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Project Assurance Lead

  • Public sector
  • 12/05/2025
  • £54857.00 /yearly
  • Permanent
Job expired!

Job Overview

Job Type

Permanent

Salary

£54,857 yearly

Date Posted:

12/05/2025

Expiration date:

26/05/2025

Additional Detail

Job ID

26434

Work Location

Office-based

Job Description

Locations: Birmingham, Leeds

Do you have experience in project management and successfully implementing change?

Do you thrive on leading from the front when delivering projects, bringing structure and clarity to a complex and changing environment?

Can you build and utilise strong relationships at a senior level in order to deliver project outcomes?

If so, then we would love for you to apply!

This is an exciting opportunity to further develop your skills and experience within the Assurance profession. You will play a key role in helping the Department make a step change in how we deliver our large and complex portfolio of projects, worth well over £100bn. The Department's ambition is to be best in class and be a showcase for other departments.

Overview

You will join the Portfolio and Project Delivery Directorate (PPDD) as the Grade 7 Assurance Lead. The role sits within the Portfolio and Project Assurance Division (PPA), whose work is a core element of the 'Be an Excellent Department' strategic enabler.

We are seeking a Project Delivery Professional to oversee the Department's project assurance requirements. The ideal candidate will have excellent attention to detail and be comfortable providing detailed advice to stakeholders at all levels across the Department and our arms-length bodies and be excited at the opportunity to use technology and AI tools to innovate and identify way to do things better.

You will lead the Project Delivery Centre of Excellence (CoE), coordinating with DfT's other CoEs to ensure timely and effective assurance. This involves managing a team of business case reviewers to provide high-quality advice on the management dimension of business cases. Additionally, you will collaborate with the DfT Chief Portfolio Officer and senior decision makers to support project and programme delivery, offering guidance on best practices for assurance, business case development, and project processes.

Responsibilities 

Key accountabilities of the role include:

  • You will manage a high-performing Project Assurance team with direct line management responsibility for one HEO Departmental Assurance Coordinator. You will ensure your team is engaged and empowered, valuing individual expertise, supporting their professional development and working with them to prioritise workloads to maintain a high-quality service offering.
  • You will be responsible for supervising the delivery of project assurance within DfT. This involves providing high-quality advice on appropriate assurance for major projects and programmes, as well as confidently and constructively challenging teams to ensure that their processes are effective and proportionate.
  • You will lead the 'Common Findings and Insights' project, using data management and AI tools to analyse data from assurance reviews to improve project delivery through better advice to project teams. You will collaborate with our Lessons team and will be supported by experts in the DfT Analytics Unit. This is an exciting opportunity to engage with other Government departments to share findings and drive best practice.
  • You will be responsible for overseeing the delivery of management case assurance for business cases, providing feedback to ensure that guidance and advice are tailored to meet the needs of projects and programmes. This role involves coordinating a team of business case reviewers to deliver high-quality advice and feedback on the management aspects of business cases. Additionally, you will coordinate all Centre of Excellence comments, prioritising them.

For further information, please see the attached Role Profile.

Person specification

You don't need to already be an assurance expert, but you should have previous experience of working on projects and an understanding of the different types of project assurance activities. You will be excellent at stakeholder engagement and be able to communicate clearly and confidently with senior leaders and colleagues of all levels across the Department and its ALBs. You will be confident when making decisions and handling difficult conversations with others, professionally and with sensitivity.

You will be an experienced line manager, able to prioritise and appropriately balance the team's work across the delivery of business-as-usual activities alongside key priority change and improvement projects. You will be a real self-starter, with the ability to work on your own initiative and under pressure. 

Your leadership approach will see you lead from the front and drive those around you to achieve shared objectives, while using your team and wider networks to ensure the right things happen. You will be comfortable with empowerment, using your problem-solving skills to evaluate the best solutions while presenting your findings persuasively in order to gain buy-in.

Additional Information 

A minimum 60% of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace, although requirements to attend other locations for official business, or carry out detached duty in another DfT workplace, will also count towards this level of attendance.  

Occasional travel to other DfT offices may be required. 

Qualifications

You will have a recognised accreditation in professional project management such as:
  • PRINCE2 Practitioner
  • APM Project Management Qualification
  • APM Chartered Project Professional
  • Project Leadership Programme

Candidates will be asked to provide evidence of the qualifications/accreditation held during the selection process.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

  • Leadership
  • Seeing the Big Picture
  • Communicating and Influencing
  • Changing and Improving

Alongside your salary of £54,857, Department for Transport contributes £15,892 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits. We offer generous annual leave, attractive pension options, flexible working, inclusive working environments and much more to support a healthy work/life balance.  

Find out more about what it's like working at the Department for Transport.

Selection process details

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

How to Apply

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV and 750 word personal statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

When considering applying please look at how your experience relates to the role, and within your CV and Personal Statement please provide detailed evidence of your experience of the following:

  • Working in a project delivery environment and have an understanding of different types of project assurance activities.
  • Excellent stakeholder engagement skills, able to communicate clearly and confidently with senior leaders and colleagues at all levels.
  • Line management experience, capable of prioritising and appropriately balancing the team's work across business-as-usual activities and key priority change and improvement projects.

The sift is due to take place on Monday 2nd June 2025.

Interviews are likely to be held from Thursday 19th June 2025.

We will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change. You will be provided with sufficient notice of the confirmed dates. 

The selection process will be designed specifically for the role. As a result, your assessment will include: 

  • An interview.

This interview will be conducted online via Teams. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview. 

You're encouraged to become familiar with the role profile, as you may be assessed against any of the criteria recorded within. 

The Department for Transport alongside other Government Departments recruit using Success Profiles. This means for each role we consider what you will need to demonstrate in order to be successful. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, drives up performance and improves diversity and inclusivity. 

For further information on Success Profiles visit our Careers website

Reasonable Adjustments

As a Disability Confident Leader employer, we are committed to ensuring that the recruitment process is fair, accessible and allows all candidates to perform at their best. If a person with a visible or non-visible disability is substantially disadvantaged, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

Complete the 'Assistance required' section in the 'Additional requirements' page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need during the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at an interview, or if you're deaf, a Language Service Professional.

If you need a reasonable adjustment so that you can complete your application, you should contact Government Recruitment Service via [email protected] as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Document Accessibility

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

This job advert contains links to the DfT Careers website. Our website provides useful guidance and information that can support you during the application process. If you cannot access the information on our website for any reason, please email [email protected] for assistance.

Further Information

For more information about how we hire, and for useful tips on submitting your application for this role, visit the How We Hire page of our DfT Careers website. You can find detailed information about the recruitment process and what to expect when applying for a role.

Pre-employment Checking 

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.

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) (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

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact Government Recruitment Services via email: [email protected]

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website Here.

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