Head of Programme, GOV.UK in Manchester

The Government Digital Service (GDS) is the digital centre of government. We are responsible for setting, leading and delivering the vision for a modern digital government. Our priorities are to drive a modern digital government by:

• joining up public sector services
• harnessing the power of AI for the public good
• strengthening and extending our digital and data public infrastructure
• elevating leadership and investing in talent
• funding for outcomes and procuring for growth and innovation
• committing to transparency and driving accountability

We are home to the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (I.AI), the world-leading GOV.UK and at the forefront of coordinating the UK’s geospatial strategy and activity. We lead the Government Digital and Data function and champion the work of digital teams across government. We’re part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and employ more than 1,000 people all over the UK, with hubs in Manchester, London and Bristol.

Join us for rewarding work that makes a difference across the UK. You'll solve some of the nation’s highest-priority digital challenges, helping millions of people access services they need. GOV.UK makes it simple for everyone to interact with the government. Every day, we support millions of people to complete routine tasks to life-changing actions, from registering a death to paying their taxes. For over a decade, we have been the authoritative, accessible, and accurate home of the UK government online. But we want to go further. We want to reach more people in more of the places they expect to find us, to support more interactions with the government.

That’s why in recent years GDS has been expanding the GOV.UK product suite to include new channels and interactions (such as the GOV.UK App, GOV.UK Social and GOV.UK Chat). The GOV.UK directorate, in which this role sits, is responsible for the GOV.UK Website and GOV.UK Social, and for the 'information engine' which powers GOV.UK channels, including publishing tools, content, design system and analytics. As the scale and scope of GOV.UK's proposition expands, our programme operations and management need to evolve. This critical role will translate the GOV.UK directorate strategy into execution. It will ensure that delivery of the GOV.UK current operation is stable, efficient and compliant, whilst ensuring that strategic and transformation initiatives are prioritised, funded and delivered effectively.

As Head of Programme, you will be working closely with the Head of Delivery, the Head of Content Programme Delivery, and Head of Policy and Strategy to establish and lead the programme function for the GOV.UK directorate. As the Head of Programme Delivery you’ll be responsible for:

• business operations - Have accountability for the day-to-day management of directorate-wide finance, procurement and workforce. Support the Director of GOV.UK to ensure that the directorate stays within its budget envelope. Ensure compliance with government-wide spend controls. Develop and maintain key relationships with DSIT and Product Group operations colleagues and agree formal and informal ways of working between GOV.UK and centralised functions to ensure strategic join-up.
• Lead business planning, balancing BAU capacity with strategic investment business case and assurance - Coordinate the production of investment approvals and business and benefits cases, ensuring appropriate specialist input and timely approval governance and reporting - Working with the Head of Delivery, establish a clear governance process and reporting system, docking into Product Group and DSIT as necessary. Coordinate directorate-wide, consolidated reporting and analysis for review by the Leadership Team or governance bodies. Provide secretariat support for senior governance boards as needed.
• planning, scheduling and resourcing - Working with the Head of Delivery and the Head of Content Programme Delivery, maintain a directorate-wide strategic delivery plan. Identify and track interdependencies across projects. Recommend the allocation of resources across initiatives to optimise the organisation’s return on investment. Develop a commercial and procurement pipeline. Develop strategies to address resource gaps. Align organisational purpose, focus and structure to support delivery of the strategy across BAU and strategic activity. Own the 'front door' and triage of incoming requests for work to manage demand and dependencies across Product Group, DSIT and OGDs and coordinate prioritisation decisions with the GOV.UK Leadership Team.
• leadership - Reporting to the Deputy Director for Strategy and Programme, you are an integral member of the GOV.UK Leadership Team. You will lead the programme team, providing coaching, mentoring, and support, and ensuring each member of the team has the necessary management, tools and training to deliver high quality work. You will lead GOV.UK's private office.

We’re interested in people who have:

• proven experience in financial planning, budgeting, and forecasting within a complex project, programme or portfolio, and working with senior leaders to ensure fiscal responsibility.
• procurement and commercial expertise, managing end-to-end processes, including complex and high-value procurements, and overseeing contracts to ensure value for money and compliance with government standards.
• proven experience in workforce planning at scale, forecasting supply and demand, analysing gaps, and developing solutions to meet directorate strategy.
• demonstrable expertise in planning and scheduling within complex project, programme, or portfolio settings, ensuring robust delivery and decision-making support.
• the ability to shape and amend an established programme to deliver against a new strategic plan alongside significant current operational delivery.
• using systems thinking to take a holistic view and optimise for the whole.
• strong experience in compiling high-quality business cases, reports and performance analysis, with the ability to translate complex data into meaningful insights for senior stakeholders.
• excellent communication, influencing and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to tailor content and delivery style to quickly establish credibility with different audiences, including senior leaders, technical teams and peers.
• an outcome- and delivery-focused approach. Make processes work for the directorate, rather than seeing them as a blocker. