Partnership and Efficiencies Lead

Job summary

ICS

The Integrated Corporate Services (ICS) is a shared corporate service. It provides corporate services (HR, Finance, Digital, Commercial, Security and Estates) across the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT).

Our team of over 400 professionals will be leading the way in how these functions will be delivered in the future. Our ambition is to be the leading provider of integrated corporate services for government and set the standard for quality, efficiency, and innovation in our field.

We offer great working benefits including a world-class pension, flexible working options and a career where your learning and development is taken seriously. We are enormously proud to be a Disability Confident Leader employer. We support candidates with adjustments throughout our recruitment process. Information about disability confidence and just some examples of the adjustments that you can request can be found in the reasonable adjustment section below.

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Job description

Since 2023, ICS has provided shared corporate services for digital, security, estates, and elements of commercial, HR, and finance to DESNZ, DSIT, and some services to the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and some other connected organisations. A number of these services are delivered in partnership with third parties including the Government Property Agency (GPA) and UK Shared Business Services (UKSBS).

ICS is continuing to grow its client base with more departments and Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs) set to onboard and receive services over the coming years. As well as growing our core operation, we are key partners in the ‘Matrix’ programme, working with the programme team, departments, and UKSBS to prepare ICS to take on the intelligent client management function (NEO Centre Office, or NCO) for the new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution (NEO) being implemented across five departments.

We are continuously developing our capabilities as a shared services manager whilst also continuing to build our wider service delivery offer to existing and new clients. We are spearheading the move to new digital platforms, enhancing efficiency, transparency, and value for money across Government at a time when public sector productivity and efficiency is widely seen as a priority for the Civil Service.

The Partnership and Efficiency lead will join the newly established ‘Partnership and Efficiency’ team, reporting to the Head of Partnership and Efficiency, and will play an essential role in designing, agreeing, and implementing key centralised work programmes that will support ICS in professionalising its operation and offerings as it continues to mature as an organisation.

The Partnership side of the role will focus on standardising and improving the approach to forming and maintaining agreements with our clients, in turn bringing about greater clarity of arrangements and streamlined operations. This part of the role requires a strategic thinker who can confidently work with a wide range of stakeholders at all levels to quickly understand complex and often technical problems and devise realistic solutions to address them collectively.

The efficiency side of the role covers both administrative and delivery elements. The administrative element includes capturing, calculating, assuring, and reporting efficiency initiatives via internal governance mechanisms and to HM Treasury through the Government Efficiency Framework (GEF). In line with our ambition to set the standard in efficiency and innovation, the postholder will be expected to make use of artificial intelligence and other available technology to automate and otherwise streamline the administrative elements of the efficiency programme.

The delivery element of the efficiency programme is more strategic and will require the postholder to actively identify, implement, and share efficiency initiatives within ICS, and, over time, to develop a rounded efficiency function that promotes efficiency opportunities, supports operational teams in implementing efficiency initiatives, and handles the administrative element for ICS and for the wider cluster, where appropriate.

Both elements of the role are strategic in nature and require someone that can confidently diagnose problems, propose solutions, sell those solutions to senior leaders, and then drive their implementation whilst assuredly dealing with any challenge or resistance that may arise.

This is a demanding role but one that offers enormous opportunity to join a growing organisation and play a key role in the design and delivery of two crucial components of its operation. The postholder can expect a high degree of personal development through considerable senior exposure and the opportunity to work in a generally autonomous and supportive environment delivering on a key government priority.

Person specification

Key Responsibilities

This is a demanding role, and the nature of the organisation means the postholder will need to adapt quickly to changing circumstances. The main responsibilities will be to:

- Contribute to the development and lead parts of the implementation of an overarching ‘Partnership Agreement’ and associated agreement hierarchy that will govern ICS’ relationships with its partner organisations.

- Work closely with the onboarding function, Project Management Office (PMO), and other teams within ICS to integrate the Partnership Agreement into day-to-day operations.

- Work with teams in ICS to both advise on and feed into the development and maintenance of existing and interim agreement arrangements whilst the Partnership Agreement is under development.

- Build strong and resilient relationships with stakeholders both in ICS and in client departments to secure buy-in for adoption of the Partnership Agreement and for the upgrading of the ICS efficiency function.

- Contribute to the development and implementation of an efficiency strategy that both modernises the current efficiency service and sets up ICS and the wider cluster to implement a rounded efficiency function that streamlines the administrative elements of the efficiency programme and both identifies and drives the implementation of technical efficiencies and economies of scale.

- Act as a key point of contact for efficiency across ICS, liaising, motivating, and supporting functions within ICS to identify and implement clear drives for efficiency in all service areas.

- Produce and present reports on efficiency delivery to ICS leadership and to HM Treasury through the Government Efficiency Framework.

Essential Criteria

- Proven ability to think strategically and lead elements of transformative programmes that span multiple teams and / or directorates.

- Experience in developing and monitoring effective partnership models, and a working understanding of the technical artifacts required to support such models.

- Experience in stakeholder management, engagement, and partnership working in a complex environment.

- Experience working across organisational boundaries, with an ability to generate buy-in from multiple teams for complex or innovative programmes of work.

- Strong business acumen and financial understanding; a formal financial qualification is not required, but the candidate must be able to demonstrate a high degree of financial literacy, particularly as it relates to the technicalities of efficiency.

- Excellent communication (written