About the job

Job summary

About Us 

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is the department for economic growth. We are a newly formed department that brings together Britain’s world-class business expertise with trade policy, negotiations and promotion. We support businesses to invest, grow and export, creating jobs and opportunities across the country.  

It’s an exciting time to join the Department. Since we were established in February this year, we've been working at pace to deliver on the Department’s objectives. As part of this delivery, the Department has a £35bn portfolio of over 30 major projects/ programmes. This includes digital transformation programmes, major investment projects and grant schemes into key UK business sectors.

Job description

 Our Team  

We are looking for a Portfolio Account Manager to play a vital part in supporting some of these important and exciting projects. This role sits within the Change Portfolio Office as part of the Project Delivery and Change Directorate (PD&C).

The team operates as a central project delivery and change management function with strategic oversight of DBT’s major projects and project delivery best practice.  

The Change Portfolio Office:  

• Improve the Department’s project delivery oversight, to provide a holistic view of change across DBT and key insight to inform senior decision making. 
• Increase our project delivery capability and capacity, by supporting delivery of those major initiatives ensuring they are set up for success and controlled. 
• Work with governance and assurance to strengthen DBT’s investment decisions, ensuring DBT is investing in the right change initiatives. 

Our team support the portfolio of projects as named account managers. We serve as subject matter experts, critical friends and named points of contacts to help projects to deliver their agreed benefits. We ensure projects are set up for success and have plans, risks logs and governance arrangements in place. 

As a Portfolio Account Manager, you will be allocated a number of major change initiatives to support. You will engage regularly with the projects to support delivery, identify cross-cutting themes and escalate challenges. The team also lead a number of core functions for the Portfolio including RAID management, planning, project delivery frameworks and reporting.

You will lead on reporting and frameworks and run the regular reporting cycle to provide insight, information and support that strengthens portfolio oversight and enables senior management to make effective decisions across the portfolio.  

As a Portfolio Account Manager, the successful candidate will be responsible for: 

• Account Management - Acting as named point of contact to support your projects to deliver in line with departmental strategic objectives. This will include regular engagement with Project Managers, Programme Directors and attending Project Boards.  
• Project Support - Support projects to ensure they are set up and running effectively through providing specialist delivery advise throughout the project life-cycle.    
• Team Leadership/ Line Management – Actively lead your team to deliver successfully, line management of 2 SEOs.  
• Project Delivery Best Practice - Drive effective adoption and implementation of project delivery good practice across the portfolio, in partnership with our Portfolio Governance and Assurance team. 
• Stakeholder Engagement – Build and maintain good working relationships with key stakeholders, including programmes, corporate functions, the IPA, other government departments, to support the aims and vision of the Portfolio Office.  
• Portfolio Insight– Work together with colleagues in Planning and RAID to coordinate and provide data driven insights on the shape and performance of the portfolio. Lead the bimonthly reporting process for DBT’s major programmes portfolio. This includes providing analysis of the bi-monthly returns and producing an executive summary for the portfolio performance pack.  
• Portfolio Initiation- Work closely with business areas to identify and categorise new projects for a decision on entry to the portfolio and provide regular updates on the pipeline to the senior board.    
• Project Frameworks - Work with Head of Portfolio Office to establish and implement a clear Portfolio Framework. Support your team to develop documentation for the Project Delivery Portal, a central repository of project standards and guidance for the DBT project delivery community.   
• Risk and Issues Management – Support projects to set up effective RAID management, analyse risks and issues from across the portfolio and identify cross-cutting themes and challenges.  
• Planning - Support projects to set up effective planning practices, collate and analyse high-level plans from across the portfolio to provide key insight to senior management.  

The post holder is required to work in a flexible way and undertake any other duties reasonably requested by line management which are commensurate with the grade and level of responsibility of this post. 

Person specification

Essential Criteria 

• Project Delivery - You will have strong working knowledge and skills in Project Delivery, having experience of working on fast-paced or complex projects, programmes or portfolios. 
• Project Delivery Frameworks/Methodologies - Knowledge and understanding of project delivery practice with a background in projects and experience using and championing associated project delivery methodologies. 
• Excellent leadership skills - Experience of building and leading a team, including building capability in project and portfolio management functions.  
• Strong Stakeholder Management - Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to build and maintain strong working relationships with partners and stakeholders, including the ability to work across boundaries to influence and gain confidence of senior project delivery leaders and sponsors. 
• Analytical Skills and Insight - Ability to analyse data and present qualitative and quantitative information in a concise and meaningful way through working alongside programmes and other portfolio functions. 
• Communication: Excellent oral and written communication skills are essential, with the ability to adapt style and tone for different audiences. You will need to engage confidently and effectively with senior officials and explain complex issues in readily understandable way. 
• Delivering at Pace in Ambiguity - Ability to work to tight timescales and adapt to changing circumstances, managing competing priorities and ensuring delivery of quality products.  
• Changing & Improving - Ability to identify areas of improvement and create innovative approaches to delivering better quality services and processes. 

Desirable Criteria  

• PD qualification: One or more of the following project delivery qualifications (or equivalent):  
• Managing Successful Programmes  
• Management of Portfolios (MoP) 
• APM PMQ 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £53,560, Department for Business and Trade contributes £10,633 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

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.

Interviews for this vacancy will be conducted virtually. We will, however, consider in-person interviews by exception.

Please ensure that you check your emails regularly as all updates from us will be sent to you this way.

To apply for this post, you will be asked to complete the following as part of the online application:   

• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Provide employment history that relates to the essential criteria, and that any gaps in employment history within the last 2 years are explained. The CV should not exceed more than 2 x A4 pages.
• A Personal Statement of 750 words explaining your motivation for applying for this role and the extent to which you satisfy the essential requirements of the role.

It is likely that the sift will take place 1-2 weeks after the closing date and interviews 3-5 weeks after the closing date though this is subject to change.

In the event of a large number of applicants, an initial short sift will be conducted on the Personal Statement only. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

Reasonable Adjustments

We are committed to supporting candidates so they can perform at their best throughout the recruitment process. This includes making reasonable adjustments to our process. In order to request an adjustment: 

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section on the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. 

Alternatively contact the Government Recruitment Service at DBTrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.  

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Candidate Support

You may want to join a virtual Candidate Support Session. These sessions include helpful tips and advice on the recruitment process, from application to interview.  

Please see attached Candidate Pack for further information on: Diversity and Inclusion; Benefits; Learning and Development; Working Patterns and what we deliver as a department. 

Further Information:

• A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made. Reserve Lists will be for each location and appointments made in merit order based on location preferences.   
• Any move to the Department for Business and Trade from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments.
• The Department will not consider sponsoring a visa or issuing a Certificate of Sponsorship. We are unable to offer advice on any Visa and Immigration cases.  
• New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.  
• 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. Any applicant who has 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.  
• Terms and Conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.
• Please note – the successful candidate will be expected to remain in post for a minimum of 18 months before being released for another role.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service, Disclosure Scotland and Access NI on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading. 

For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email Info@disclosurescotland.co.uk 

For further information on the Access NI confidential checking service telephone: the Access NI Helpline on 0300 200 7888 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email accessni@ani.x.gsi.gov.uk 

Vetting

The requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years. Failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected

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

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 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.