Details
Reference number
400060
Salary
£68,623 London Minimum - £72,182 A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97% GBP
Job grade
Grade 6
Contract type
Permanent
Business area
DFE - Operations and Infrastructure Group - Children and Families Digital, Data and Technology Portfolio Teacher Services Digital Portfolio
Type of role
Digital
Operational Delivery
Working pattern
Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time
Number of jobs available
2
Contents
- Location
- About the job
- Benefits
- Things you need to know
- Apply and further information
Location
Coventry, West Midlands (England), CV1 2WT : Manchester, North West England, M1 2WD : Sheffield, Yorkshire and the Humber, S1 2FJ : City of Westminster, London (region), SW1P 3BT
About the job
Job summary
Children and Families Digital Portfolio
In the Children and Families digital portfolio, our aim is to support every child and young person to be safer, healthier and happier. We work with Families Group to deliver Manifesto commitments on children’s social care, early years childcare and our important contribution to delivering the Government’s Mission to break down barriers to opportunity.
This is an exciting time to join the portfolio with significant reform programmes underway in both early years and childcare, and children’s social care, which will have a direct impact on the outcomes and wellbeing of children and their families.
We also have a role in our Teacher Services digital division:
Teacher Services
Schools Digital is a large and expanding digital division working across the whole of the Department’s Schools Group. We currently run data services on schools and pupils, and transactional services for people becoming and working as teachers. We also have several exciting new discovery areas, such as school accountability and SEND provision. Our teams successfully combine policy intent with digital delivery, and are proud to be user-centred in all our work. We strive to make good decisions empowered by high-quality data. All our services are focused on delivering better outcomes for learners, parents and people who work in the education sector.
Our diverse and inclusive culture reflects the society we live in. This helps us to achieve better outcomes for all our users. We work in multi-disciplinary teams using Agile methods to innovate and radically improve services that:
- Raise education standards and provide the best start in life for children.
- Support disadvantaged and vulnerable children and young people.
- Drive economic growth.
You can read more about our strategy on the DfE digital and technology blog, by visiting our LinkedIn page, or by following us on Twitter @DfE_DigitalTech .
Job description
We are recruiting 2 Programme Delivery Managers (PDM) to work in our Children and Families or Teacher Services digital delivery portfolios.
In the Children and Families portfolio we work with policy teams to research, design and build services that help families have the best start in life.
As a Programme Delivery Manager, you will:
- Lead and motivate multiple multi-disciplinary teams, helping them organise and plan their work, ensuring they make progress, meet the government service standard and create services that meet users’ needs. Assess the effectiveness of teams and engage with them in different ways depending on their needs, facilitating collaboration across teams as needed.
- Ensure teams understand their vision, scope and goals and these align as required across the department. Ensure teams clearly communicate their approach, plans and progress.
- Identify the people, skills and resources that teams need to deliver the agreed goals.
- Provide information and structures that support effective and appropriate governance.
- Identify and challenge organisational processes that impede delivery and work with stakeholders as needed to improve them.
- Use your delivery expertise to identify and actively manage risks, issues and internal and external dependencies across multiple delivery teams. Act as an escalation point for risks raised by delivery teams, supporting or intervening as necessary to enable prompt and effective management.
- Manage stakeholders to ensure good relations and effective communication. Work with policy leaders to develop their ability to support agile ways of working.
Working with the Head of Profession for Delivery Management, you will also:
- Help create a culture and environment where teams can deliver effectively, are passionate about their work and can bring their ‘whole selves’ to work.
- Build agile delivery management capability through hands on coaching and identifying development opportunities.
Programme delivery manager - Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework
Person specification
Essential criteria:
- Significant track record of successfully delivering difficult or complex digital programmes or portfolios of work, leading, coordinating and motivating multi-site, multi-disciplinary teams.
- Knowledge of agile methodologies and how they help deliver products and services at scale. Strong track record of building agile capability and developing team members.
- Able to deal with difficult, ambiguous delivery challenges and drive them to a resolution.
- Experience of managing people, teams, and other environmental factors to resolve and manage impediments, blockers and risks.
- Excellent stakeholder management skills to be able to mediate and communicate with stakeholders at all levels and between organisational, technical and political boundaries.
- Experience of effective supplier management including building strong relationships, more cost-effective services and improved performance.
- Strong advocate for user-centred design and ability to apply this approach within delivery teams and in the approach to stakeholder engagement.
Desirable criteria:
- Able to quickly get up to speed with product, policy and political contexts, in order to create a positive environment for delivery.
- Experience of financial management and knowing how to negotiate, influence or set budgets in complex environments. Able to write or input into business cases and communicate business-value propositions.
Desirable criteria will only be assessed at interview, in the event of a tie break situation, to make an informed decision.
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- Agile practices
- Maintaining delivery momentum
- Making a process work
- Planning
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £68,623, Department for Education contributes £19,880 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
Applicants currently holding a permanent post in the Civil Service should note that, if successful, their salary on appointment would be determined by the Department’s transfer / promotion policies.
As a member of the DfE, you will be entitled to join the highly competitive Civil Service Pension Scheme, which many experts agree is one of the most generous in the UK.
You will have 25 days leave, increasing by 1 day every year to a maximum of 30 days after five years’ service. In addition, all staff receive the King’s Birthday privilege holiday and 8 days’ bank and public holidays.
We offer flexible working arrangements, such as job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours.
Most DfE employees will be working a hybrid pattern, spending at least 60% of their time in an office or work setting. Changes to these working arrangements are available in exceptional circumstances but must be agreed with the line manager and in line with the requirements of the role.
