About the job

Job summary

We recognise the challenges that people with protected characteristics may experience on the job market and in their career progression. We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We are keen to make our workforce as diverse as possible, and we hope to attract applications from underrepresented groups, including ethnic minorities, people with a disability, and people with gender diverse identities.  

Do you have experience managing large projects or programmes?

Are you keen to develop these skills further as a major part of the Government’s approach to economic growth and levelling up?

Are you good at making connections and building relationships, challenging and influencing to ensure outcomes are delivered?

If so, we are looking for 3 delivery leads to join our team and help us shape and run the programme that is delivering local transport infrastructure in key city regions across the country, and we would love to hear from you!

Job description

The Local Transport Directorate is right at the heart of the Department for Transport’s business and plays a key role in all three of the Department’s strategic aims: Improving transport for the user; Reducing environmental impact; and Growing and levelling up the economy.

Within Local Transport, the Local Infrastructure Delivery division manages a portfolio of high-impact local transport investments delivering benefits to millions of people. We are responsible for delivery of the flagship City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS), as well as the Transforming Cities Fund (TCF) and the Levelling Up Fund (LUF).

CRSTS provides eligible Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) with consolidated long-term capital funding to support economic growth, drive levelling up and decarbonise transport by transforming local transport networks. The first 5-year settlements provide £5.7bn of funding from 2022/23 to 2026/27.  Subsequently, a further £15.8bn of funding for the second CRSTS period running from 2027/28 to 2031/32 has been announced. These announcements make it an incredibly exciting time to be working in the Local Infrastructure Delivery division!

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Provide leadership to the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements programme, alongside other Grade 7s and the Grade 6s.
• Build relationships with Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) across England, and work with them to deliver local transport projects in their areas - managing a portfolio of projects worth over £1bn.
• Provide a Project Management Office role for the entire CRSTS programme.
• Ensure appropriate governance and assurancearrangements are in place for the oversight of the CRSTS portfolio, overseeing financial management of CRSTS programme.
• Monitor and support MCAs to deliver through governance arrangements, unblocking issues and utilising levers to ensure delivery of schemes.
• Act as a client for retained CRSTS schemes if required, including overseeing the review and coordination of business cases. 
• Support plans for developing the second round of the CRSTS and work with MCAs to agree new delivery plans.
• Build relationships across Local Transport, DfT and wider Government to ensure successful delivery of CRSTS.
• Line/task management of 1-2 staff, overseeing their work and development.

For further information, please see the attached Role Profile.

Person specification

About You  

To thrive in this role, you will be enthusiastic and proactive with strong leadership qualities. You should be someone who can communicate clearly and confidently to a diverse range of stakeholders, including senior officials and ministers.

You enjoy building effective working relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, including very senior levels. You are confident and skilled in providing challenge where necessary to ensure the best outcomes are delivered. You take an evidence-based approach, are highly organised and able to effectively prioritise workload to adapt to changing demands. You keep in mind the bigger picture and look beyond the status quo to see how things could be improved.

You will have experience leading on programmes or projects, including financial management and handling of complex data sets. You will also have excellent written communication skills.

Additional Information 

A minimum 60% of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace, although requirements to attend other locations for official business, or carry out detached duty in another DfT workplace, will also count towards this level of attendance. 

This role will require you to travel occasionally, to visit stakeholders.

Benefits

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits. We offer generous annual leave, attractive pension options, flexible working, inclusive working environments and much more to support a healthy work/life balance.

Find out more about what it's like working at the Department for Transport.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV and personal statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

How to apply

As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide a CV and Personal Statement (750 words). Please tailor your CV to suit the role. For your Personal Statement, please provide detailed evidence of the following:

• Experience managing programmes or projects
• Extensive experience working with and building strong relationships with a range of stakeholders
• Experience handling and interpreting complex data sets, with the ability to draw out the facts to present coherently to others.

The sift is due to take place 13th-15th March 2024.

Interviews and a written policy exercise are likely to be held between 27th March and 5th April 2024.

We will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change. You will be provided with sufficient notice of the confirmed dates.

The selection process will be designed specifically for the role. As a result, your assessment will include:

• An Interview and a written policy exercise.

This interview will be conducted online via MS Teams. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.

You’re encouraged to become familiar with the role profile, as you may be assessed against any of the criteria recorded within.

The Department for Transport alongside other Government Departments recruit using Success Profiles. This means for each role we consider what you will need to demonstrate in order to be successful. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, drives up performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.

For further information on Success Profiles visit our Careers website.

Reasonable Adjustments

As a Disability Confident Leader employer, we are committed to ensuring that the recruitment process is fair, accessible and allows all candidates to perform at their best. If a person with a visible or non-visible disability is substantially disadvantaged, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need during the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at an interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

If you need a reasonable adjustment so that you can complete your application, you should contact Government Recruitment Service via dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Document Accessibility

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

This job advert contains links to the DfT Careers website. Our website provides useful guidance and information that can support you during the application process. If you cannot access the information on our website for any reason, please email DRGComms@dft.gov.uk for assistance.

Further Information

For more information about how we hire, and for useful tips on submitting your application for this role, visit the How We Hire page of our DfT Careers website. You can find detailed information about the recruitment process and what to expect when applying for a role.

Pre-employment Checking

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment. 

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). 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. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.