About the job

Job summary

Ofgem champions UK energy consumers, ensuring access to safe, affordable, and sustainable energy, and is key in accelerating the transition to Net Zero. This role contributes to creating, managing and implementing energy policy that will benefit both customers and the environment.

We're seeking a Principal Programme Manager to join our price control setting team to play a pivotal role in the RIIO-3 programmes. These programmes aim to approve multi-billion of funding in the electricity and gas networks from 2026 to 2031 (RIIO-3) and for electricity distribution from 2028 to 2033 (RIIO-ED3).

You'll lead the Project Management Office (PMO) team to offer direction and advice to Team Managers and Directors who work on the detailed regulatory policy, ensure resources are well-allocated and the programmes stay on track. Leadership, communication, and adherence to Ofgem values are critical. Your responsibilities will include establishing and upholding effective programme controls, governance, and assurance frameworks.

You’ll oversee project management processes within policy teams, focusing on programme delivery frameworks, plans, milestones, critical paths, RAID logs, stakeholder management, KPIs, and benefits management. Your eye for detail will be crucial in managing and communicating work prioritisation and resource allocation across the directorate, assisting Directors and Team Managers to anticipate hurdles and ensure projects are delivered within allocated resources.

You'll prepare and coordinate materials for programme governance, draft public consultation documents, and maintain a clear audit trail for decisions. Managing a team of project management professionals, you will monitor budgets, identify resource needs, and handle risks. Additionally, you will establish yourself, and your team, as the go-to for any project management inquiries both internally and externally.

You're expected to ensure the timely delivery of key external publications, such as Draft and Final Determinations and licences, keeping decision-making transparent. Furthermore, stepping beyond a conventional Principal Programme Manager scope, you will organise consultations with external stakeholders, represent Ofgem at industry events, and foster effective, collaborative working practices within the team, including training, recruitment, and wellbeing initiatives.

Join Ofgem to work in an environment where diversity drives innovation and reflects the communities we serve. Be part of our mission to guide the future of energy regulation and sustainability. Apply now to make a meaningful impact with a dynamic team.

 

 

Job description

Ofgem works on behalf of energy consumers to ensure that every household and business in the UK can rely on a safe, affordable and environmentally sustainable energy supply. We are playing a vital part in accelerating the transition to Net Zero and a carbon neutral energy system – a goal that everyone wants to achieve. Whatever your role, you’ll be playing your part in creating new energy solutions that are great for customers, and great for the environment.

The renewed urgency in the UK’s decarbonisation goals underlines the need for our energy networks to be ready for new patterns of energy supply and energy use. As we embark on a deeper and faster transformation of our energy system, we need to ensure that networks play a full role in that whilst ensuring we protect consumers by ensuring they benefit from a low-cost energy system. This role will play a key part of that process, ensuring Ofgem’s regulation of the energy networks and beyond enables a wider transformation in the coming decades, helping to achieve net zero targets for 2035 (a net zero clean power system) and 2050 (a net zero economy).

The directorates within the Infrastructure Group lead on policy and regulatory issues covering the various energy systems. They are responsible for a range of high profile and complex regulatory programmes, including the regulation of some of the UK’s largest network monopolies, facilitating investment regimes that support rapid investment major projects in electricity networks and low carbon technologies, engineering, and cyber regulation.

This role sits within the Network Price Control directorate, which is responsible for designing and implementing price controls for network monopolies (Price Control Setting) and then holding these companies to account for performance and commitments during the operational period of the price controls (Price Control Operations). Specifically, this role will be within the Price Control Setting team and playing a key role for the RIIO-3 and ED3 projects, which are tasked to set the upcoming price controls for electricity transmission, gas transmission and gas distribution networks for 2026-2031 (RIIO-3) and for electricity distribution for 2028-2033.

Ofgem has a culture of inclusion that encourages, supports and celebrates the diverse voices and experiences of our colleagues. It fuels our innovation and helps ensure we can best represent the consumers and the communities we serve. Everyone is welcome - as an inclusive workplace, our employees are comfortable bringing their authentic selves to work. 

What will the successful candidate be doing?

