Ministry of Justice

Job title: Head of Capital Improvement 

Directorate: Property Directorate 

Workstream: Capital & Major Projects and Sustainability Team 

About us  

HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is responsible for the administration of criminal, civil and family courts and tribunals in England and Wales. Our roles support our service users and colleagues, where people and businesses access potentially life-changing justice.  We’re looking for individuals who are committed to public service and want to make a difference in people’s lives in delivering justice. If you’re interested in developing a career with a real purpose, please apply. 

About the role 

As an experienced property Programme and Project Leader, you will have responsibility for managing a number of interdependent, large scale, complex or contentious projects. This will include the associated business change activities and establishing appropriate governance and assurance processes, monitoring progress, monitoring risks and issues and ensuring the business readiness for change. The role requires professional expertise in the effective use of programme management methodologies and techniques. You will be responsible for the overall integrity and coherence of the projects within the programme. You will have effective leadership, interpersonal and communication skills. 

As G6 Programme Manager, being accountable to a Senior Civil Servants, you will manage programmes which are high-profile, large scale or complex where the risks to be managed are significant. In this role you will have overall accountability for the programme, operating with considerable freedom. You will be comfortable working with infrequent management guidance. 

Delivery of results through others and effective negotiation at senior levels will be key. You will develop and maintain strategic partnerships and relationships and influence others where there may be divergent and conflicting views. This role requires significant leadership, management, representational and influencing skills both within the organisation and with external stakeholders. Work at this level can have a major impact on the achievement of departmental objectives or bear a significant risk for the department. 

Finally, as a G6 Programme Manager you will be expected to coach and mentor junior team members across the wider profession to build professional capability. 

Main Activities/Responsibilities 

• Lead and be responsible for managing a number of interdependent, large scale, complex or contentious projects, including business change activity – where the risks to be managed are significant. This includes the day to day management and leadership of the project and the project team. Overall integrity and coherence of the projects within the programme. Provide effective leadership and management controls. Set project controls. Design the project structure and organisation appropriate to stage. Set appropriate delivery methodologies. Manage effective transition between project phases.  

• Provide expert support and guidance to enable development of the Business Case or Project Briefs, with input from specialists as necessary.  

• Lead on developing, securing, and agreeing budget forecasts across a number of interdependent projects to enable delivery to be tracked against budget.  

• Use leadership knowledge and experience to understand skillset required to deploy and develop resources across a number of complex projects. Direct line management of a medium sized team.  

• Develop and maintain Benefits Realisation Strategy, working alongside Finance colleagues to develop benefits models to ensure benefits can be tracked, and monitored to ensure the longer-term delivery of benefits against the business case.  

•  Develop and maintain strategic partnerships and relationships and influence others where there may be divergent and conflicting views. Provide support and advice to project teams based on knowledge and previous experience taking ownership when required to ensure relevant outcomes are achieved. Provide assurance to senior leaders on the effectiveness of stakeholder management arrangements.  

• Manage the risks in respect of high-profile, large scale and complex programme/projects. Taking accountability for ensuring appropriate mitigation is in place or is developed and risk are being actively managed. Provide assurance to senior leaders that effective risk management is in place and escalation is controlled and managed effectively.  

• Lead and be responsible for managing a number of interdependent, large scale, complex and contentious project ensuring the appropriate level of governance in place. Dependency management is in place and being actively monitored and the governance lifecycle is being assured. Implement a reporting structure to provide a mechanism to support delivery, highlighting potential problems at an early stage to enable mitigation, providing solutions and recommendations to Programme Board.  

• Lead on establishing and implementing protocols in respect of scope changes, including recommendations based on analysis of costs, benefits and timescales. Flag up and determine any changes coming down the line and review change requests that are read for movement into Boards to assess whether all impact assessments complete and we are comfortable to take to the Boards 

• Provide support, guidance and coaching for the project team. Show commitment to personal development. Promote effective individual and team performance. 

• Provide expert guidance and insight whilst leading on developing and implementing project/programme controls on behalf of the Programme Director. Ensure that a process in implemented that reports on project progress and status to appropriate bodies. Identify common capabilities, opportunities for linking up and reuse and sharing of methods, process, assurance across projects/programme. Develop and maintain the programme plan, embedding new practices and lesson learned with the delivery teams. 

