About the job

Job summary

In DHSC, we are proud of our purpose – to enable everyone to live more independent, healthier lives for longer. To achieve this, and create a great place to work, we have four values: we are inclusive, we constantly improve, we challenge, and we are agile. If this sounds like an environment you’d like to work in, we’d love to hear from you.

As part of the Government’s plan to provide first class, fit for purpose health care for the public and as a response to demands on the NHS post Covid-19 pandemic, several capital infrastructure programmes have been centrally funded, by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to provide additional or improved services to the NHS. 

Three years ago, the Portfolio Management Office was established to provide oversight and to monitor deliver of a growing number of programmes designed to improve NHS services & facilities and manage NHS Elective Care backlog.  The programmes vary in size, scope, and duration (over 2,000 projects sit within the overall PMO) and the Portfolio has a combined value of £7.5bn, comprised of:

• Hospital Upgrades
• Eradication of Mental Health Dormitories
• Removal or remediation of Reinforced Aerated Autoclaved Concrete from the estate
• Community Diagnostic Centres (increasing scanning capability)
• Digital Diagnostic Capabilities (improving digital infrastructure capability)
• Accident and Emergency improvements
• Targeted Investment Funding to tackle the backlog
• Public Sector Decarbonisation Funding
• Demand and Capacity (Winter Pressures) Mental Health Emergency care

All programmes within the CDP are delivered by an Arm’s Length Body - NHS England (NHSE) which is the delivery arm, responsible for providing national leadership for the NHS.  The PMO sits within DHSC and the PMO teamwork in partnership with colleagues in NHSE to drive delivery.

Job description

We are looking for a Project Support Officer to join the Capital Delivery Portfolio Management Office (CDP).

This is a highly rewarding role and diverse in nature.

The job holder will actively be involved in stakeholder engagement and will have good knowledge of Project Delivery in particular coordinating Assurance Gateway reviews.

Person specification

Role responsibilities:

• Provide Programme/Portfolio Office support to ensure quality service is delivered
• Lead on the PMO’s reporting timetable and communicating changes where required
• Keep PMO Team members of corporate news, information and updates that may impact or be relevant to the team
• Maintain the PMOs Assurance Governance Plan, communicating changes where required. Issue cleared outputs, gateway meeting invites, and coordinate communications for review meetings and any associated papers to meeting attendees
• Support effective communication to both internal and external stakeholders of the PMO
• Work with Assurance and Risk Manager to promote and provide cutting edge best practice on assurance and risk services to all Programmes and projects within the Portfolio
• Support the Information Knowledge management ongoing improvement and update of the PMO’s intelligence, ensuring consistency and standards
• Proactive management of the PMO inbox on a split rota, assessing action needed, co-ordinating commissions for Minister and Portfolio level reporting, ensuring work is delegated to appropriate person to enable responders sufficient time to meet commissioning deadlines

Key skills and experience required for the role:

Essential

• Ability to ensure colleagues and stakeholders have a clear understanding of objectives, activities, and timeframes
• Strong organisational skills with a good eye for detail; including the ability to multi-task and work to tight deadlines
• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to build productive working relationships with others by encouraging joined up teamwork within your own work activities and across your groups by establishing professional relationships with a range of stakeholders
• Ability to collaborate with these to share information as appropriate and check understanding
• Experience of working within a project or programme governance framework
• Proven effective report writing skills and good written communication skills
• Ability to efficiently identify, grasp and resolve emerging opportunities, risks, issues, and trends which might impact your work area
• Able to show positivity and enthusiasm towards your work and encouraging others to do the same
• Can successfully deliver high quality outcomes that meet customer/ stakeholder needs and gives value for money
• Strong Excel skills

Desirable

• Recognised PPM qualifications e.g. MSP, MOP, APM P/Q or Prince 2. We will expect unqualified candidates to undertake one of these recognised qualifications within the first 6 months of joining the team, which will be funded through our L&D budget
• Experience of working on reporting of infrastructure, transformation and/or capital projects would be an advantage

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £27,079, Department of Health and Social Care contributes £7,311 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 and Experience.

Sift date: expected W/C 5/2/24

Interview date: expected W/C 19/2/24

Interview location: Virtual, by video. Further details will be released to candidates who are successful at sift.

The available interview slots will be released with the sift scores.

Applications will be sifted on Behaviours and Statement of Suitability. 

Please use your Statement of Suitability to (in no more than 500 words) outline how you meet the key skills and experience required for the role as set out in the job advert. 

Please complete statements on the specified Behaviours (250 word max per statement).

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

An initial sift based on the Lead Behaviour of 'Communicating and Influencing and the Statement of Suitability may be held if a large number of applications are received. 

At interview candidates will be assessed on Behaviours. 

To find out more about working in the department please visit our page on the Civil Service Careers Website here and to find out more information on how to apply visit the Civil Service Careers Website here

Further Information

Applicants who are appointable but were not successful in appointment to this vacancy, may be held on a reserve list for up to 12 months, and contacted if similar vacancies become available.

Please be aware that some travel may be required across the DHSC estate.

Please note that applicants will require BPSS clearance.

Any move to DHSC from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. 

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: 

Contact Government Recruitment Service via dhscrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs. 

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service 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.

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 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.

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 role is being advertised on a permanent basis. If preferable, Loan or Secondment options will also be available for existing Civil Servants (Loan) and applicants from accredited NDPBs or any other employer (Secondment). Prior agreement to be released on a loan basis must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant. This includes grade on return.

Terms and Conditions

Candidates should note that DHSC’s Terms and Conditions of employment changed from 1 October 2013. It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure they are aware of the terms and conditions they will adopt should they be successful. 

New Entrants to the Civil Service

New entrants appointed in grades AA to G6 will receive DHSC’s modernised terms and conditions:

• Annual Leave: 25 days on entry rising by one day for each completed year of service to a maximum of 30 days and pro-rata for part-time staff
• Privilege Leave: 1 day - for the King’s birthday
• Hours of Work: 37 hours (net) per week for full time staff in all geographical locations, including London and pro rata for part-time staff
• Occupational Sick Pay (OSP): one month full pay/one month half pay on entry, rising by one month for each completed year of service to a maximum of five months’ full pay and five months’ half pay
• Mobility: Mobility clause in contracts allow staff to be mobile across the Civil Service
• Probation: 6 month probation period

Existing Civil Service staff transferring from another Government department, on either level transfer or promotion

All staff moving to DHSC will transfer onto DHSC’s modernised terms and conditions (as outlined above). 

Existing DHSC staff, appointed on either level transfer or promotion

If DHSC’s modernised terms and conditions are already held, the employee will retain those terms and conditions. If DHSC’s pre-modernised terms and conditions are held, the employee will transfer onto DHSC’s modernised terms and conditions (as outlined above).

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.