CSM Programme Support Officer

Job summary

About the job

Are you ready to support one of the most ambitious transformation programmes in Defence? Corporate Services underpin the daily operations of 250,000 people across Defence. From payroll to procurement, these services are critical to mission success. MOD is modernising HR, Finance, and Commercial services through policy, process, organisational, data, and systems transformation, aligned with the Government Shared Services Strategy. More information on the Shared Services agenda can be found through this link: A Shared Services Strategy for Government - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Our ambition is to:

• Enhance user experience through simplified processes, intuitive systems, and responsive support.

• Enable data-driven decision-making using Oracle ERP, HCM, and EPM technologies, integrated analytics, and AI.

• Improve productivity and efficiency by automating transactions, optimising shared service centres, and reducing costs for reinvestment into frontline Defence.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is seeking a proactive and detail-oriented Programme Support Officer to support the Corporate Services Modernisation (CSM) Programme, a top strategic priority for Defence.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

Job description

Role summary:

As Programme Support Officer, you will be part of the Central Programme Office, reporting to a G7 Programme Delivery Manager. You will work across the CSM Programme to support effective RAID management and integrated scheduling, helping ensure risks, issues, assumptions, dependencies, milestones and delivery interdependencies are captured, tracked, escalated and reported clearly.

You will use tools such as JIRA and Microsoft Project (MSP) to manage RAID logs and schedules, and collaborate with programme teams, delivery partners, and senior stakeholders to maintain a clear and accurate view of delivery progress and risks.

Role Responsibilities

Programme coordination and prioritisation

• Support the Programme Delivery Manager and wider Central Programme Office to coordinate programme activity, track priorities and maintain oversight of key work packages.
• Manage action trackers, follow up outstanding actions and report exceptions where delivery activity is off track or requires escalation.

RAID and dependency management

• Support the maintenance of the central RAID log for the CSM Programme, ensuring risks, issues, assumptions and dependencies are accurately recorded, assessed and updated.
• Work with project teams and delivery partners to identify, validate and escalate RAID items, ensuring appropriate owners, mitigations and resolution plans are in place.

Planning and scheduling

• Support the maintenance of integrated programme schedules, milestones and delivery roadmaps using tools such as Microsoft Project.
• Help identify cross-project dependencies, planning risks and delivery impacts, ensuring these are clearly captured and reported.

Governance and reporting

• Prepare programme-level outputs for governance forums, including updates on RAID, planning, milestones, delivery challenges, dependencies and decisions.
• Produce clear presentations, reports and briefings that enable senior stakeholders to understand progress, risks and areas requiring decision or intervention.

Stakeholder, workshop and partner engagement

• Coordinate PMO activity across programme teams, project PMOs, system integration teams and transformation delivery partners.
• Support workshops and meetings by preparing agendas, coordinating inputs, capturing records of actions and decisions, and following up agreed actions.

Tools, insight and continuous improvement

• Use tools such as JIRA, Microsoft Project and Power BI to support accurate tracking, reporting and programme-level insight.
• Support continuous improvement of RAID, scheduling and reporting processes so they are consistently applied across the programme.

Person specification

Essential Skills and Requirements

• Experience supporting RAID management and scheduling within a project, programme or portfolio environment
• Ability to produce quality presentations and professional word documents and manage coherent programme artefacts
• Proficiency in JIRA, MSP, and Microsoft Office tools
• Excellent organisational and prioritisation skills, with the ability to manage multiple activities and deadlines.
• Strong analytical and communication skills, with the ability to present RAID and scheduling information clearly and effectively.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced and dynamic environment.

Desirable Qualifications and Experience

• Hold a current Project Management Qualification such as: APM Project Management, PRINCE2 Practitioner, Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) Practitioner or PMI Project Management Professional
• Experience supporting RAID and scheduling functions in large programmes or complex delivery environments.

Behaviours

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together

Technical skills

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

• Project Delivery Capability Framework - Risk and Issue Management
• Project Delivery Capability Framework - Planning
• Project Delivery Capability Framework - Scheduling

We only ask for evidence of these technical skills on your application form:

• Project Delivery Capability Framework - Risk and Issue Management

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £37,720, Ministry of Defence contributes £10,927 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).

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

FTA:

The CSM portfolio is recruiting to two-year FTAs, with the possibility of extension subject to business requirements and approvals.

If you are a permanent MOD civil servant and are successful in securing an advertised Fixed-Term Appointment (FTA), it may be possible to agree a Temporary Transfer, subject to the agreement of your current MOD business area. Where a Temporary Transfer is agreed and the post is at a higher grade, any promotion will be temporary, and you will return to your substantive grade at the end of the Temporary Transfer.

Existing Civil Servants from outside MOD and applicants from accredited NDPBs are eligible to apply but will only be considered on a loan basis (Civil Servants) or secondment (accredited NDPBs). Pri