Project Delivery Capacity & Talent Pipeline Manager Full Time

Department for Transport
Location
Birmingham, Leeds, London
About the job
Salary : National – £38,654 London – £42,466

Locations : Birmingham, Leeds or London

We recognise the challenges that people with (multiple) protected characteristics may experience on the job market and in their career progression. We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We are keen to make our workforce as diverse as possible, and we hope to attract applications from underrepresented groups, including Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people, people with a disability, and people with gender diverse identities.

A new Portfolio and Project Delivery Directorate has been created to drive and support delivery of the Department for Transport’s (DfT) large and complex portfolio of capital infrastructure and transformation projects worth over £200bn. This follows a series of recommendations for improvement resulting from an extensive programme of work to learn from issues that have emerged in the delivery of recent transport projects. The ‘Lessons from transport for the sponsorship of major projects’ report – a joint report by the DfT and Infrastructure Projects Authority (IPA) – was published on 25 April 2019. Since then the Department has developed a high-profile Project Delivery Improvement Programme (PDIP), focussing on themes such as how to improve the department’s portfolio management, ensuring roles and responsibilities in the sponsorship and delivery of projects are clear, promoting the right behaviours and culture, and building our own capacity and capabilities.

As well as portfolio management and project delivery advice, the directorate leads on: the department’s response to Project Speed, a major central government initiative to deliver projects “better, greener, faster”; delivery of the Transport Infrastructure Efficiency Strategy, via Living Lab demonstrators; and, the department’s engineering function which promotes the efficiency of projects’ technical solutions, costs and risks.

Looking forward the Department wishes to strengthen the capacity of existing teams who have led central efforts on portfolio management, project assurance and project delivery capability, so that they can lead change across the department’s project delivery work. This will enhance the department’s ability to secure and deliver long-term benefits for the UK in line with unprecedented investment in our transport infrastructure. There is also ongoing interest across Government in learning from DfT’s experience and innovating for the wider benefit of the UK.

Do you have a solid understanding of approaches to capturing data, and understanding current and future workforce requirements and developing solutions to fill gaps?
Job description
As Project Delivery Capacity lead you will help senior leaders ensure they have the workforce required to deliver the Department’s substantial portfolio of investment projects. You will do this by understanding current and future workforce needs and identifying gaps. In collaboration with other colleagues in the Directorate, you will use these insights to help shape and implement a programme of work to grow our project delivery talent and recruit and retain a diverse pool of project delivery professionals.

Responsibilities
Your responsibilities will include:

• Leading work to capture and maintain information on current project delivery resource, focusing initially on the Project Delivery Profession, advising on a proportionate approach building on existing tools;
• Developing and implementing proposals to assess future workforce needs in consultation with Human Resources and project PMOs to exploit existing workforce planning systems and approaches, drawing on insights into changing market trends for project delivery professionals;
• Drawing on insights from the assessment of current and future demand, leading work to identify resourcing and skills gaps;
• Supporting and leading as appropriate on the development and implementation of proposals for responding to resourcing gaps, including for example talent management and succession planning for critical roles;
• Building networks with Human Resources and across project teams, including PMOs, to agree how best to support projects in identifying and addressing resource requirements;

Subject to agreeing priorities and your capacity, responsibilities could also include:

• Developing guidance and advising projects on best practice in workforce planning;
• Assuring resource planning aspects of business cases as part of our Management Case Centre of Excellence;
• Developing and rolling out rules of thumb against which projects can test their resource plans;
• Working in partnership with the IPA to share insights across government and collaborate with others to secure solutions and identify talent;
• Supporting project delivery recruitment campaigns across the Department, including improving consistency of role requirements;

About you

This new and exciting role will give you the autonomy to shape and make this opportunity your own. You will be the key link between a variety of departments, such as HR and Project Delivery, therefore experience of building and maintaining relationships in a complex stakeholder environment is key, to be able to support project plans and to plan workforce needs much more effectively.

We are looking for a highly proactive individual who is able to work independently to shape new approaches to the way we do things. We are looking for good working knowledge of approaches to understanding current and future workforce requirements. You will have excellent analytical and problem- solving skills, and the ability to quickly develop recommendations based on key evidence.

Please note that as part of this role, you will be required to travel to London to meet and build relationships with your team on a regular basis once back in the office.
Behaviours
We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing

Benefits
Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits. We offer generous annual leave, attractive pension options, flexible working, inclusive working environments and much more to support a healthy work/life balance.

Find out more about what it’s like working at the Department for Transport .
Things you need to know
Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check.
People working with government assets must complete basic personnel security standard checks.
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles , and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.
Selection Process

We are closely monitoring the situation regarding the coronavirus, and will be following central Government advice as it is issued. There is therefore a risk that recruitment to this post may be subject to change at short notice. In addition, where appropriate, you may be invited to attend a video interview.

Please continue to follow the application process as normal and ensure that you check your emails regularly as all updates from us will be sent to you this way.

The Civil Service Nationality Rules has been updated following the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union. The new rules will come into effect on 1st January 2021. We urge people from the EU, European Economic Area and Switzerland to be familiar with the updated Nationality rules prior to applying for this role.

After submission of the first stage of your application you will be invited to complete a Civil Service Numerical test. If you successfully pass the test, you will be invited to complete the final stage of the application.
Please complete the online tests as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours is recommended), the closing date for the tests is 23:55 on the 16th February 2021. If you fail to complete the online test before the deadline your application will be withdrawn. Guidance for the test will be available when you are invited to take the test. The tests are administered online and accessed via the CS Jobs website.

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV and personal statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Please provide a CV and a Personal Statement. The CV should outlining your career history and the key responsibilities you had within each role. For your personal statement, please utilise the 750-word count to outline the following:

– Good working knowledge of approaches to understanding current and future workforce requirements
– Experience of building and maintaining relationships in a complex stakeholder environment

The sift is due to take place from 17th February 2021

Interviews/assessments are likely to be held w/c 8th March 2021.

This interview could be conducted via a video interview, details of which will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.
We will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change. You will be provided with sufficient notice of the confirmed dates.

The selection process will be designed specifically for the role. As a result, your assessment could include:

• an interview and presentation

You’re encouraged to become familiar with the role profile….. click apply for full job details