22878 - Senior Project Manager

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) 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. We will 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.

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 Senior Project Manager leads and manages the project and project team. They are responsible for driving and overseeing the delivery of the project to ensure objectives are clearly defined and achieved within agreed time, cost, and quality constraints. The Senior Project Manager plays a key role in project governance and works with stakeholders to ensure agreed project outputs are delivered, enabling benefits to be realised.

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

• Delivery – Creates and leads the project to achieve agreed outcomes within time, cost, and quality constraints.
• Project Management – Provides daily management and leadership of the project and team. Providing effective leadership and management controls. Designs the project structure and organisation suitable for each stage, establishes project controls, selecting appropriate delivery methodologies, and managing transitions between project phases.
• Business Case – Develops and drafts the business case, incorporating input from specialists as needed.
• Budget – Develops the budget and monitors delivery within it.
• Resources – Identifies skill requirements, deploys and develops resources, and manages a medium-sized team.
• Benefits Realisation – Delivers the benefits and outcomes stated in the business case. Ensures a suitable benefits realisation strategy is in place and monitors long-term benefit delivery against the business case.
• Stakeholder Management – Identifies and manages stakeholder relationships, ensuring necessary senior-level support. Manages internal and external relationships appropriately.
• Risks and Issues – Identifies and monitors project risks and issues, develops mitigating actions and escalates when necessary. Collaborates with related projects to manage interdependencies.
• Governance – Supports effective governance and decision-making. Provides reporting and engages with mechanisms that hold the project manager accountable for delivery.
• Assurance – Participates in assurance reviews and supports implementation of recommendations. Organises assurance processes, such as gateway reviews, when required.
• Change Management – Ensures change management processes are in place to agree on and document changes to deliverables with stakeholders.
• Guidance and Support – Offers support, guidance, and coaching to the project team, shows commitment to personal development, and promotes effective team performance.
• Project Performance and Controls – Communicates the vision and translates it into delivery objectives for the team. Develops and maintains the Project Plan, sets project controls, manages performance, and reports progress to sponsors.
• Digital and Data - Uses digital tools to analyse data to understand progress against the plan and takes mitigation actions and exploits opportunities. Uses data to forecast future outcomes and address issues before they escalate. Provides actionable data driven insights to ensure stakeholders are kept informed and engaged throughout the project lifecycle.
• Sustainability - Ensures that environmental and social considerations are embedded in programme design, procurement and monitoring processes.
• 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.

Person specification

Required Experience:

Leadership, Project Delivery experience against appropriate framework.

Desirable Qualifications or willing to work towards (within 12 months)

Government Project Delivery Accreditation – Practitioner Level

Location & Terms of appointment

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.

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

Grade 6

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 anonymised 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 will be retained after this campaign for 12 months.

Interview

Interview will be held face to face and interviews for this campaign will only be held at 5 Wellington Place, Leeds, LS1 4AP due to panel availability. 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