Senior Project Support Officer

Do you have the leadership skills to guide project support teams and drive consistent, high‑quality delivery across complex portfolios? Are you motivated by influencing senior decision‑making, coordinating multi‑project delivery, and embedding best practice to strengthen programme outcomes? If so, we would love to hear from you!

APHA is a brilliant place to work where our people feel valued, have a voice and can be their authentic selves. We value difference and diversity, because it helps us be more innovative and make better decisions. We are dedicated to being an inclusive employer, offering equitable opportunities for all individuals. Our goal is to build a diverse workforce, and we hope to attract applications from all backgrounds and underrepresented groups. We will support flexible working, full time, job share and part time working.

We have an exciting opportunity for 2 Senior Project Support Officers to join our Central Portfolio Management Office and Borders and Trade Programme teams: 1 x Permanent, 1 x 18 month Fixed term appointment.

You play a pivotal role in leading and coordinating project and programme support activities, acting as a key point of contact for project governance, reporting cycles and assurance arrangements to ensure consistency and quality across all initiatives. As a line manager, you guide and develop Project Support Officers, fostering strong performance and a high‑quality service for the projects and programmes they support.

Your expertise in delivery standards, tools and processes helps colleagues achieve strategic objectives, while your ability to manage upwards, through influencing senior leaders, escalating issues promptly and presenting clear, well‑reasoned options, strengthens decision‑making. Through collaboration and continuous improvement, you embed best practice, enhance programme and project management capability, and lead meaningful change through others.

This role sits within APHA’s CMPO, which coordinates standards, governance, reporting and assurance across the Projects and Change Portfolio. The CPMO provides independent support, constructive challenge and assurance to programme and project teams. The Projects and Change Portfolio is a business‑critical function, responsible for delivering APHA’s Sustainable Futures Strategy alongside wider organisational transformation and change initiatives.

Work within the portfolio is delivered through the Borders and Trade (B&T) Programme, Priority Policy (PP), the Digital & Operational Services (DOS) Programme and the Delivering Sustainable Futures (DSF) Programme. As a Senior Project Support Officer based in CPMO, you will provide professional leadership and line management for Project Support Officers working across PP, DOS and DSF, contributing to the development and consistent application of standards and ways of working across the portfolio.

This role sits within APHA’s Borders and Trade Programme, which is preparing the organisation for changes arising from the UK and the EU’s commitment to pursue a new Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement. The programme supports EU reset activity by delivering changes to systems, processes and ways of working as negotiations progress. You will work under the direction of the Senior PMO Lead to deliver work that enables the safe trade and movement of animals, plants and agrifood products, whilst upholding high standards of biosecurity and food safety.

• Provide clear leadership across the PMO and project support community, setting direction, priorities and expectations.
• Drive high standards of delivery through role modelling professional behaviours and supporting teams to perform effectively in complex environments.
• Lead capability development through coaching and mentoring and support teams through change.
• Manage upwards with confidence, providing clear advice and escalating risks, issues and options to support effective decision‑making.

• Lead defined activities which support the effective operation of governance and reporting arrangements.
• Apply agreed PMO standards, processes and templates to ensure consistency across programmes and projects, aligned with APHA, Defra and wider government requirements.
• Produce clear, timely reports and dashboards that provide senior leaders with reliable insight and assurance to support decision‑making.

• Coordinate integrated delivery planning across multiple projects and/or programmes, ensuring milestones, dependencies and constraints are effectively managed.
• Maintain delivery baselines and oversee schedule updates to protect delivery confidence.
• Support forward planning and prioritisation by providing a clear view of capacity and resource demand across the portfolio.

• Act as a central point of contact between programmes, projects and governance boards.
• Build strong, trusted relationships with senior leaders, delivery teams and partners.
• Support the resolution of issues and dependencies and provide clear, tailored advice.
• Ensure stakeholders have a transparent and consistent view of progress, risks and decisions.
• Champion continuous improvement by promoting best practice and effective knowledge sharing.
• Support the development of PMO capability through learning from experience and lessons learned.
• Drive improvements to processes, tools and ways of working, including the adoption of digital solutions, to strengthen governance, reporting and delivery effectiveness.

• Maintain accurate and reliable data on resource allocation and utilisation.
• Support workforce planning, capacity management and prioritisation decisions across the portfolio.

• Oversee consolidated management of risks, issues and dependencies.
• Ensure clear ownership, mitigation and tracking are in place.
• Escalate delivery concerns promptly, supported by clear impact analysis and recommended actions to protect delivery confidence.

We are looking for candidates who can demonstrate the following skills and experience:

• Proven experience working in a project, programme or portfolio environment, ideally within a PMO or supporting governance, reporting or assurance.
• Proven experience leading and managing teams, including setting objectives, supporting performance and developing capability within a team.
• Strong organisational and planning skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities, work at pace and apply sound judgement, including the ability to identify and contribute to improvements in ways of working, processes or reporting.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills, with the confidence to engage stakeholders at different levels, explain information clearly and provide constructive advice to support decision making.
• Strong working knowledge of PMO functions and project delivery principles, with the ability to apply this knowledge to support governance, assurance and effective delivery across projects and programmes.

A recognised portfolio, programme or project management qualification (e.g., APM PFQ/PMQ, PRINCE2, MSP or MoP), or relevant experience, with a willingness to work towards a qualification.

Alongside your salary of £42,665, Animal and Plant Health Agency contributes £12,360 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Further benefits offered also include:

• A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by 1 day per year up to a maximum of 30.
• An extensive range of learning & professional development opportunities tailored to your role.
• Access to a range of retail, travel and lifestyle employee discounts.
• Staff bonuses and recognition, salary sacrifice benefit options, and an employee discount scheme.
• Making it work for you - With so many flexible options, most people can find a work schedule to suit their circumstances.