Location

Birmingham, Leeds, London

About the job We welcome applications from every part of the community and we don’t discriminate against any gender identity. We’re especially interested to hear from underrepresented groups in the DfT such as gender diverse, BAME, LGBT+ and disabled candidates.

Due to this role being advertised in London and Nationally, please see minimum salary' to reflect this:

London wage - £54,105
National wage - £48,774

Do you relish the prospect of working on a fast-paced, complex and politically charged programme?

Are you excited about the opportunity to work on a major infrastructure project that will make a real difference to the public?

Are you a confident policy or project delivery professional with first-hand experience of managing major projects?

If so, this exciting opportunity as our Deputy Head of Client Team is for you, and we’d love to hear from you. Job description

This exciting and high-profile role encompasses a wide range of major projects, including HS2, Europe’s biggest infrastructure project, as it enters the crucial stages of the programme life-cycle. The role will be ideal for a skilled, proactive and ambitious leader, and is motivated to work on one of the biggest projects in government. We are looking for a talented communicator who is skilled at building and maintaining both relationships in the Department and commercially with its delivery bodies.

The High Speed and Major Rail Project Group (HSMRPG) is an energetic and driven team, tasked with delivering significant transport infrastructure projects set to transform and benefit the lives of communities across the UK. The Client, Funding & Strategy Division is a friendly, high-performing division that sits within the central Programme Integration Directorate of the Group. Our work is focused on overseeing our delivery partners, managing those relationships and the interfaces between projects to ensure projects deliver on time and are value for money.

This post is key in managing the interface between HS2 Ltd and the Department, acting as a ‘gate-keeper’ to maintain a stable programme scope, building strong relationships and owning the formal processes and systems for engaging with HS2 Ltd. You will commission and provide advice and policy support work across HSRMP Group.

The post-holder will have the opportunity to influence major decisions and work on a regular basis with the HS2 Minister, Senior Civil Servants and senior stakeholders on HS2 Ltd.
 

Responsibilities

You will be responsible for ensuring the relationship between the Department and HS2 remains sustainable, acting as the gatekeeper and ensuring compliance with the Development Agreement, the contract between DfT and HS2 Ltd. You will be responsible for renewing the DA and then overseeing, setting out and maintaining the commercial management regime between DfT and HS2 Ltd – this is fundamental to achieving Value for Money (VfM) and ensuring that HS2 is developed to meet the Government’s requirements.

• New HS2 Development Agreement – project managing and developing policies for a new Development Agreement (DA) between the Department and HS2 Ltd to reflect the needs of each Phase/project. This will involve wide scale negotiations with and HS2 Ltd and including the centre of government such an HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office;
• Contract and Change Management – Leading and own the formal processes and systems for engaging with HS2 Ltd to change project scope, managing commercial relationships with senior level officials in HS2 Ltd. This includes the negotiation of variations to contract, complex and high-value changes to the HS2 core programme, and outcomes are consistent with affordability constraints, represent value for money and are in the interests of taxpayers. This will involve developing excellent relationships within HSMRPG and HS2 Ltd;
• Interface Policy – developing improvements for the commercial management of the interface between the Department’s different delivery partners, for instance between HS2 Ltd and Highways England on changes to the Strategic Road Network, and between HS2 Ltd and Northern Powerhouse Rail;
• Obligations Tracking – Develop a new system of monitoring HS2 Ltd’s compliance with their responsibilities in the DA and identifying the appropriate mechanisms to remedy any failures;
• Advising internal and external stakeholders, Ministers and other politicians, DfT senior leaders and HS2 Group Directors on matters relating to the DA and the commercial relationship with HS2 Ltd. This can include supporting senior leaders and ministers with parliamentary business, sometimes within challenging timescales;
• Responsible for a team of 2 - Direct line management of 1 SEO & countersigning responsibility for 1 HEO.

About you

You will be commercially experienced and have well developed project and contract management skills. You will be an excellent communicator with skills both verbally and in writing, with the ability to adapt your delivery to suit a wide variety of audiences, maximising both impact and understanding. You are someone who gains rapport quickly with others as you build effective working relationships with both colleagues and stakeholders.

You will have confidence in your ability to come in and make a real impact within our team where you will lead from the front and drive those around you to achieve the same shared objectives. You will have excellent organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple and often conflicting priorities to time and of a high standard. You are someone who can identify risks and is able to provide solutions to problems and is not afraid to challenge stakeholders where necessary in managing their expectations.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Working Together
• Making Effective Decisions
• Leadership
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Delivering at Pace

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.

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.

How to apply:

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.

When considering your experience, please tailor your CV/Personal Statement to provide evidence of:

• Strong leadership skills, both of those in your team, others outside your direct management chain and stakeholders;
• Track record working in and leading teams in complex projects involving multiple stakeholders and delivering to deadlines;
• Contract management and experience of managing negotiations on complex commercial issues;
• Building and maintaining effective relationships at senior levels to understand stakeholders and user needs and priorities;;
• Strong data presentation skills and an ability to convey complex information to a variety of audiences.

The sift is due to take place 17/12/20.

Interviews/assessments are likely to be held between 04/01/21 and 08/01/21.

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

You’re encouraged to become familiar with the role profile, as you may be assessed against any of the criteria recorded within.

The Department for Transport alongside other Government Departments recruit using Success Profiles. This means for each role we consider what you will need to demonstrate in order to be successful. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, drives up performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.
For further information on Success Profiles visit our Careers website.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Further Information

To learn more about applying for a role within the Department for Transport, visit the Application Process page of our Careers website.

Before submitting your application, we encourage you to visit our Things You Need to Know page for further information about applying for a role within the Department for Transport and the Civil Service.

Throughout this job advert there are links to the DfT Careers website, which provides you further information to support your application. Should you be unable to access the information on our website, please email [email protected] for assistance.

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

Nationality requirements

Open to UK, Commonwealth and European Economic Area (EEA) and certain non EEA nationals. Further information on whether you are able to apply is available here.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code 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.

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.

Apply and further information

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 :   Chris Olsen Email :   [email protected] Telephone :   07825 403505   Recruitment team : Email :   [email protected] Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact Government Recruitment Services via email: [email protected] If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission. Visit the Civil Service Commission website at https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/