About the job

Job summary

Restoration And Renewal Client Team

The Commissions of the House of Commons and House of Lords resolved in early 2018 that a major programme of restoration and renewal work must be carried out to protect and preserve the legacy of the Palace, ensuring it can continue to serve as home to the UK Parliament in the 21st century and beyond.

The Parliamentary Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Act established an independent Delivery Authority (DA). The R&R Client Team (CT), a joint department of Parliament, was created only in 2023, following a decision in 2022, when the Commissions decided that the former Sponsor Body should be brought back into Parliament to ensure better political alignment and ownership, and engagement.

The Client Team is responsible for directing, assuring and overseeing the DA’s work, acting as the single client for Parliament, owning the business case, requirements, benefits and scope of the programme.  The CT acts as the interface in all senses, as the single Client both articulating requirements and strategy, and helping Parliament decide what these are, both tactically and strategically. 

The DA is accountable for delivering the CT’s (Parliament’s) requirements to budget and timescale using the capability required for a programme of this scale and complexity. In added complexity, some parts of R&R will be delivered by in-House teams such as Strategic Estates (capital projects), maintenance, digital and security and close collaborative working is essential.

Job description

As Managing Director of the Client Team, You will act as Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) for the R&R programme, a nationally important and potentially multi-billion pound programme, with the usual SRO accountabilities for strategic objectives, vision, value for money and delivery of capability and benefits. You will not only lead the Client function, and gain political sponsorship, but will ensure it can function effectively as a joint department of both Houses.  You will also be responsible for developing the team, working with both Unions and its own staff employee forum to maintain an excellent team and programme culture.  

At the same time costed proposals for R&R need to be developed and agreed by the Houses in 2025 and the Delivery Authority’s work needs to be directed, scrutinised and assured.

Some of the responsibilities for this role include:

• Lead the Client Team and Delivery Authority’s relationship with the Programme Board and Client Board and their members.
• To hold to account the DA on behalf of the Clerks, and to question assumptions and scrutinise budgets and proposals effectively.
• Liaise with the National Audit Office and appear at the Public Accounts Committee and in front of other committees, Party groups or staff groups including Unions as required.
• Drive the development of integrated schedules and plans to ensure a portfolio of works is developed under a new joint operating model with Strategic Estates (the in-house capital investment team).

Person specification

To be successful in this role you will demonstrate:

• Criterion 1 – Experience of leading complex programmes: Experience of directing and assuring programmes with multi-million pound budgets. Proven ability to develop and drive an effective strategy, taking account of political, economic and legislative trends, issues and risks and their impact on Parliament and the Programme. Experience of construction or estates-related programmes is preferable, though not essential. 
• Criterion 2 – Ability to lead a team with complex interdependencies: Continually works across the organisation to drive high quality outputs and improvements in effectiveness and efficiency. Proven ability to lead, engage, motivate and develop colleagues, a record of promoting a culture within which effort and outcomes are both recognised and rewarded and where everybody is treated with dignity, courtesy and respect.
• Criterion 3 – Political acumen and outstanding stakeholder management/influencing skills: Proven ability to manage a complex, political stakeholder environment – including Board members, ministers, MPs and Peers, subject matter experts and external stakeholders in government and the media - and guide them through complexity and uncertainty. Commercially and financially astute. Highly developed written and verbal communication skills with the ability to present complex information clearly and concisely to very senior people.
• Criterion 4 – Ability to exercise oversight and scrutiny: Ability to exercise oversight and scrutiny, including of budgets, often in the absence of formal line management responsibilities.  Ability to question and challenge assumptions.
• Criterion 5 -  Analysis and judgement: Demonstrable ability to absorb, challenge and communicate complex programme-level issues relating to workplaces or construction; also a deep understanding of Parliament and Government as well as the relationship between the two Houses. This should be backed up by experience of working with a range of professional advisers, including financial, procurement and legal, to assimilate and challenge their advice.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £94,340, House of Commons contributes £25,471 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

• A CV (maximum three sides of A4) with your full employment history as well as any unpaid or community activity.   
• A short supporting statement (maximum two sides of A4) giving evidence of the strength and depth of your ability to meet the criteria for the role.   Please provide specific examples to demonstrate how you meet each of the criteria listed. 
• The names and contact details of two referees.  These must be people who know you well enough to comment on your suitability for the post and will be expected to have authoritative and personal knowledge of your achievements. References will be taken by telephone on all candidates selected for panel interview as soon as the interview arrangements have been made.  Referees should be advised accordingly. Please include the details in your CV. 

Proposed Timeline

We will try to offer as much flexibility as we can, but it may not be possible to offer alternative dates for interviews. You are therefore asked to note the below timetable, exercising flexibility through the recruitment and selection process, in order to meet the dates given. Please note that these dates may be subject to change:

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist 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

Open to UK nationals only.

Working for the Civil Service

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission. 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.