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.  

Can you confidently collaborate and work with a wide range of stakeholders?

Are you experienced with developing and delivering L&D interventions?

If so, then this is the perfect role for you!

Job description

The Project Delivery People Team are passionate HR professionals who are delivery focused, collaborative and supportive. Our core values are confidence, teamwork, inclusion and delivery excellence which is embedded in all we do. We lead a busy portfolio shaping the Project Delivery (PD) Learning and Development (L&D), Talent and Resourcing offer under our ‘Attracting, Developing, Retaining’ vision. We are responsible for a £2m annual training budget which we use to  ensure our peoples’ L&D and talent are prioritised, so we have the right skills at the right time in the right place to meet the department’s ambition to be ‘best in class’ with project Delivery.

DfT has one of the largest and complex portfolio of projects, worth over £165 billion in Government. To deliver this there are over 500 Project Delivery (PD) professionals plus 100’s of dual professionals working in a wide range of projects. DfT is strengthening the development and resourcing of teams who lead on portfolio management, project assurance and PD. This is to realise the long-term benefits for the UK and its citizens in line with unprecedented investment in our transport infrastructure.

Following the publication of the: ‘Lessons from transport for the sponsorship of major projects’ (2019), Sponsoring a major project: the Crossrail experience (2024), Declaration on Government reform (2021) A Modern Civil Service (2024) and Civil Service People Plan 2024 - 2027 (2024), the DfT has developed a high-profile Project Delivery Change Programme, focusing on the continuous improvement of the department’s Portfolio Management, Function, Resourcing and Talent in PD. This is to ensure roles and responsibilities in delivery of Major Projects are clear, promoting the right behaviours and culture, and most importantly developing our ‘people’.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Lead the final phase of the Government Projects Academy’s PD Accreditation Assessment scheme and support DfT meeting its targets by Mar 2025.
• Leading cross departmental engagement, co-ordination of the Director General (DG) Group representatives to deliver the rollout and cohorts of PD Professionals being accredited.
• Using People data from PD Accreditation to support developing L&D initiatives to address organisational skills gaps and learning needs for DfT’s PD profession.
• Lead co-ordinating the internal bidding process for PDFS, to ensure high quality bids are recommended to Hd of the PD People Team and approved.
• Act as the DfT PDFS cross Departmental working group and with Cabinet Office lead for the annual PDFS bidding commission in DfT. Ensuring current and new policies and procedures are effectively implemented into DfT’s PD Profession.
• Managing learning and talent development projects, including procurement and development of new interventions, delivered to time, quality and cost.

For more information, please see the attached Role Profile.

Person specification

About you

To thrive in this role, you will

• Have experience successfully developing and delivering L&D interventions to time, quality and cost.
• Be skilled with using people data to develop evidence-based L&D and Talent decisions.
• Have a good understanding of the broader HR role and function including experience of Learning and Development in large or complex organisations.
• Possess experience effectively collaborating and communicating with a wide range of stakeholders to drive improvements and including influencing senior decision making.
• Have experience of recommending suitable learning options to meet individual and team requirements.
• Have the ability to work across teams and lead others even without authority at times to deliver against milestones and outcomes, taking initiative to drive successful results.

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. 

There will be occasional travel required with this role to other DfT locations and at least twice a month to London. 

Nationality Requirements 

DfT can not provide Visa Sponsorship for this vacancy.

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, Experience and Technical skills.

How to apply

As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide:

1. A written behavioural example in 250 words that provides evidence of you having demonstrated the following:

• Leadership

2. A tailored CV that demonstrates suitability to the role and the essential criteria.

3. A Personal statement in 1000 words providing detailed evidence of the following:

• Experience of Successfully developing and delivering L&D interventions to time, quality and cost.
• Experience of using people data to develop evidence-based L&D and Talent decisions.
• A good understanding of the broader HR role and function including experience of Learning and Development in large or complex organisations.
• Experience effectively collaborating and communicating with a wide range of stakeholders to drive improvements and including influencing senior decision making.
• Recommending suitable learning options to meet individual and team requirements.
• Ability to work across teams and lead others even without authority at times to deliver against milestones and outcomes, taking initiative to drive successful results.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using your behavioural example of Leadership. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to interview.

For this campaign you will be assessed against the HR Technical Framework

The sift is due to take place from the 15th of August 2024.

Interviews are likely to be held from the week commencing the 26th of August 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: 

• A presentation and 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.