About the job

Job summary

Do you enjoy leading on projects and seeing them through to completion? Are you passionate about collaborating with others to deliver? Do you want to work somewhere where you can make a difference?

At the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) we are looking for Project Managers to join us in our critical work to protect the nation from health threats. 

Successful candidates will be assigned to one of our diverse range of projects or programmes with opportunities for you to work on multiple initiatives. We are looking for candidates with previous project management experience, particularly those with experience of transformational delivery, health or clinical project management, Government operations reform and/or infrastructure project experience.

If you are ready to apply your experience and specialised knowledge towards making a difference to the nations’ health security, please apply now.

Job description

As a Project Manager you will lead on the day to day running of a project(s), which will typically be low to moderate in complexity. These will be small scale initiatives often relating to making sure the business can continue to operate, although you may be involved in supporting more complex projects. 

You will be responsible for overseeing the delivery of the project, ensuring that 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 will work with stakeholders to ensure the agreed project outputs are delivered to enable benefit realisation. 

This role is aligned to the Project Delivery Capability Framework (PDCF) career pathway Project Manager 2.  You can find more information about the PDCF on the gov.uk homepage (search "Project Delivery Capability Framework").

The main responsibilities for the role are as follows: 

•    Manage the day to day running of the project(s), including the management of the project team. 
•    Lead the project to deliver the agreed outcomes within time, cost, and quality constraints. 
•    Build project plans and apply appropriate delivery methodology, setting project controls and track and report against milestones. 
•    Co-ordinate the development of the business case. 
•    Monitor and track project spend, ensuring it is within budget. 
•    Plan and manage resources to deliver the project. 
•    Identify benefits, ensuring these are understood, measured, tracked, and owned; monitoring the longer-term delivery of benefits against the business case. 
•    Develop effective relationships with key stakeholders. 
•    Identify and monitor project risks and issues, developing mitigating actions and escalation process.
•    Provide project reports, support effective governance and decision making. 
•    Support project assurance, audit, and gateway reviews. 
•    Set up effective change management processes, including documenting agreed changes to the project deliverables. 
•    Promote individual and team performance, seek appropriate guidance and coaching from the project community. 
•    Lead the day-to-day running of the project, with ownership and accountability 
•    Be an active member of UKHSA’s Project Delivery Profession Community.

The above is only an outline of the tasks and responsibilities required of the role. You will carry out any other duties as may reasonably be required by your line manager.

Person specification

Essential criteria
•    Experience of working in a large or medium complexity project team or work stream lead for a small low complex project with working knowledge of project delivery methodologies and frameworks. (Lead criteria)
•    Working knowledge of planning, scheduling, budget management, resource management, risk and issue management and quality management in a project or programme environment. or appropriate skills that have been gathered in a non-project environment. 
•    Working knowledge of governance, assurance, requirements management and change control in a project or programme environment or appropriate skills that have been gathered in a non-project environment. 
•    Ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment with multiple tasks. 
•    Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to develop effective relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, collaborating across boundaries with the ability to influence and challenge effectively.
•    Experience using data and visualisation tools such as Excel, Power BI and MS Teams

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £38,724, UK Health Security Agency contributes £10,455 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

Selection process

This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

Stage 1: Application & Sift

You will be required to complete an application form. You will be assessed on essential criteria, and this will be in the form of a:

• CV/ Application form (‘Employer/ Activity history’ section on the application) 
• 1000 word Statement of Suitability.

This should outline how you consider your skills, experience, and knowledge, provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria.

The CV and Statement of Suitability will be marked together.

If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to interview & assessment.

Please do not exceed 1000 words for the Statement of Suitability. We will not consider any words over and above this number.

Feedback will not be provided at this stage.

Shortlisting: In the event of a large number of applications we will shortlist on the lead criteria listed with the essential criteria section above 

Stage 2: Interview

You will be invited to a (single) remote interview and will be assessed on behaviours, experience and technical knowledge.

The Behaviours tested during the interview stage will be 

• Leadership
• Working together
• Communicating and Influencing

Project Delivery knowledge and experience will also be assessed through technical questioning.

Interviews will be held week commencing the 22nd July. Please note, these dates are subject to change. 

After the interview: 
Successful candidates will be asked to complete a preference form for the type of project they would like to be assigned to and have the necessary experience for, along with preferred location(s). When posting every effort will be made to post to the individuals’ preferences however there is no guarantee there will be a vacancy in a location or project type that has been selected. 

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Eligibility Criteria

Open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service (including by definition internal applicants).

For Temporary Appointments
If you are not currently a civil servant, you will take up the post on a Fixed Term appointment.  If you are an existing Civil Servant, based outside of the UKHSA, you will take up the post as a loan.  If you are an existing UKHSA member of staff, you will take up the post as either a level transfer or a temporary promotion as per the UKHSA’s Pay policy

Reserve List 

Candidates who pass the interview criteria but are not offered a post will be kept on a reserve list for 12 months and may be contacted if similar roles become available. If you are interviewed for the post and do not meet the required threshold for the specified grade, your application may be assessed against a similar, lower grade role and you may be offered the post should one be available.

Disability Confident scheme  

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.

Starting salary  

Entrants to the Civil Service are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band.    

The internal roles rules apply to existing Civil Servants, i.e. level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive 10% increase.    Either case is determined by whichever is the highest.   

For further details please refer to the Information Sheet- Starting Salaries & Benefits attachment .

Location information 
UKHSA operates a hybrid working model where business needs allow.  This provides us with greater flexibility about how and where we work, to get the best from our workforce. As a hybrid worker, you will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of your contractual working hours (approximately 3 days a week pro rata,(averaged over a month) working at one of UKHSA's locations (Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, and London).

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.