About the job

Job summary

We are looking for a Programme Delivery Manager to join us in the Government People Group (GPG) within the Cabinet Office, a unit that offers back-office services for the whole of government, on key areas such as HR, Finance, Pensions, and shared services. You will be a key leader in developing our Civil Service Jobs platform and wider recruitment service.

Your role: As the Programme Delivery Manager, you will be accountable for the delivery of complex products and services that are delivered by multiple teams, to consistently meet time and quality targets.

The ideal person for this role is someone who combines a deep understanding of Digital Delivery (Product, Delivery, UCD), with a passion for excellent Project Management and effective Governance.

You will act as the primary point of contact for delivery accountability, managing communications between senior leadership, local teams, and our external supplier, promptly planning and addressing delivery risks, priority changes, and resourcing constraints.

This is an exciting leadership role for someone who is passionate to work with people and is motivated by successful delivery in a complex environment, and who cares and can exemplify Civil Service values, and a diverse, ethical and positive working culture.

Civil Service Jobs enables the whole of government to recruit people more efficiently, without which the government could not deliver its work: hence our service brings far-reaching benefits for all citizens.

We also enjoy enabling people to find meaningful jobs, and teams to find great colleagues - contributing to a diverse culture that reflects the diversity in the UK.

Our team: Our core digital team is made of Service, Product and Delivery Managers, Business Analysts, User Researchers, Content, Interaction and Service Designers. We work with adjacent teams from functions like Programme Management, Recruitment Operations, Change Management, HR Policy, and Communications.

We are an established Programme at GMPP level, and you’ll work alongside a Head of Product to lead a number of digital delivery teams, as well as the relationship with our new technology supplier.

Job description

You will join our cross-functional agile delivery team focusing on transforming Civil Service Jobs, and helping to redesign how the service should be delivered in the future. 

Civil Service Jobs is used by over 3 million candidates per month to find and view vacancies across the Civil Service. Each year it handles over 2 million applications and advertises 140,000 posts. The live service is used by 219 organisations to advertise their vacancies and manage their recruitment processes. Currently, Civil Service Jobs is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) provision that has been configured and enhanced to meet Civil Service recruitment, digital and security standards. 

Along with the live service, we are running a Recruitment Transformation programme, looking at what the future service should look like. We’ve completed our Discovery and Alpha phases, where we did extensive user research and prototype design, to explore our user needs and potential solutions for the biggest areas of improvement. 

We’ve decided that our service needs to procure rather than building our own, so we’ve now moved into the Beta procurement phase, which will result in appointing a new technology platform provider by summer 2024, followed by a build and migration phase to be completed by the end of 2026.

The Department: 

Government People Group (GPG) is a large business unit of the Cabinet Office with around 610 staff bringing together back office services across government. It supports the Civil Service with high-volume HR and finance processes, aligning with the Government's modernisation agenda. Established in August 2020, it covers Shared Services, Government Recruitment, Civil Service and Royal Mail Pensions, and the Platforms and Services to support these. GPG delivers services for around 480,000 civil servants across government, it supports 1.5m pension scheme members alongside Royal Mail and provides recruitment services for around 70% of all Civil Service recruitment.

Person specification

We follow the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability job description model for Programme Delivery Manager. We'd expect the role to have a good understanding of the Government Digital Service Manual, the GDS Design System, and our Technology Code of Practice.

We’re looking for people who are passionate about creating accessible services that are simple enough for everyone to use.

As a Programme Delivery Manager you will:

• manage dependencies of varying complexity, planning and feeding into larger Shared Services for Government / Interoperability Programmes and Recruitment Transformation portfolio
• be responsible for the future Supplier relationship management and delivery timeline
• remove blockers and manage risks, commercials, budgets and people (in conjunction with the Head of Product)
• manage hiring, development, moves and exits from the Programme, covering civil servants and contractors
• balance objectives and redeploy people and resources as priorities change
• have an in-depth knowledge of Agile and other methodologies
• be responsible for understanding, managing and communicating to complex stakeholder groups
• manage the Change Management function of the Programme to ensure that Departments are prepared to adopt the future platforma and trained appropriately to do so
• oversee the programme management, ensuring risks/issues are identified/shared/managed and change decisions are highlighted to Head of Product/Programme Director
• be the initial escalation point for the delivery team
• have a clear understanding of the product vision and ensure the delivery focuses on realising the Programme’s key objectives and outcomes
• support the Head of Product by overseeing the delivery of their vision for the programme
• line manage, support and coach Senior Delivery Managers, Contract Manager,  Programme Manager and Change Leads.

