About the job

Job summary

In the NCA we are passionate about our mission to protect the public from serious and organised crime. This mission has never been more important and we are looking for skilled, energetic, motivated and professional leaders to join our team.

The Agency has recently launched an ambitious strategy around how it will deliver its mission over the next 5-years. In order to deliver against this strategy, we need people who can help us to manage and deliver a wide range of projects. 

Job description

As a Project Manager you will support the management of  specific projects on a day to day basis. You will be responsible for assisting in driving and overseeing the delivery of the Project to ensure the objectives are clearly defined and achieved within the agreed time, cost and quality constraints. You will have a key role in Project Governance and working with stakeholders to ensure the agreed Project outputs are delivered to enable benefits to be realised. You will be working with internal and external senior stakeholders, partners, business leads and colleagues in Transformation and across the Agency. Most importantly, you will play a fundamental role in delivering benefits which better protect the public. 

This role is aligned to the Civil Service Project Delivery Capability Framework (PCDF) career pathway Project Manager 1 you can find more information about the PCDF here or search project delivery capability framework on the gov.uk homepage. We are introducing accreditation under that framework over the next two years and successful candidates will be expected to take part.

***To be considered, you will need to successfully complete SC Enhanced clearance before commencing the role.***

Person specification

Main Responsibilities:

• Delivery – Create and lead the project to deliver the agreed outcomes within time, cost and quality constraints.
• Project management – Day-to-day management and leadership of the project and the project team. Set project controls. Design the project structure appropriate to stage. Select and apply appropriate delivery methodologies.
• Business case – Co-ordinate development of the business case.
• Budget – Track delivery within budget.
• Resources – Schedule / manage resources to deliver the project. May work independently or with a small team.
• Benefits realisation – Ensure benefits are identified, understood, measured, tracked and owned. Ensure appropriate Benefits Realisation Strategy is in place, and monitor longer term delivery of benefits against the business case.
• Stakeholder management – Identify key stakeholders and develop effective relationships.
• Risks and issues – Identify and monitor project risks and issues. Develop mitigating actions and escalate as appropriate.
• Governance – Provide key reports and support effective governance and decision making.
• Assurance – Support or set appropriate project assurance.
• Change management – Ensure effective change management processes are in place to agree and document changes to deliverables as agreed with stakeholders.
• Guidance and support – Seek appropriate support, guidance and coaching from the project community. Show commitment to personal development. Promote effective individual and team performance.
• Project performance and controls – Build Project Plan and apply appropriate project principles to deliver stated objectives. Identify and set appropriate Project Controls. Track and report delivery against milestones.
• Contribution to the Profession – commit to personal development, provide support, guidance and coaching to the team, promoting effective individual and team performance

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £38,642, National Crime Agency contributes £10,433 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.

If you wish to apply for this vacancy, you must submit your application by 23:55 on Sunday 28th January 2024.

You will be asked to complete a CV as part of the application process,  Please see the candidate information pack for more information.

During the application process, your CV will assess:

• Experience of working as a member of a team within a project environment, or appropriate skills gained in a non-project environment. 
  

During the application process  you will be asked to complete a personal statement assessing the below criteria.

• Outlining your interest and suitability for this role

Once submitted your application will be acknowledged by the Government Recruitment Service.

Please note depending on the volume of applications a Long-list at sift may be conducted on following criteria:

• Experience of working as a member of a team within a project environment, or appropriate skills gained in a non-project environment (this will be assessed from your CV). 

Candidates must pass this criteria for their application to be progressed.

A panel will then assess your application to select those demonstrating the best fit for the role by considering the evidence you have provided against the criteria set out in the Entry Criteria section.

Failure to address any or all of these may affect your application.

Sift results are expected to be released w/c Monday 19th February 2024.

Interviews will take place throughout March 2024 - locations to be confirmed. Please be advised that the type of interview (eg. virtual/face-to-face) may be subject to change and successful candidates will be notified of this prior to attending. However the interview is conducted, the interview criteria will remain as shown on page 17 of the Candidate Information Pack.

The above sift and interview dates are an indicative timeline.

Should you be successful at sift but cannot attend on the interview date(s) listed the recruitment team cannot guarantee an alternative date. Please contact the recruitment team.

You will then be asked to attend an interview in order to have a more in-depth discussion of your previous experience and professional competence.

Full details of the assessment process will be made available to shortlisted candidates.

Please ensure that all examples provided in your application are taken directly from your own experience and that you describe the examples in your own words. Any instances of plagiarism including copying of examples/answers from internet sources will result in a withdrawal of your application. Further action, including disciplinary action, may be considered in such cases involving internal candidates. Providing false or misleading information would be contrary to the core values of honesty and integrity expected of all Civil Servants.

Multi-Location

Where more than one location is advertised, candidates will be appointed in merit order for each location. You will be asked to state your location preference on your application.

Please be aware that you can be posted to any location that you put in your preferences. If you would only like to be posted to one location, please confirm one location only. If you are posted to a location that you have requested and you do not accept that location, you may not be offered another role.

Please note, only advertised location can be offered. Notes populated in a free text box will not be taken into consideration.

Near Miss

Candidates who are judged to be a near miss at interview may be considered for other positions in the NCA which may be at a lower grade, but have a potential skills match.

Hybrid Working

Here at the NCA we have a hybrid working arrangement in place enabling officers to work a proportion of their role remotely. Eligibility and the degree of home working will vary depending on the requirements of the role. Further details can be discussed at offer stage.

Reasonable Adjustment

We are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible to all. As part of our application process you will be prompted to provide details of any reasonable adjustment to our recruitment process that you may need. If you have a disability or long-term condition (a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long term effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities protected under the Equality Act 2010) and need us to make any adjustments or do anything differently during the recruitment process, please let us know by emailing ncarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk, 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:

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.

Please contact us by emailing ncarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk or calling 0117 372 0000 as soon as possible before the closing date if you wish to discuss any reasonable adjustments before applying.

Inclusion and Accessibility

The NCA embraces and values diversity in all forms. Being truly reflective of the communities we serve and building a culture where everyone can perform at their best is critical to leading the UK’s fight against serious and organised crime – something which affects us all. We want to recruit and retain the very best and broadest diversity of officers so the NCA welcomes applications from individuals from all backgrounds.

We are proud to be an inclusive, equal opportunities employer. As a Disability Confident Leader we are committed to ensuring that all candidates are treated fairly throughout the recruitment process.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact ncarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

VETTING REQUIREMENTS SC

All security clearances require you to provide evidence of your UK footprint where you have been physically present in the UK.

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.

If you require SC clearance you will need to provide evidence of the below requirements.

Checks will be made against:

• Departmental or company records (personnel files, staff reports, sick leave reports and security records)
• UK criminal records covering both spent and unspent criminal records
• Your credit and financial history with a credit reference agency
• Security Services records

We encourage all candidates to thoroughly review the candidate pack which explains the role further before submitting an application.

If you have any specific queries about the role that are not covered by the candidate pack, please contact:

ncarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

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

Security

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.