Project Delivery Adviser

Job summary

At DSIT we’re all about improving people’s lives by maximising the potential of science & technology.

We accelerate innovation, investment and productivity through world-class science, research and development.

We use technology for good by ensuring new and existing technologies are safely developed and deployed across the UK, with the benefits more widely shared.

We are driving forward a modern digital government which gives citizens a more satisfying experience and their time back.

We do all this to enable the Government’s 5 national missions: kickstarting economic growth, making Britain a clean energy superpower, taking back our streets, breaking down barriers to opportunity and building an NHS fit for the future.

Above all, we focus on improving people’s lives. Whether it’s researching new treatments for disease, developing better batteries, reducing burdens through better public services, keeping children safe online, and much more, outcomes for citizens are at the heart of what we do.

Our Inclusive Environment

We offer flexible working benefits, employee well-being support and a great pension. 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.

Please note

Former DSIT recruitment campaigns are continuing as usual, but candidates should be aware that following the Government’s announcement on the changes to some civil service departments, roles will be subject to the machinery of government moves and will ultimately be in one of the new departments. We will provide more information if you are selected for a role. This work remains of high importance to the civil service, and we thank you for your continued interest.

Job description

As one of six priority frontier technologies in the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, quantum is central to the government’s ambition to drive growth, resilience and strategic advantage. The next phase of the programme is focused on delivering clear outcomes and commitments: accelerating development, supporting adoption and deployment, strengthening commercialisation pathways, and helping more UK quantum companies and capabilities scale into real-world use.

The Office for Quantum coordinates policy direction and helps oversee the collaborative delivery of the UK’s quantum ambitions, working closely with government departments, delivery partners, arm’s length bodies, academia and industry. This includes supporting the governance, reporting and cross-government coordination needed to turn strategic commitments into implemented activity, maintain momentum across priority projects, and ensure the benefits of quantum technologies are realised through deployment, adoption and commercial growth.

This is a high-impact role at the centre of one of the UK’s most important frontier technology portfolios. It is well suited to someone who enjoys working across strategy, policy and delivery; can bring structure to ambiguity; and is motivated by helping complex, high-priority work move from design into implementation.

As the National Quantum Technologies Programme pivots further towards implementation and delivery, we are expanding the team to bring in a dedicated Project Delivery Adviser to help drive delivery across a growing portfolio of priority policy projects and strategic interventions.

We put in place the structures, plans, reporting and coordination needed to support implementation, surface delivery barriers early, and maintain momentum across a complex cross-government portfolio.

As Project Delivery Adviser, you will play a central role in supporting delivery across the team’s portfolio of priority projects.

You will help establish practical delivery structures, develop plans and reporting products, track milestones, dependencies and actions, identify and escalate risks and issues, and work closely with policy, analytical, finance, commercial, communications and delivery partner colleagues to maintain pace and coherence across implementation activity.

Person specification

Key responsibilities:

• Leading on the coordination/delivery of cross-cutting priority projects from across the Office for Quantum portfolio, helping to turn strategic and policy ambition into clear outcome-led plans, milestones and deliverables
• Developing and maintaining core project management products such as project plans, RAID logs, governance papers, dashboards and progress updates
• Working with colleagues across the Office for Quantum, BIST, wider government and partners to manage interdependencies, coordinate actions, resolve blockers and support joined-up delivery
• Supporting programme and project reporting for various customers (including progress against milestones, benefits, risks, issues, assumptions and wider performance information)
• Identifying delivery risks and issues early, supporting proportionate mitigations and escalation routes, and helping to maintain grip on actions where delivery is off track
• Helping strengthen the team’s overall project delivery capability by improving ways of working, governance discipline, forward planning, and delivery management approaches

Essential Criteria:

• Experience of producing and maintaining practical delivery products such as project plans, milestones, RAID logs, action trackers, dashboards, governance papers or progress reports.
• Ability to identify risks, issues and dependencies, analyse their implications, and support proportionate mitigations or escalation where required.
• Proven ability to build and maintain effective working relationships across teams and organisational boundaries, and to work collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders to support delivery
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present complex delivery information clearly and concisely for a range of audiences, including senior stakeholders
• Good judgement and problem-solving skills, with the ability to bring structure to ambiguity, prioritise effectively, and support decision-making in a complex policy and delivery environment
• A proactive and resilient approach, with the ability to take ownership, adapt to changing priorities, and maintain momentum on priority delivery activity.

Desirable Criteria

• Programme/portfolio support or management expertise, ideally holding or working towards a relevant qualification (e.g. MoP, MSP, or equivalent).

Behaviours

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

• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £44,620, Department for Science, Innovation & Technology contributes £12,926 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology offers a competitive mix of benefits including:

• A culture of flexible working, such as job sharing, homeworking and compressed hours.
• Automatic enrolment into the Civil Service Pension Scheme, with an employer cont