Travel to your primary office location will not be paid for by DfE, but costs for travel to an office which is not your main location will be covered.
As an organisation, which exists to support education and lifelong learning, we offer our staff excellent professional development opportunities.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles , and will assess your Experience and Technical skills.
Please note that all communications will be electronic therefore it is vitally important that you check your Civil Service Jobs account regularly, as well as your spam/junk email folder.
Key Dates:
- Vacancy Close – midnight 16 April 2025
- Sift – likely to take place from w/c 21 April 2025
- Interviews – likely to take place from w/c 5 May 2025
Stage 1: Application
If you would like to apply for this position, please complete the Civil Service Jobs application form by clicking the "apply now" button at the top or bottom of this advert.
You will be required to provide details of:
- Your CV – Set out your career history, highlighting specific responsibilities and achievements that are relevant for this role.
- Your Statement of Suitability – In no more than 1000 words, provide examples to explain how your personal skills, qualities and experience demonstrate your suitability for the role.
Please note, CV details must be contained within the template on the application form. Any CV or Statement of Suitability that has been emailed to our team will not be considered.
Stage 2: Sift
Candidates successful at sift stage will be invited to an interview.
We receive many applications, and unfortunately, we’re not able to provide feedback for candidates who aren’t shortlisted.
In the event of a high volume of applications, we will do the initial sift against the following essential criteria on the Statement of Suitability:
- Significant track record of successfully delivering difficult or complex digital programmes or portfolios of work, leading, coordinating and motivating multi-site / multi-disciplinary teams.
- In-depth knowledge of agile methodologies and how they help deliver products and services at scale. Strong track record of building agile capability and developing team members.
Stage 3: Interview
The interview will be a 2-part process:
Part 1: Completion of a task which we will send to you prior to the interview and require you to give a 10-minute presentation on. This will be assessed against the essential criteria.
Part 2: At interview you will be asked questions to assess your experience in line with the essential criteria listed above. At interview you will be asked questions around the technical skills listed in the advert
Interviews will be conducted via Microsoft Teams.
If you are invited to interview, please ensure that you have access to this software and that you have your video turned on. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview.
Other Information
In your application, please don’t include personal information that identifies you.
This means we can recruit based on your knowledge and skills, and not background, gender or ethnicity - it's called name blind recruitment .
Please ensure that you remove from your application, all references to your:
- name/title
- educational institutions
- age
- gender
- email address
- postal address
- phone number
- nationality/immigration status
We understand that you might use AI and other resources for your application; however, please ensure all information you provide is factually accurate, truthful, and original and doesn’t include ideas or work that isn’t your own. This is so that your application is authentically and credibly your own.
We reserve the right to raise the minimum pass mark in the event of a high volume or strong field of candidates.
Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK from the location options provided and not from overseas.
The government is committed to supporting apprenticeships, enabling people to learn and progress in a role whilst earning. We want to monitor the number of people who have completed apprenticeships who are now applying to progress further in their career and are asking this question to all candidates, on all vacancies. You will be asked a question as part of the application process about any previous apprenticeships you have completed. Your response to this question will not affect your application and it is not a requirement of the role to have completed a previous apprenticeship.
If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check maybe carried out.
In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstance some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Department of Education of your intention by emailing Pre-Employment.Checks.DFE@education.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.
Department for Education do not cover the cost of travel to your interview/assessment unless otherwise stated.
A reserve list may be held for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made.
Candidates will be posted in merit order based upon location preference. Where more than one location is advertised you will be asked to state your preferred location.
New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.
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.
Terms and conditions of candidates transferring from ALBs and NDPBs
Bodies that are not accredited by the Civil Service Commission and are not able to advertise at Across Government on Civil Service jobs will be treated as external new starters and will come into DfE on modernised terms and conditions with a salary at the band minimum.
Bodies that are accredited by the Civil Service Commission but do not have civil service status will be offered modernised terms and will not have continuous service recognised for leave or sickness benefits. Salaries should be offered at band minimum, but there is some flexibility where this would cause a detriment to the individual.
Bodies that are accredited by the Civil Service Commission and do have Civil Service status will be treated as OGD transfers. Staff appointed on lateral transfer will move on to pre-modernised DfE terms (unless they were on modernised terms in their previous organisation). Staff appointed on promotion will move on to modernised DfE terms. Staff will transfer over on their existing salary (on lateral transfer) and any pay above the DfE pay band maximum will be paid as a mark time allowance. Staff moving on promotion will have their salaries calculated using the principles set out in the attached OGD transfer supplementary information.
Reasonable adjustment
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. If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:
Contact Department of Education via centralrecruitment.operations@education.gov.uk 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.
Please refer to the attached ‘Reasonable Adjustments Guide 2025 – accessible version’ at the bottom of the advert, for further information.
Childcare Vouchers
Any move to Department for Education (DfE) will mean you will no longer be able to carry on claiming childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. 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)
- 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
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. 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 and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy .
Apply and further information
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative. 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 : Sue Molyneux
- Email : sue.molyneux@education.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : Centralrecruitment.operations@education.gov.uk
Further information
The Department for Education’s recruitment processes are underpinned by the Civil Service Commissioners Recruitment Principles, which outlines that selection for appointment is made on merit based on fair and open competition. You have the right to complain if you feel a department has breached the requirement of the Recruitment Principles. In the first instance, you should raise the matter directly with the department concerned via CentralRecruitment.Operations@education.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages
