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.

Are you passionate about building great working relationships with a range of stakeholders?  

Do you have significant portfolio, programme and/or project management skills?  

Do you want the opportunity to be a part of a team who drives forward change programmes for DfT? 

If so, we have a fantastic opportunity as Head of PMO, and we would love to hear from you! 

Job description

This role is part of the Change Team which reports to the HR Director for Change and Organisational Design. You will have Line Management responsibility and work closely with the wider team of 14 as well as key stakeholders across the whole HR function and with senior leaders across all of our Corporate Functions, the wider Department and our five Executive Agencies; the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) and Active Travel England (ATE). 

This is an exciting opportunity to work in a high-profile area which impacts everyone who works in DfT. As Head of the Programme Management Office, you will drive our Change Programmes forward with effective change and programme management practices.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Be responsible for leading the Programme Management Office to drive forward our Change Programmes including Civil Service Modernisation, Places for Growth, our Be an Excellent Department Strategic Enabler, smart working and Efficiencies Review
• Have task / line management responsibility for 2 members of staff.
• Interpret the programme strategies and translate them into targeted initiatives and achievable project deliverables.
• Lead on the management of Programme risks, issues, and dependencies.
• Ensure there are robust project management processes and tools in place, providing coaching and support to ensure these are fully utilised.
• Track the progress of the Programmes against success criteria, utilising data and measures, recommending interventions when necessary.

For further information, please see the attached Role Profile.

Additional Information

A minimum of 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. 

The Change Team is spread across our DfTc office locations; Birmingham, Hastings, Leeds, London and Swansea. We aim to meet as a team in one of our offices every quarter so some travel may be required.

Person specification

We are looking for a programme professional who can lead a high-profile programme office and deliver top quality service. You will need to exhibit experience of leading a team; the ability to foster constructive relationships and work across organisations; and build and maintain robust reporting structures to manage a complex programme.  

You will have excellent interpersonal skills, be a confident communicator and are comfortable working with and building relationships with a diverse range of partners and team members at all levels, including senior staff, to achieve project and programme objectives. You use strong and dynamic communication skills to deliver your message, create a strong sense of purpose, and influence those around you.   

Highly motivated and organised, you will have good attention to detail and be able to meet conflicting demands in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

You will hold or be willing to work towards appropriate professional Programme/Project management qualification.

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 provide a CV (unlimited word count) and Personal Statement (max 750 words).

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 please provide detailed evidence of your experience of the following: 

• Experience of building effective relationships with colleagues and internal / external stakeholders at all levels to deliver.
• Project, programme or programme management office management particularly related to business change / change management.
• Experience of delivering in a fast-paced, changing environment, with ability to prioritise work to balance short term and long term objectives.

To apply, please follow the link below and submit your CV and Personal Statement to Michael Page (our recruitment partners).

Department for Transport: Michael Page

Michael Page will provide the Department for Transport (DfT) with a list of applications and DfT will complete an internal sift.

Sifting will likely take place week commencing 5th February.

At interview stage, you will be assessed against the Experience and Behaviours (Delivering at Pace, Seeing the Big Picture, Making Effective Decisions, Communicating and Influencing and Working Together) elements of the Success Profiles.

Interviews will likely take place week commencing 19th February.

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 presentation

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, DfT is 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. We want to support you if you need an adjustment in the recruitment process, even if you do not feel you qualify for the Disability Confident Scheme.

We consider visible and non-visible disabilities, neurodiversity or learning differences, chronic medical conditions or mental ill health. Examples include dyslexia, epilepsy, autism, chronic fatigue, diabetes, or schizophrenia.

Some of the adjustments we have offered are:

• application or interview help
• a time of day that works for you
• extra time
• sign language interpretation
• advice about assistive technology

For more information, you can read the government guidance on Reasonable adjustments for workers with disabilities or health conditions (opens in a new window)

If you need a reasonable adjustment so that you can complete your application, you should contact the recruiter for this campaign Ben McColl (benmccoll@michaelpage.com) as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

If you require any reasonable adjustments, changes or help during the recruitment process at interview stage, please contact the vacancy holder Eleanor Binks (eleanor.binks@dft.gov.uk). For instance, you may need wheelchair access at an interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional. 

Interviews under the Disability Confident Scheme

We want to encourage disabled people to apply for jobs and give them an opportunity to show their skills, talent and abilities at the interview stage. The Civil Service runs a Disability Confident Scheme, offering an interview (opens in a new window) to a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum selection criteria for the job.

To be considered for an interview under this scheme you must have:

• a physical or mental impairment, or a long term health condition which has a substantial and long term (over 12 months) adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day to day activities
• demonstrated in your application and testing stages that you meet the minimum job criteria as set out in the advert or person specification for the post

If you feel that you meet the minimum job criteria and would like to apply under the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS), please contact the recruiter for this campaign Ben McColl (benmccoll@michaelpage.com) before you submit your application.

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.

A Great Place to Work for Veterans Initiative

We offer veterans who meet the minimum standard on each of the job’s essential criteria the opportunity to go directly to the next stage of selection.

If you have completed at least one year in His Majesty’s Armed Forces (as a Regular or Reserve) and are in transition from the Armed Forces, or no longer a member, you can apply for roles in the Civil Service under the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative (opens in a new window).

If you are a veteran of the British armed forces with a minimum of one year's service, please contact the recruiter for this campaign Ben McColl (benmccoll@michaelpage.com) before you submit your application.

Interviews under the Redeployment Interview Scheme (RIS) - current Civil Servants only

We value our staff and want to make every effort to retain them if we can. Under this scheme, Civil Service employers can offer an interview to a fair and proportionate number of civil servants who are at risk of redundancy and who meet the minimum job requirements.

For example, you may be at risk if your work area has launched a voluntary or compulsory redundancy scheme that you’re eligible for, or you are aware that your employer has begun consultation on how to reduce staff in your immediate team or work area.

To be considered for an interview, you must:

• have good reason to believe that you are likely to be made redundant in the near future
• have demonstrated in your application and testing stages that you meet the minimum job criteria detailed in the person specification
• be applying for a job at the same grade as, or lower than, your current job

If you believe that you are eligible and wish to apply using the Redeployment Interview Scheme, please contact the recruiter for this campaign Ben McColl (benmccoll@michaelpage.com) before you submit your application.

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.