Deputy Director, Portfolio and Project Delivery
Department for Business and Trade
Apply before 11:55 pm on Sunday 16th February 2025
Details
Reference number
387651
Salary
£76,000 - £90,000
A
Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
GBP
Job grade
SCS Pay Band 1
Contract type
Permanent
Business area
DBT - CS - Project Delivery and Change
Type of role
Project Delivery
Senior leadership
Senior leadership
Working pattern
Flexible working, Full-time, Job share
Number of jobs available
1
Contents
Location
About the job
Job summary
The DD for Portfolio and Project Delivery is a critical role in DBT’s Project Delivery and Change Directorate, which sits at the heart of the Department in Corporate Services. As a Directorate, we directly deliver some of DBT’s major transformation programmes, we play a critical role in planning, prioritisation, and assurance of wider Departmental transformation and we set standards for excellence in Project Delivery.
The Directorate is made up of almost 100 people across 3 Deputy Directorate areas. Our contributions make DBT a great place to work and enable the Department to deliver on its Economic Growth Mission.
The DD for Portfolio and Project Delivery is a senior role in our Directorate, leading a team of approximately 35 project delivery professionals.
- The role oversees DBT’s Major Projects Portfolio, which has a cumulative value of approximately £35bn.
- The role provides vital scrutiny, assurance and performance reporting to inform decision making at our Investment Committee.
- As Head of the Project Delivery Profession in DBT, the role sets strategies and standards for how we best deliver our transformation programmes and plays an integral role in leading capability development for our Project Delivery Professionals.
This is a crucial time for this role, as we mobilise our planning capability for the upcoming Spending Review and recalibrate our Major Projects Portfolio.
Candidate Information Call
Caragh McKiernan, hiring manager, and Hays, Executive Search Agency, will be hosting a virtual call for any interested applicants to discuss the role and answer any questions. Please note this is not part of the formal assessment process.
This will be held via Microsoft Teams on Tuesday 28th January 2pm – 3pm (UK time). Please follow this teams link to join the call. If you would like to join without your full name being displayed in the meeting, please ensure you access the link on a personal device and select 'Join without signing in'.
Job description
- As Deputy Director for Portfolio and Project Delivery, you will be a visible senior leader in the Department, advising our Executive Committee (ExCo), working closely with Senior Responsible Owners (SROs) and Programme Managers, liaising with counterparts across Whitehall and providing a key link into the Infrastructure Projects Authority (IPA).
- This is a key leadership role in the Department, responsible for cohering and assuring a large and complex portfolio of critical projects and programmes to ensure we can deliver on our strategic priorities. You will provide insight and advice to help inform investment decisions and prioritisation.
- As Head of Project Delivery Profession, you will play a key role in setting standards for Project Delivery in DBT and in defining the strategic vision for the Function. You will be responsible for driving capacity and capability among our community of Project Delivery Professionals.
- As a subject matter expert in Project Delivery, you will be responsible for overseeing all facets of the Function in DBT – ensuring we have robust policies, practices and frameworks in place to both manage our portfolio and deliver our programmes and appropriate recruitment, learning and career development for our cadre of PD professionals.
- A strong, inspiring leader, you will regularly partner with Senior Programme Leaders, acting as a trusted advisor to provide insight and informed challenge throughout the lifecycle of programmes.
- You will lead a team of Project, Programme and Portfolio subject matter experts and be an integral member of the Project Delivery and Change senior leadership team.
Person specification
Essential Criteria
- A proven track record of managing portfolios at scale, using influencing and assurance skills to ensure strategic alignment with organisational priorities. Ability to assess and distil complex information into clear recommendations to facilitate effective decision making.
- A subject matter expert in Project Delivery, well versed in project management principles, methodologies and capability development frameworks, with the ability to evidence how these have been deployed to improve delivery outcomes.
- A proven track record of delivering successfully through others at pace, with the flexibility to respond to emerging challenges, make decisions in an ambiguous operating environment and prioritise the work of the team accordingly.
- Strong communication skills and interpersonal skills. Experience building relationships with a wide range of stakeholders and generating and presenting briefings and reports at C-suite level, to challenge and inform decision making.
- An experienced leader, able to inspire and grow high performing teams, manage performance across a matrix structure and foster a working culture that is open and inclusive.
- Qualified in AMP/Prince2/Agile. Accredited at Senior Practitioner level in Project/Programme Management or willing to undertake accreditation. Has undertaken Major Projects Leadership Academy (MPLA) or is willing to do so once in role.
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £76,000, Department for Business and Trade contributes
£22,017 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.
Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
- Learning and development tailored to your role
- An environment with flexible working options
- A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
- A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
Things you need to know
Selection process details
How to apply
Hays, an Executive Search firm, have been appointed to assist with this recruitment campaign. To apply for this post, you will need to submit documentation below via the following link, by no later than 23:55pm on 16th February 2025.
Follow this link to apply: Application link
If you have any issues accessing the link or questions regarding the documentation, please contact:
- Andrew Timlin: 07887777735 Andrew.timlin@hays.com
- Owen Quant : 07867695217 Owen.quant@hays.com
Documentation:
- A CV setting out your career history, highlighting specific responsibilities and achievements that are relevant for this role. Please provide reasons for any gaps within the last two years.
- A Supporting Statement of around two pages of A4, providing examples of how your experience meets the essential criteria.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
This role has a minimum assignment duration of 3 years. An assignment duration
is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them
to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through
building your depth of expertise.
As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.
As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.
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
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).
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.
Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the
Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window)
and the
Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).
Apply and further information
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available.
You may want to save a copy for your records.
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : Andrew.Timlin@Hays.com
- Email : Andrew.Timlin@Hays.com
Recruitment team
- Email : Andrew.Timlin@Hays.com
Further information
Our recruitment process is underpinned by the principle of appointment on the basis of fair and open competition and appointment on merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should in the first instance contact DBT by email at SCSRecruitment@businessandtrade.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission, which regulates all Civil Service recruitment. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages: Civil Service Commission Complaints
