Directorate: MoJ Project Delivery Function

Job Title: Project / Programme Management Office (PMO) Manager

Pay Span or equivalent: Senior Executive Officer (SEO)

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is a major government department, at the heart of the justice system. We work to protect and advance the principles of justice. Our vision is to deliver a world-class justice system that works for everyone in society.

Our priorities include improving public safety and reducing reoffending by reforming prisons, probation and youth justice, and building a justice system which makes access to justice swifter and more certain for all citizens whatever their background. Project professionals in the MoJ help to improve the government’s ability to protect the public and reduce reoffending, and to provide a more effective, transparent and responsive criminal justice system for victims and the public.

The Project Delivery Function aim is to have capable and empowered teams, delivering Project Delivery excellence. As we mature as in future we want to maintain and enhance our reputation as leaders in project delivery, recognised for highly skilled and professional practice that evolves beyond our current achievements to consistently deliver outstanding results. We will excel at initiating projects with strong foundations and then deliver on our commitments by improving and sustaining delivery confidence to successfully realise outcomes and benefits. Our people will be empowered to develop the skills they need to succeed, and our line managers will be accountable for upholding functional standards and demonstrating excellence in project delivery.

The MoJ’s Functional Operating Model is unique across government. All project delivery professionals are line managed through the Function and then assigned to projects and programmes across the MoJ and its Agencies. The MoJ Project Delivery Function sees the centralisation and coordination of all project delivery within the Ministry. These opportunities provide a unique chance to be at the forefront of implementing significant projects across the MoJ, in line with the wider Government Project Delivery Functional Standard.

Successful candidates will be part of a flexible resource pool and may be placed in roles based on business needs. If we’re not able to offer a post in the specific role applied for, we will match you to a suitable position at the same grade that aligns with your skills and experience. Successful candidates are expected to commit to the role for a minimum of 18 months. MoJ expects its leaders to show openness, honesty and commitment, and, of course, to deliver results.

Key responsibilities of the role

The PMO Manager defines and maintains project management standards within the organisation. This includes implementing and sharing best practices, and developing and applying project procedures, tools, and techniques to standardise methodologies and achieve efficiencies. The PMO Manager provides expert guidance, support, and insight on projects, acting as the source of all project information and metrics.

These may be further shaped and adjusted dependent on business needs and team resources / skills.

Delivery & Leadership - Lead the PMO to support the project in the delivery of Business Case benefits and outcomes.
Business Case - Support the Project Manager in the development of Business Case with input from specialists as necessary.
Budget - Develop and agree budgets for projects and/or programmes and forecast actual costs against them.
Resources - Manage the PMO team and support the Project Manager in the identification, recruitment, development, deployment and reassignment of resources throughout the project lifecycle.
Stakeholder Management - Advise the project team on appropriate tools and techniques for managing stakeholder relationships. Provide assurance to the project manager on the effectiveness of stakeholder management arrangements.
Risks & Issues - Establish the project processes and standards for managing risks and issues. Provide assurance to the project manager on the effectiveness of Risk and Issue management arrangements.
Governance & Assurance - Ensure appropriate governance is in place and arrange external reviews e.g. Gateway Reviews at appropriate points in the project lifecycle. Monitor the effectiveness of controls and ensure that recommendations from external reviews are acted upon.
Change Management - Establish and implement protocols to change the scope of projects and/or programmes and update configuration documents as required.
Project Performance & Controls - Establish and operate project controls on behalf of the project manager, reporting on project progress and status to appropriate bodies.
Guidance & Support - Identify, develop and share best practice project management processes, tools and templates. Provides direction and guidance to the project team.
Line Management - There will be line management of Project Delivery Professional(s) within the Professional Delivery Group as part of this role, including the management of direct report’s HR and well-being, development with a focus on coaching and mentoring, ensuring quality and standards of PPM are upheld.

Location & Terms of appointment

Travel and Office Attendance

This post is advertised nationally but frequent travel will be required to locations where our Major Projects are based.

Your base office location at an MoJ HQ site, Justice Collaboration Centre, or Justice Satellite Office will be discussed if successful, as we do not offer home working contracts. All available sites can be found on this link.

MoJ employees should be attending the office a minimum of two days a week. Typically, this will be at your base office location at an MoJ HQ site, Justice Collaboration Centre, or Justice Satellite Office. If you are required to travel to another office or site with your project/programme, this will be classed as a day’s office attendance.

Salary & Grade

Senior Executive Officer (SEO)

New entrants to the Civil Service will be expected to join on the minimum of the pay range and this is non-negotiable.

Existing Civil Servants will have their salary calculated in accordance with the Department’s pay on transfer / pay on promotion rules.

Flexible Working Options

MoJ offers a flexible working system in many of its offices.