The post holder is required to work in a flexible way and undertake any other duties reasonably requested by line management which are commensurate with the grade and level of responsibility of this post. 

Who are we looking for? (Person Specification) 

The ideal candidate for this position should demonstrate:  

Essential  

• Applicants must hold a Government Property Profession Core Accreditation at Chartered, Certified or Fellow grade (RICS, IWFM, CIOB, CEng, CEnv, RTPI, RIBA or equivalent). 

• Extensive experience of leading large scale, complex or contentious projects, programmes or portfolios 

• Knowledge and understanding of project delivery practice including developing business cases, managing budgets to minimise cost, managing a complex supply chain, and handling challenging commercial relationships.  

• Knowledge and understanding of CDM 2015 Regulations and Government Soft Landings processes and principles in complex operating structures.  

• Ability to lead and influence senior stakeholders, including the ability to work across boundaries to influence and gain confidence of senior project delivery leaders and sponsors  

• Experience of working in the Government Property Profession (or equivalent) with a track record of successful delivery of construction major or complex projects and programmes against clear delivery objectives.  

• Knowledge of risk management, governance arrangements, financial management, audit processes and change management. 

Desirable 

• Professional project management qualification (PRINCE2 Practitioner, APM Project Management Qualification, APM Chartered Project Professional or equivalent) 

• Extensive experience in government property project and programme delivery 

How to apply  

Application Stage  

Please submit  

1. An anonymised CV. Please ensure your CV is uploaded in a simple format to prevent any formatting issues when it's downloaded or reviewed. 

Your CV should: 

• Be succinct and clear 

• Be uploaded in a simple format to prevent any formatting issues when it's downloaded or reviewed. 

• Be factually accurate – You must ensure that any evidence submitted as part of your application, including your CV and statement of suitability are truthful and factually accurate. Please note that plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own. 

• Include your qualifications, you must highlight which Government Property Profession Core Accreditation at Chartered, Certified or Fellow grade (RICS, IWFM, CIOB, CEng, CEnv, RTPI, RIBA or equivalent) you hold. 

• Include your relevant experience, providing dates. 

• Provide detail – we are interested in how you have used different tools to solve problems. 

1. Statement of suitability demonstrating how you meet the essential criteria (up to 750 words) 

• Your Statement of Suitability should be no more than 750 words and should give us real life examples of how your skills and experience match those needed for this role. This is an opportunity to add depth to the best evidence in your CV. Consider addressing particular points in the person specification requirements and key responsibilities. We recommend following the STAR format. 

Please ensure you cover both ‘what’ you do but also ‘how’ you do it. (i.e., the effective skills, knowledge & experience needed to undertake the role) 

We will aim to sift the CV and Statement of Suitability but, in the event of a large number of applicants, an initial short sift may be conducted on the CV only. Candidates who pass the initial sift of the CV will either: 

• ⁠progress to a full sift where all application assessment criteria is then assessed. 

• or progress straight to further interview. 

Interview Stage 

If successful at sift, you will be invited to attend a remote interview, via Microsoft teams. During your interview, you will be assessed against the following Civil Service Success Profiles which will include:  

• A 5 minute presentation against the job specification and essential criteria. The presentation brief will be sent to you in advance of the interview.  
• Questions in relation to the following Civil Service behaviours: 

• Leadership 

• Making effective decisions  

• Working together 

• Communicating and influencing 

Further details  

Working pattern 

Full time only - This is a full-time position only due to the nature of the role. All applications for flexible working and job sharing will be treated fairly and, on a case, -by-case basis in accordance with the MoJ policy. 

Travel requirements 

There will be a requirement to travel frequently to any HMCTS site in line with business needs.  

Opportunities for development 

HMCTS is committed to staff development and offers an extensive range of training and development opportunities. 

About our benefits 

We reward our people for their hard work and commitment. We have a number of family 

friendly and flexible working polices that will help you achieve a healthy work-life balance. In addition, we offer a range of employee benefits which include generous annual leave, a highly competitive contributory pension scheme, childcare benefits, season ticket and bicycle loans. 

Proud to Serve. Proud to keep justice going.