Job summary
Government Skills, formally Government Skills and Curriculum unit, was created in 2020 to improve the coherence and quality of learning and development in government through better training, knowledge and networks. The vision is to provide support for over 550,000 Civil Servants across Government to develop the skills, knowledge and networks they need.
The aim was to accelerate the development of the skills, knowledge and networks of all civil servants, reaching across the wider public sector and delivering better public services for citizens across the country.
As we move into a new era under a new Government the aim is to reduce the cost of learning and improve the quality of outputs by moving to a new operating model. This is an exciting time of growth for Government Skills with new positions being created to support the future operating model.
This will require significant programme and project management, and co-ordination to enable effective planning and design work at both Portfolio Level and individual Project Workstream levels.
Over the next three years, this transformational programme will see less reliance on external providers to deliver training services for the Civil Service and an increase in internal delivery using expertise within the Civil Service.
The Learning Frameworks and Services Team is responsible for four enabling workstreams under the National School of Government and Public Services Portfolio. Between them, these workstreams cover the current, transitional and future infrastructure to support centralised training for 550,000 Civil Servants.
Job description
We are looking for an exceptional Project Manager to ensure the safe, coordinated and robustly assured project that sees the implementation of the commercial and digital infrastructure that will underpin the operational delivery of the National School of Government and Public Services.
The successful candidate will utilise project management methodologies in a flexible way, facilitating effective delivery of a number of sub-workstreams that tracks and manages dependencies and risks.
Key responsibilities
- Project planning - lead the development of comprehensive plans and timelines, encompassing immediate actions as well as medium to long-term strategies for safe delivery of the future infrastructure.
- Workstream engagement - enabling effective governance and workstream stakeholder engagement, for example by:
- Encouraging a culture of collaboration and innovation, enabling workstream teams to identify and act on interdependencies;
- Providing and drafting materials to support the engagement of wider Gov Skills governance and stakeholder forums (agendas, Ministerial submissions, Board papers, etc);
- Risks, issues and dependencies - facilitate the proactive identification, tracking and review of risks, issues, and dependencies within the future infrastructure project, including monthly reviews, ensuring that responses are integrated into action plans and effectively monitored.
- Delivery monitoring and internal reporting - track progress against targets and milestones, producing status reports for stakeholders to ensure transparency and accountability.
- Learning and continuous improvement - promote and facilitate the identification of lessons learned and incorporate them into forward plans.
- Meeting assurance needs of Government People Group’s Project Management Office and Project Profession Authority including through monthly returns that pull together the totality of the project’s progress across the workstreams.
- Lead of a small project team (1 x HEO, 1 x SEO) to ensure all project activities and artefacts are recorded, maintained, tracked and stored to a high standard that meet future audit needs.
Given the dynamic nature of our team’s work, all roles are expected to adapt as priorities evolve. This position offers opportunities to demonstrate long-term strategic thinking while delivering tangible results.
Person specification
Experience & Knowledge
- Experience of project and/or programme management with strong organisational skills, project or programme management office skills with a focus on delivering outcomes rather than process.
- Ability to operate effectively in complex and ambiguous environments, adapting quickly to the changing strategic context.
- A track-record of bringing structure and a strategic mindset to complex and sometimes rapidly changing programmes of work.
Skills
- Collaboration skills - strong capability forging and maintaining relationships across various stakeholders at varying levels of seniority.
- Engagement and facilitation skills - enabling others to come together to surface risks and issues, innovate and solve problems, and work towards clear action plans.
- Strong written communication skills, including the ability to distil complex information into succinct, easy to understand, forward plans and reports such as Ministerial submissions and Board packs or papers.
- Strong prioritisation and organisational skills when managing competing demands, working across multiple areas to meet deadlines, required standards and maintaining high quality under time constraints.
Desirable
- Experience supporting Business Case development including preparation, development, commissioning and updating
- Project Management Qualification(s): e.g. Prince2, Agile, Scrum, Project Fundamentals Qualification
Work setting
Cabinet Office policy is that a minimum 60% of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace. For some roles, due to their nature and the business need, this may be up to 100%. Requirements to attend other locations for official business will also count towards this level of attendance.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Delivering at Pace
- Communicating and Influencing
- Working Together
We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £57,204, Cabinet Office contributes £16,571 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
Additional benefits include:
- Learning and development tailored to your role.
- An environment with flexible working options.
- A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity.
- A Civil Service Pension which provides an attractive pension, benefits for dependants and employer contributions of 28.97%.
- A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by one day per year up to a maximum of 30.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.
Application process
As part of the application form you will be asked to submit:
- A CV
- 250 words on the lead behaviour Seeing the Big Picture
Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be undertaken using the lead Behaviour, Seeing the Big Picture. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to interview.
Selection process
Applicants who pass the sift will be invited to interview. The interview will consist of questions to assess the candidates against the Civil Service Behaviours of:
- Working Together
- Communicating and Influencing
- Delivering at Pace
- Seeing the Big Picture
Interview presentation - successful candidates will receive the presentation topic ahead of time.
Expected timeline (subject to change)
Expected sift date – tbc
Expected interview date/s – tbc
Interview location - Virtual via Google Meet
Reasonable adjustments
If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.
Contact Government Recruitment Service via cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'contact point for applicants' section.
Additional information
A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.
Any move to Cabinet Office 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; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.
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/Disclosure Scotland 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 [email protected] stating the job reference number in the subject heading.
For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email [email protected]
Please note that this role requires SC clearance, which would normally need 5 years’ UK residency in the past 5 years. This is not an absolute requirement, but supplementary checks may be needed where individuals have not lived in the UK for that period. This may mean your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible.
For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website.
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.
Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.
Feedback
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.
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).
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.
The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).
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 :
Recruitment team
Further information
Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and wish to make a complaint, then in the first instance you should contact Government Recruitment Service by email at : [email protected] If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission at [email protected]. For further information on the Recruitment Principles and bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission, please visit their website at: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/.
Attachments
Cabinet Office Employee Offer Opens in new window (pdf, 302kB)
Cabinet Office Terms and Conditions - External 2025-02-20 Opens in new window (docx, 83kB)
