About the job

Job summary

The Emergency Services Network (ESN) Programme is creating the next generation mobile communications network which will replace the existing Airwave solution based on Tetra Technology with a new solution that uses a commercial 4G network, with specialised devices and extensive improvements in coverage. It is a multi-year initiative with a budget measured in billions of pounds, and significant technical complexity and challenge.

This is an exciting and challenging opportunity to work on one of Government’s largest programmes supporting the essential services provided by our Emergency Services.  The Deputy Director for Coverage will lead a team that is responsible for ensuring that the Emergency Services Network (ESN) coverage is available in locations where the ESN user community require it for their operations.  ESN coverage is being delivered by multiple suppliers and projects; notably the Mobile Services contract delivered by EE.  You will oversee and assure successful delivery of our suppliers’ contracted obligations, as well as identifying any additional user requirements which must be delivered in order to provide satisfactory coverage.

You will establish strong relationships with key stakeholders in the Emergency Services to ensure that the Programme’s plans for delivering coverage are fit for purpose.  You will also be responsible for the Programme’s relationships with multiple suppliers to ensure that key deliverables are met.  You will have excellent stakeholder engagement skills and will be adept in building relationships and influencing others.  You will have experience in managing and integrating a number of different suppliers to achieve a positive outcome.

You will lead a team of c.50 individuals which is a blend of civil servants, Emergency Services personnel, contractors and consultants. You will manage a budget of £183M for the 2023/24 financial year.

Job description

Key responsibilities

• Ensuring delivery of ESN Coverage to all locations where ESN users will require it in order to serve the public safely and effectively.
• Management of several suppliers and contracts that are delivering the coverage infrastructure.
• Leadership of a team of c.50 people compromised of civil servants, contractors and consultants.
• Working with Emergency Services leaders to ensure that the plans are fit for purpose.
• Working with colleagues across the Programme to ensure that coverage delivery and assurance is sequenced appropriately in the overall ESN deployment schedule.
• Working with colleagues across the programme and users to ensure that the end-to-end solution provides the quality and experience of coverage that users expect and require.
• Developing requirements and contracting with suppliers where additional work to deliver ESN coverage is needed.
• Developing plans and ensuring that coverage is transitioned to the ESN Live Service
• Working with colleagues to develop the future operating model for ESN and ensure that coverage support is adequate of in life support of ESN
• Play an active role in the Programme’s Senior Leadership Team and deputising for the Director for Deployment and Capability where necessary.
• Managing a budget of £183M

Please note: The post-holder may be required to carry out other duties within the scope of the grade and within the limits of their skill, competence, and training.

Person specification

Essential criteria 

The successful candidate will need to demonstrate their knowledge, experience, capability and behavioural approach to a high standard against the following key criteria:

• Project Delivery Professional with senior leadership experience on a technology enabled programme;
• A sophisticated understanding of the technical and business change activities that an organisation needs to consider when planning the implementation of new technology;
• Significant experience of senior level stakeholder engagement in a complex stakeholder environment;
• Excellent collaboration skills including experience of developing and implementing strategies to enable co-creation of solutions with users and suppliers;
• Experience of managing partner contracts, large suppliers and ensuring value for money from their work;
• Leadership of large multi-disciplinary teams from across multiple organisations;
• Excellent communication skills; both verbal and written forms at all levels.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience of working with the Emergency Services or other public body safety organisations;
• Experience of working in or with the telecoms industry;
• A project delivery leadership qualification such as the Project Leadership Programme.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £75,000, Home Office contributes £20,250 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

Please follow the Job Advert instructions on the Civil Service Jobs website to apply online, no later than 23:55hrs on Wednesday 7th August 2024.

Provide some basic personal information;

1. A CV - setting out your career history, highlighting specific responsibilities and achievements that are relevant for this role, including details where budgets and numbers of people managed, relevant achievements in recent posts, together with reasons for any gaps within the last two years;
2. A Statement of Suitability – (limited to 1250 words) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience, provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the essential criteria in the person specification.
3. Diversity Monitoring - as part of the online application process, you will be asked a number of diversity-related questions. If you do not wish to provide a declaration on any of the characteristics, you will have the option to select 'prefer not to say'. For more information, see the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy: 2022 to 2025 (HTML) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

It is essential that in your written application you give evidence, using examples, of proven experience. These responses will be developed and discussed with candidates invited for interview. Failure to submit both a CV and Supporting Statement will mean the panel only have limited information on which to assess your application against the criteria in the person specification.

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

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security 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

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.