This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying. Our people are at the heart of what we do, and we'll do our best to agree a working pattern that works for everyone.

All applications for job sharing or reduced hours will be treated fairly and on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the MoJ’s flexible working policy and equality policy.

Excess Fares and Relocation Allowances

This job is not eligible for relocation allowances, but excess fares may be considered in accordance with MoJ’s excess fares allowance policy.

Selection and Recruitment Process

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Experience and Technical skills.

To apply for this vacancy, you will need to submit the following documents which will assessed against the Civil Service Technical and Experience success profiles:

A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you provide employment history and that any gaps in employment history within the last 2 years are explained. The CV should not exceed more than 2 x A4 pages.

An application form providing evidence of how you meet the Project Delivery Competencies as per the Project Delivery Capability Framework.

Merit List of successful candidates based on location will be retained after this campaign for 12 months.

Interview

Interviews will only be held at 5 Wellington Place, Leeds, LS1 4AP and 10 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London, E14 4PU. Please keep this in mind when applying.

The interview will consist of Project Delivery Technical competencies only.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (Al)

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples, statements and CV 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.

Further Information

Existing Civil Servants are eligible to apply and will only be considered on a loan basis (Civil Servants). Prior agreement to be released on a loan basis must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant.

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 : PDFMO Resourcing Team
Email : ProjectDeliveryRes@justice.gov.uk

Project Delivery Competencies

You will be required to provide evidence of the following key competencies at the indicated level:

