JOB DESCRIPTION

Public sector data has the potential to radically transform people’s lives through boosting economic growth, underpinning ground-breaking research, improving the delivery of public services and fuelling cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) development and applications across the economy.
The National Data Library is a high profile, ambitious, manifesto commitment which intends to realise this potential through responsibly unlocking the highest-value public sector data for use by businesses, academia and the public sector.
We are looking for a dynamic and experienced PMO Manager to lead the programme management for the National Data Library and deliver our programme of work across multiple projects and workstreams.
The role requires a forward-thinking individual who can see the bigger picture, develop and deliver an insight-driven programme management approach, and foster collaboration across disciplines, departments, and sectors. The successful candidate will be instrumental in shaping how the programme achieves objectives and outcomes, building genuine partnerships across the department and beyond to ensure awareness, confidence and assurance in our delivery approach.
We value colleagues who embrace change, think outside the box, and thrive in a dynamic environment where responsibilities evolve with our ambitions. We welcome applications from the widest range of people of different backgrounds, cultures and experiences. If you’re passionate about making your mark and flourishing in an atmosphere that champions fresh thinking and adaptability, we want to hear from you. This role is being advertised in Manchester, but existing DSIT staff based in other locations are able to apply and remain in their location.
This is an opportunity to help shape the high profile and ambitious manifesto commitment to establish a National Data Library (NDL). The NDL will transform the way the Government manages its data supporting the successful delivery of the AI Opportunities Action Plan (AIOAP); the blueprint for modern digital government; and the Government’s missions on growth, clean energy, safety, opportunity and health.
The PMO Manager role covers a diverse range of activities to support the delivery of the programme outcomes. You will work closely with senior leaders and will need to be effective at building strong relationships across your own and other organisations to unblock barriers, influence stakeholders, and offer appropriate challenge.
You will be leading the business management and secretariat functions which require excellent organisation expertise. You will need strong interpersonal skills to collaborate effectively in a fast-paced environment and be comfortable leading complex pieces of work, across multiple projects and teams with a high degree of autonomy.
The role requires a forward-thinking individual who can see the bigger picture, develop and deliver an insight-driven programme management approach. Acting as a trusted advisor to senior leaders, you will help inform decision-making and enable successful delivery through evidence-based insight, performance data, and continuous improvement of delivery practices. You will use your strong technical skills in setting and maintaining project delivery standards, driving consistency in reporting, risk and issue management, resource planning, and benefits tracking.
You will also be logical in your thinking, able to problem-solve and manage priorities within tight deadlines while communicating effectively with a range of stakeholder across the programme. Being able to tailor your messaging and communication style to suit the audience is critical to success in this role.
You’ll need to work closely with other G7 colleagues within the PMO and the NDL programme team as well as those in finance, HR and other programme teams where there is aligned work and/or dependencies.
This role is aligned with the PDCF PMO Manager Project Management Office (PMO) Manager G7 - Government Project Delivery.

TECHNICAL SKILLS

We’ll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Governance

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

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Programme Management Controls – establish and operate programme controls, reporting progress and status to appropriate bodies. Identify opportunities for collaboration, reuses and shares methods and resources between projects and programmes. Ensures learning from experiences is shared across the organisation.
Delivery Management – manage the PMO to support the NDL programme in achieving business case benefits and outcomes. Champion the use of best practice programme and project management standards and processes.
Risk and Issue Management – establish the processes to effectively manage risks and issues, ensuring that appropriate Risk, Assumption, Issue and Dependency (RAID) monitoring is in place to support programme managers in reporting and escalating as required by the programme governance framework.
Governance and assurance – leading and embedding the business management and governance processes required to ensure the compliant operational delivery of the programme objectives. Responsible for ensure secretariat services are provided as required.
Resourcing and budgeting - develop and agree project and programme budgets from the overall NDL SR2 settlement. Estimate and forecast costs against them, monitoring the actual against forecasts over the course of the programme. Participate in identifying, recruiting, developing, deploying and reassigning resources throughout the project lifecycle.
Benefits Management – support the development of mechanisms for tracking and measuring benefits. Collaborate with Programme and Project Managers to identify and track the benefits outlined in the business case.
Guidance and Support - identify, develop, and share best practices for project management processes, tools, templates, and benchmarks against industry standards. Provide direction and guidance to the project team.
Digital and Data -use digital tools to collect, store and analyse data to provide insights and support decision-making processes within the project management office.
As a line manager, you will be responsible for working with your members of staff to define their objectives, as well as managing their development and performance.