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.

Would you embrace the opportunity to be part of a transformative project during an exciting time?

Do you have experience in project delivery and collaborating with a diverse range of stakeholders?

If so, we have an exciting opportunity available for two Sponsorship Leads to join our team and would love to hear from you!

Job description

You will join the Manchester Route and Stations team within the Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) and Network Planning Directorate at a crucial time for the scheme, as the Department continues to develop the scope, cost, and schedule for the programme.

In this role, you will focus on leading and developing the Millington to Manchester part of the route, which includes stations at Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly. Your work will contribute to a multi-layered programme of policy development and engagement with key external and internal stakeholders across the NPR geography. This will include liaising with Mayoral Combined and Local Authorities, business leaders and with key delivery partners.

Of the two roles available, one will support cost sponsorship, and the other will be the Manchester Piccadilly Station Sponsor. Both are challenging roles, which will require a broad range of project delivery, policy, stakeholder and leadership skills and experience. You will be working in a fast-paced project environment, supporting on developing critical plans, and will have plenty of opportunities for personal and professional development. You can find more information about the two roles within the attached Role Profile.

If you would like to find out more about what it's like to work at Department for Transport (DfT) Rail, please click here.

Your key responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• Leading on the sponsorship of the value engineering and standards review exercise for the Manchester route of NPR.
• Developing and maintaining a programme of all activities in DfT and HS2 Ltd relating to the sponsorship of the scheme.
• Supporting the Head of Sponsorship and the Head of Stations on the wider sponsorship of the programme and acting as an intelligent sponsor, providing intellectual challenge on scope, cost and efficiencies.
• Supporting Ministers where required, as well as HM Treasury, the IPA and other Government departments on wider delivery of the programme.

For more information, please see the attached Role Profile.

Person specification

About you

You will have experience of working within a project delivery environment or have substantial policy experience, and will either hold a Project Delivery qualification (such as APM, PMQ or Managing Successful Programmes) at Practitioner level, be currently working towards a qualification or be willing to work towards the qualification once in .

You will be a self-starter who is comfortable working on your own initiative and capable of providing clear direction to others. You will be an organised individual who can confidently balance multiple, often conflicting, priorities effectively.

You will be an articulate communicator, both verbally and in writing, with the ability to advise and influence senior stakeholders to achieve desired outcomes. You will confidently navigate challenging conversations, ensuring that your perspectives and views are effectively communicated, whilst remaining receptive to challenge and alternatives.

Using your excellent interpersonal skills, you will develop and maintain positive working relationships within the team, across organisational boundaries, and with external stakeholders.

Additional Information

This role is available to individuals who wish to be spending their office time in Leeds or Birmingham. We would also expect the individual to be willing to travel regularly to visit different locations relevant to the route, and visit alternative DfT offices, predominantly London.

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. 

At the point of interview all candidates will be asked for their preferred role within the Manchester Route and Stations team. As we will be appointing this role based on merit (offering to the highest scorer first), we will take your preferred working division into consideration, at the point of offer, but please note that this will not be guaranteed.  

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 and Experience.

How to Apply

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.

When considering applying please look at how your experience relates to the role, and within your CV and Personal Statement (maximum 750 words) please provide detailed evidence of your experience of the following:

• Working within delivery of projects and programmes, such as a client or sponsor.
• Working collaboratively with a diverse range of stakeholders to identify the main issues, risks and generate solutions to ensure a project or programme was delivered on time and within budget.
• Working in a fast paced and complex environment whilst managing multiple and often conflicting priorities.

The sift is due to take place from the 12th of August 2024.

Interviews are likely to be held from the week commencing the 2nd of September 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.

This interview could be conducted online via Teams or face to face at one of our offices. 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.