Competencies	Description	Level required
Project Delivery Profession - Technical Competencies
Planning	The ability to define the fundamental components of the work in terms of its scope, deliverables, time scales, resource requirements and budget. It also includes the production of broader plans incorporating risk and quality to provide a consolidated overview of the work.	(W) Working knowledge and practical experience You have a good understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in low complexity projects and/or under supervision in more complex projects.
Scheduling	The ability to develop, produce and maintain schedules for activities that take account of dependencies, resource requirements and constraints in order to enable the efficient realisation of benefits.	(W) Working knowledge and practical experience You have a good understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in low complexity projects and/or under supervision in more complex projects.
Resource Management	The ability to identify, profile, secure and manage the resources required to deliver the work.	(W) Working knowledge and practical experience You have a good understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in low complexity projects and/or under supervision in more complex projects.
Budgeting and Cost Management	The ability to estimate costs, produce a budget and control forecasts and actual spend against budget.	(W) Working knowledge and practical experience You have a good understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in low complexity projects and/or under supervision in more complex projects.
Risk and Issue Management	The ability to systematically identify and monitor risks and issues, planning how to mitigate or respond to those risks and issues and implementing the responses.	(W) Working knowledge and practical experience You have a good understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in low complexity projects and/or under supervision in more complex projects.
Quality Management	The ability to plan, develop, maintain and apply quality management processes to ensure adherence to those standards throughout the lifecycle of the work.	(W) Working knowledge and practical experience You have a good understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in low complexity projects and/or under supervision in more complex projects.
Business Change and Implementation	The ability to integrate the solution into operations ensuring that activities are planned and completed to enable the business to implement the change and realise the benefits.	(W) Working knowledge and practical experience You have a good understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in low complexity projects and/or under supervision in more complex projects.
Governance	The ability to clearly define roles, responsibilities and accountabilities and establish controls and approval routes appropriate to each stage of the work to monitor progress and compliance.	(W) Working knowledge and practical experience You have a good understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in low complexity projects and/or under supervision in more complex projects.
Frameworks and Methodologies	The ability to identify and amend appropriate frameworks and methodologies to enable a consistent and efficient approach to delivery at all stages of the lifecycle.	(W) Working knowledge and practical experience You have a good understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in low complexity projects and/or under supervision in more complex projects.
Stakeholder Engagement	The ability to systematically identify, analyse and communicate with stakeholders, using appropriate channels, to ensure all those impacted by the change are engaged, taking account of their levels of influence and particular interests.	(W) Working knowledge and practical experience You have a good understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in low complexity projects and/or under supervision in more complex projects.
Assurance	The ability to establish, plan and manage reviews at appropriate points through the life cycle to provide confidence that the work can be delivered to the agreed outcomes and benefits within time, cost, quality, and other constraints.	(W) Working knowledge and practical experience You have a good understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in low complexity projects and/or under supervision in more complex projects.
Change Control	The ability to establish protocols to manage and document all requests for changes to scope, timescales, costs, benefits or other approved baselines for the work. This includes the capture, evaluation and approval or rejection of change requests.	(W) Working knowledge and practical experience You have a good understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in low complexity projects and/or under supervision in more complex projects.
Business Case Development	The ability to prepare, develop, commission and update business cases to justify the initiation and continuation of projects in terms of benefits, value for money and risk.	(A) Basic knowledge and limited or no experience You understand how it can be applied. You can describe the benefits and importance. You may have applied it in a low complexity project under supervision or assisted others in delivering it.
Asset Allocation	The ability to recommend how financial and other resources should be allocated between projects in order to optimise the organisation's return on investment (ROI). This includes the determination of which projects should be initiated, continued or closed to best support the organisations strategic objectives.	(A) Basic knowledge and limited or no experience You understand how it can be applied. You can describe the benefits and importance. You may have applied it in a low complexity project under supervision or assisted others in delivering it.
Benefits Management	The ability to identify, value, plan and track benefits to justify investment and ensure the expected outcomes and social value are realised.	(W) Working knowledge and practical experience You have a good understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in low complexity projects and/or under supervision in more complex projects.
Knowledge Management	The ability to identify, share and promote best practices and lessons learned to create a culture of learning and good practice that supports continuous improvement to optimise project delivery.	(W) Working knowledge and practical experience You have a good understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in low complexity projects and/or under supervision in more complex projects.
Digital and Data	The ability to effectively leverage digital tools and data analytics for better project delivery outcomes. Combining an understanding of digital technologies with the ability to manage, interpret and utilise data to make informed decisions, improve efficiency and achieve outcomes and benefits.	(W) Working knowledge and practical experience You have a good understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in low complexity projects and/or under supervision in more complex projects.
Sustainability	The ability to incorporate environmental and social considerations into the strategic objectives of the work and to effectively identify, assess and manage these throughout the lifecycle, seeking to maximise benefits and mitigate negative impacts.	(W) Working knowledge and practical experience You have a good understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in low complexity projects and/or under supervision in more complex projects.
Project Delivery Profession - Behavioural/Leadership Competencies
Visible Leadership	The ability to engage, motivate and coach others. To act as a role model and inspire and empower others. Aligned to the leadership Civil Service behaviour.	(W) Working knowledge and practical experience You have a good understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in low complexity projects and/or under supervision in more complex projects.
Credible Action	The ability to promote the wider public good in all actions and to act in a morally, legally and socially appropriate manner at all times. Challenges unacceptable behaviour. Aligned to the leadership Civil Service behaviour.	(W) Working knowledge and practical experience You have a good understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in low complexity projects and/or under supervision in more complex projects.
Working with Ambiguity	The ability to work in an environment of uncertainty and continual change. Able to feel comfortable making decisions and setting direction without having the full picture and re-focus as details emerge. Can apply knowledge and techniques to reduce ambiguity. Aligned to the making effective decisions Civil Service behaviour.	(A) Basic knowledge and limited or no experience You understand how it can be applied. You can describe the benefits and importance. You may have applied it in a low complexity project under supervision or assisted others in delivering it.
Collaboration	The ability to establish and develop productive relationships with internal and external stakeholders, bringing people together to benefit the project. Aligned to the working together Civil Service behaviour.	(W) Working knowledge and practical experience You have a good understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in low complexity projects and/or under supervision in more complex projects.
Influencing	The ability to influence, change and impact decisions with both internal and external stakeholders. Aligned to the communicating and influencing Civil Service behaviour.	(W) Working knowledge and practical experience You have a good understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in low complexity projects and/or under supervision in more complex projects.
Conflict Resolution	The ability to recognise, anticipate and effectively deal with existing or potential conflicts at an individual, team or strategic level. Aligned to the working together and leadership Civil Service behaviours.	(W) Working knowledge and practical experience You have a good understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in low complexity projects and/or under supervision in more complex projects.
Inspiring Others	The ability to create and present a compelling vision and set clear direction, that motivates others to work towards a common goal. Aligned to the leadership Civil Service behaviour.	(W) Working knowledge and practical experience You have a good understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in low complexity projects and/or under supervision in more complex projects.
Resilience	The ability to adapt to changing circumstances and adverse situations whilst remaining calm, reassuring others and maintaining performance. Aligned to the delivering at pace Civil Service behaviour.	(W) Working knowledge and practical experience You have a good understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in low complexity projects and/or under supervision in more complex projects.
Innovation	The ability to think of, research and apply new ideas and ways of doing things. Encourages and supports innovations from others, is willing to experiment and follow ideas through to implementation. Aligned to the changing and improving Civil Service behaviour.	(W) Working knowledge and practical experience You have a good understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in low complexity projects and/or under supervision in more complex projects.
Culture Change	The ability to plan, lead and effect positive cultural change, securing commitment and buy-in, and promoting a positive long term vision. Recognises when broader culture change is necessary to deliver a project. Aligned to the seeing the big picture, and changing and improving Civil Service behaviours.	(A) Basic knowledge and limited or no experience You understand how it can be applied. You can describe the benefits and importance. You may have applied it in a low complexity project under supervision or assisted others in delivering it.