorities of either House, and attend these as required by the Director of Capital Projects.

Skills and Experience 

Qualifications:

• Relevant professional membership of a construction or property related body such as the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Royal Institute of British Architects, (RIBA) Chartered Institute of Services Engineers (CIBSE), Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB).

To be successful in this role you will demonstrate:

• Running ‘in-house’ teams of project professionals who in turn are responsible for appointing and overseeing external consultants and contractors to ensure complex projects are delivered on time, to budget, and agreed quality standards.
• Personally, managing complex technical projects in environments with multiple stakeholders.
• An understanding of procurement practices in general and particularly two-stage contractor procurement.
• Develops sophisticated strategies for influencing the behaviours of others at all levels to achieve an objective, without damaging relationships.
• Ability to build and maintain effective relationships between staff, managers, contractors and stakeholders ensuring that everyone is, at all times, treated with dignity, courtesy and respect.
• Strong written and oral communication skills including the ability to simply explain complex technical issues to a lay audience.
• Analyses information from a range of sources and uses creative problem-solving techniques to draw appropriate conclusions and drive through continuous improvement and value for money in ambiguous and uncertain situations, in order to achieve organisational objectives.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £68,900, House of Commons contributes £18,603 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

CV & Supporting Statement – If you would like to apply for this role, please submit your CV and covering letter with a 750 word limit. 

More information on the role and the full criteria can be found in the Job Description. 

Please note that most job offers will be made at the minimum of the salary range, other than in exceptional circumstances.

We may close the vacancy prior to the closing date stated due to a high volume of applications.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

Open to UK nationals only.

Working for the Civil Service

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission. The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.