Essential Skills

All the skills as detailed in the Programme Delivery Manager capability, including: 

• Agile and Lean practices: coaching and leading teams, acting as a recognised expert and advocate for Agile approaches, reflecting and challenging the team, and tailoring new ways of working adapting to team needs
• Commercial Management: acting as the escalation point to resolve large or high risk commercial management issues, coaching others on appropriate commercial management
• Communicating between the technical and non-technical: mediate and mend stakeholder relationships at all levels, manage stakeholder expectations and moderate decisions of high risk and complexity, even in constrained timescales
• Community collaboration: solve or unblock issues between teams at the highest level, understand team psychology and have strong mediation skills, coach on team dynamics and conflict resolution, while building and growing the community
• Financial management: influence or create complex budgets across the organisation, programme or product view
• Life cycle perspective: successfully lead multidisciplinary teams through the full product lifecycle, identify the tools and techniques for each stage, develop service support models, identify and mitigate potential risks, advise other teams on how to progress through lifecycle
• • Maintaining delivery momentum: optimise teams’ delivery flow, address most complicated risks, issues and dependencies including where ownership is outside the team or is not clear, find innovative ways to unblock issues 
  • Making a process work: identify and challenge organisational processes of increasing complexity and advocate to remove / simplify unneeded processes, add value and coach the organisation for effectiveness, guide teams through implementing new processes
  • Planning: lead a continual planning process in a complex environment, beyond product delivery, identify dependencies across services and coordinate delivery, coach other team as an expert, report to Programme and governance on delivery programme or resolving delivery blockers
  
  

  We are looking for experience with:

  • Managing complex digital technical delivery projects
  • A broad expertise of how digital functions should work to meet high digital standards, and how they fit together in a multidisciplinary team: Product Management, Software Development, Business Analysis, User-centred Design, Performance Management, Quality Assurance, Programme Management
  • A thorough appreciation and understanding of user-centred digital services, as outlined in the Government Digital Service Manual, the GDS Design System, and our Technology Code of Practice - gained via direct experience, transferable skills, or any other roles delivering high-quality digital services
  • Programme management knowledge of Agile and Waterfall project/programme methodologies
  • Stakeholder management, including communicating change to senior leaders and operational delivery teams
  • Creating delivery strategies and gaining buy-in
  • Developing and managing business cases
  • Analysing management information and other performance data to provide insights success
  • Strong leadership, interpersonal and communication skills so that project teams are empowered to deliver and also remain focused on the programme’s vision
  
  

  Desirable Skills:

  • Experience delivering Agile projects 
  • Experience delivering digital and technology projects
  • Agile, Scrum and/or Project Management qualifications
  • Reporting for complex programme deliveries e.g. GMPP, RPA

Additional information:

A minimum 60% of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace. Although requirements to attend other locations for official business will also count towards this level of attendance.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £64,700, Cabinet Office contributes £17,469 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.

Application process

Stage 1 - Sift

Assessed against the essential criteria (including those detailed in the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability using:

• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements.
• A Personal Statement against the skills and experience (maximum 1250 words)
• A 250-word statement on two Technical Skills - Agile and Lean Practices and Planning

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the CV. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview. 

Selection process

Stage 2 - Online Interview including presentation

Assessed against Behaviours and Technical Skills listed in this advert

Candidates successful at the sift stage will be invited to interview.  Interviews will be held virtually and more information will be provided once you progress to the interview stage.  The success profiles to be assessed at the interview are listed in this advert.

Expected timeline (subject to change)
Expected sift date – tbc
Expected interview date/s – tbc
Interview location - Online

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 cabinetofficerecruitment.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.

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

Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Any move to Cabinet Office 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

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 or Disclosure Scotland 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

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.

Existing Civil Servants and applicants from accredited NDPBs are eligible to apply, but will only be considered on loan basis (Civil Servants) or secondment (accredited NDPBs). 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.

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.