Reporting to the Director, Network Price Controls (who is also the Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) for the RIIO-3 project), the Project Director will work with the Senior Responsible Owner, Deputy Directors, team leads, other members of the Project Management Office and other stakeholders (both internal and external) to ensure the successful delivery of the RIIO-3 and ED3 project milestones.

Purpose

• Provide project management leadership for multi-disciplinary teams and instil confidence around project delivery regarding time, quality and budget.
• Advise SRO, Deputy Directors and Team Managers on project risks, resourcing, prioritisation, and the critical path for decisions and outputs.
• Demonstrate exceptional inclusive people leadership, ongoing professional development and commitment to Ofgem values.

Person specification

Key Responsibilities

• Ensuring effective project controls, governance and assurance frameworks are implemented and maintained.
• Managing the project and Team Managers on a day-to-day basis by setting, reviewing and assuring the successful delivery of project objectives and milestones for RIIO-3 and ED3 ahead of the start of the price controls in April 2026 and April 2028, respectively.
• Giving project management direction and advice to the PMO team, Team Managers and Deputy Directors; this is to provide effective oversight and challenge to ensure they are allocating resources according to agreed priorities and are on track to delivering projects to agreed milestones.
• Preparing and leading the coordination of materials to drive project governance via the delegated authority arrangements and forums, including the GEMA Board.
• Leading the coordination of drafting of public consultation and decision documents, including Draft and Final Determinations and the licences, with a clear audit trail for decisions.
• Managing and developing a small team of project management professionals.
• Working with central PMO and finance teams to monitor the budget position, produce resource forecasts in consultation with the SRO, Deputy Directors and Team Managers and advise on resource gaps, risks and requirements.
• Planning and arranging extensive consultation with external stakeholder groups including network companies, HMG, local and regional authorities, and consumer representative organisations; representing Ofgem at relevant industry events, seminars and working groups.
• Working closely with Deputy Directors and Team Managers to identify and implement the most effective and collaborative ways of working, including work allocation, training, recruitment, continuous improvement and wellbeing initiatives.

Additional Responsibilities

• Actively engage with the wider Project Management and Delivery profession to ensure the sharing of best practice and to promote continuous improvement.

Key Outputs and Deliverables

• The timely delivery of key publications including Draft and Final Determinations and the licences, with a clear audit trail for decisions.
• Project management processes within policy teams, including project delivery framework, project plans, milestones, critical path, RAID logs, stakeholder management, KPIs and benefits management.   
• Input into the management and communication of work prioritisation and resource allocation across the directorate to help the SRO and Deputy Directors ensure the projects are delivered within the allocated resources.
• Establish oneself and team as the key contact for policy teams and wider Ofgem teams in terms of any project management queries.
• Continually scans for business improvements and identifies and helps solve gaps or inconsistencies across the directorate.
• Develop and oversee the assembly of key management information across the directorate.
• Support the drafting of communications, process and governance materials ensuring they meet quality standards and expectations, through templates, guidance, etc.

Role Criteria

In the event of receiving a large number of applications an initial sift may take place on just the identified lead criteria indicated below.

Essential

• Proven leadership experience in a PMO environment and ability to apply (and adapt) established programme/project management methodologies, techniques and governance processes to map out and manage a complex programme of work [LEAD].
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills with experience of engaging, influencing and collaborating at all levels, including diverse colleagues, senior managers, internal and external stakeholders, whilst projecting credibility and self-assurance [LEAD].
• Skills and experience across a range of project management specialisms such as delivery, governance, reporting, planning, risk management, assurance, benefit realisation and stakeholder management.
• An actions-focused self starter with the ability to work at pace and with uncertainty in a highly dynamic environment.
• Excellent organisational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to identify potential hurdles and think about programmatic problems in a strategic manner.

Desirable

• Experience in regulatory price reviews and/or related economic regulation activities.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £58,520, OFGEM contributes £15,800 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, Experience and Technical skills.

When you press the ‘Apply now’ button, you will be asked to complete personal details (not seen by the sift panel), your career history and qualifications.

You will then be asked to provide a 1250 word ‘personal statement’ evidencing how you meet the essential and desirable skills and capabilities listed in the role profile. Please ensure you demonstrate clearly, within your supporting statement, how you meet each of the essential and desirable skills and capabilities.

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.