About the job

Job summary

The Government Property Agency is changing the way the Civil Service works and is at the forefront of Government's transformation agenda; reshaping the relationship civil servants have with their place of work. The Agency is central to the delivery of key Government policies including moving 22,000 Civil Service roles out of London by 2030 and tackling climate change by contributing to the Net Zero agenda. To do this we are delivering a major change programme across the UK and consolidating our portfolio in order to save £1.4 Bn over 10 years. 

Beyond the bricks and mortar, the GPA is about providing great workplaces for our people. Through programmes like Hubs, Whitehall Campus and Smart Working you will be in the vanguard of creating model working environments and promoting flexible working practices. 

This is an ambitious and exciting task, for which we need innovative people, with strong commercial acumen, who are passionate about visualising and implementing customer needs. Launched as an Executive Agency of the Cabinet Office in 2018, we’re a relatively new department and we are growing fast so we also need people who thrive in ambiguity, can adapt quickly to change and are comfortable stepping outside of their remit to drive outcomes.

Job description

Sitting within the Capital Projects Portfolio Management Office (PfMO), the Risk Manager will provide direct support to the Risk Lead to support GPA business objectives. The postholder will have the opportunity to work on projects that vary both in delivery method and complexity across the United Kingdom, helping to transform the civil service and the heart of government. 

The will proactively manage risks and issues facing the Hubs and Whitehall Campus Programme and its constituent projects by coordinating the consistent identification, quantification, documentation, monitoring and reporting of risk. They will support the relevant risk or issue owners to identify and develop appropriate mitigation plans, and escalate to the next level of management where appropriate.

Key Responsibilities:

• Development and maintenance of the Capital Projects Risk Management Strategy and planning for effective risk management in accordance with industry best practice and GPA policy to provide the Portfolio Director and Director of Capital Projects with the assurance that risk is being managed effectively;
• Proactive management of project, programme and portfolio risk by co-ordinating the consistent identification, documentation, monitoring and reporting of risk;
• Carrying out in-depth analysis of project, programme and portfolio risk data, utilising an array of communication strategies and tools to provide insight on key risk trends and areas for attention, taking action and escalating to the Portfolio Director where appropriate;
• Planning the periodic reporting of risk and ad-hoc risk reports to meet changing demands;
• Providing effective and efficient advice on risk management to key internal stakeholders to support in the identification, analysis, and reporting of project and portfolio risk and assisting in identifying appropriate mitigation strategies for dealing with risk at all levels;
• Analysis of portfolio, programme and project risk data and undertaking qualitative and quantitative risk analysis as required
• Ensuring compliance with and planning for the continuous improvement of the risk management process through development of guidance and training.

Person specification

We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the communities and wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a sense of belonging in a workplace where everyone feels valued.

Experience & technical skills

• Self starter
• Willingness to help others 
• Willingness to engage with members of the GPA business and GPA delivery partners to support various projects
• Willingness to challenge
• Experience in data analysis and data quality checks. 
• Experience working in a project / programme environment

Qualifications & accreditations

Mandatory Qualifications:

• Prince 2 Practitioner, APM PMQ or be willing to work towards this within the first 12 months

Essential criteria:

• Experience of working in a risk management role in a P3M environment
• Sound understanding of risk management and the ability to communicate this to a range of stakeholders

Desirable Criteria:

• MoR Practitioner or be willing to achieve this within the first 6 months
• Experience in supporting quantitative risk assessment 
• Experience of working on a major government programme
• A willingness to work towards a relevant Gold Standard (ChPP, FAPM or MPLA)

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £39,100, Government Property Agency contributes £10,557 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, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.

The sift is due to take place week commencing 15th January 2024.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to include a CV and a 500 word personal statement. The personal statement should then align with the person specification.

Interview

Applicants successful at sift will be invited to interviews, which are due to take place week commencing 29th January 2024 in the Birmingham office. This is subject to change dependent upon where most successful candidates are based. You must be willing to travel to any of the GPA locations for your interview. If you are unable to attend a face to face interview due to extenuating circumstances, we advise that you reach out to the recruitment admin team to find out if alternative means can be arranged prior to submitting your application.   

At interview, applicants will be scored against 4 behaviours - Managing a Quality Service, Communicating and Influencing, Changing & Improving, and Delivering at Pace.

Interview questions will be a blend of Behaviour, Experience, Strength and Technical (core skill) questions.

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.

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

Any move to GPA 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 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.

This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. 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.