Army Programme Manager

Job summary

The Ministry of Defence employs over 50,000 Civil Servants. Within that, the Army Top Level Budget (TLB) employs around 7,000 MOD Civil Servants located at over 300 locations. Ours is a diverse workforce, with roles ranging from trainers, human resources, teachers, and psychologists to storekeepers, financiers, project and programme managers, and policy secretariat staff. There are many different functions and professions delivering key outputs for the Army.

The Army’s Programmes Directorate brings together our key change programmes to ensure they are delivered to performance, cost and time. We are committed to Project, Programme & Portfolio Management (P3M) and delivery. From every item of basic equipment to the most ground-breaking technology imaginable, every new project brings outstanding possibilities and challenges, and we’ll ensure you’re equipped to succeed, with extensive training and development opportunities.

You will be working alongside a diverse team as our Directorate consists of Civil Servants, military colleagues and contractors, working closely to deliver the Army’s Modernisation Agenda ensuring the successful delivery of the programme through each of its critical stages.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

Job description

This is an exciting time to join the Army Programmes Directorate as we are looking for an experienced Programme Manager to provide leadership and direction to one of our key Programmes, making a significant contribution to Defence and the Nation.

The successful candidate will lead a diverse team, ensuring the successful delivery of Programmes through critical stages, articulating requirements in direct support of the Senior Responsible Owner (SRO).

Providing expertise guidance, support and insight; relationship management skills are pivotal to work with a variety of internal and external stakeholders. Central to this role is providing effective and timely governance, reporting and updates to various groups.

responsible for leading a defined set of interdependent projects and the associated business change activities. They have primary responsibility for successful delivery of the required outcomes, including the establishment of appropriate governance and assurance, monitoring progress, managing risks and issues and ensuring the business readiness for change.

All of this will help us collectively increase confidence and buy-in from our stakeholders, support the realisation of benefits and achieve successes to celebrate.

Having the right leadership is critical for the successful delivery of a project or programme. We are looking for leaders who are committed to successful delivery of project and programmes, ensuring strong corporate governance and values.

• Do you have the leadership qualities critical for successful delivery of a project or programme?
• Are you passionate about building and maintaining an engaging and collaborative culture?
• Can you think strategically and respond quickly to complex changing circumstances and face paced situations, maintaining integrity and a clear view of overall project priorities?
• Do you have creativity and critical thinking skills, a passion for innovation and continuous improvement and a proven ability to achieve results?
• Can you simplify and articulate technical language to influence and communicate across organisational boundaries and at all levels, from the board through to multi-disciplinary and large frontline workforce?

We will be looking to utilise a reserve list from this campaign. This means that high-calibre candidates will be contacted after the interview process to discuss similar opportunities without the need to re-interview.

The Army Programmes Directorate is adopting a flexible approach to our workforce to ensure that project delivery priorities are met whilst maximising opportunities in support of skills development and wider career pathways. This means that successful candidates may be allocated flexibly across the Directorate aligning to Army priorities.

Person specification

Main Responsibilities include:

• Informing and overseeing individual programme governance, requirements and risk-based decision making to drive security across the capabilities lifecycle (design, development, deployment, and disposal).
• Leading on Project Boards and Integration Working Groups, planning and management, strategy, governance and reporting.
• Leading on business cases, reviews or Information Note development and Approvals with project leads and SMEs.
• Developing and fostering professional relationships, at varying levels internally and externally.
• Maintaining overall integrity and coherence of project and governance framework. Planning assurance activities and relevant Committee reporting.
• Overseeing risk and issue management, ensuring mitigations are in place and resolved appropriately.
• Securing appropriate resources, directing the planning, scheduling, resourcing and estimating for complex and large-scale programmes..
• Advise and support Senior leaders on safety procedures and requirements. Be an advocate for The Government Online Skills Tool (GOST) and support team members with their accreditation journeys.

Qualifications

Successful candidates are required to hold at least one of the following qualifications listed below at Practitioner level:

• APM Project Management Qualification (PMQ)
• Management of Successful Programmes (MSP)
• Prince 2 Practitioner
• Agile Project Management Practitioner
• Management of Portfolios (MOP)

To carry out the entirety of this role you must be able to achieve Security Clearance (SC) without any caveats. Further information about security vetting please search UKSV on GOV.UK.

Qualifications

Qualifications
Successful candidates are required to hold at least one of the following qualifications listed below at Practitioner level:

• APM Project Management Qualification (PMQ)
• Management of Successful Programmes (MSP)
• Prince 2 Practitioner
• Agile Project Management Practitioner
• Management of Portfolios (MOP)

Behaviours

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

• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture

Technical skills

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

• 4: Planning
• 8: Risk and Issue Management

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £61,630, Ministry of Defence contributes £17,854 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 Army prides itself on being a supportive employer and where possible encourages flexible working, helping you to maintain a great work/life balance.

Other benefits for Army civil servants include:

• 25 days paid annual leave rising (1 day per year) to 30 days upon completion of 5 years’ service
• Highly competitive pension scheme
• Personal and professional development of skills
• Alternative working patterns for many roles
• Access to the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), a free service that assists you with achieving a productive, healthy environment that is conducive to a healthy lifestyle.
• Enhanced parental and adoption leave
• 6 days special leave per year which can be used for volunteering activities
• Learning and Developm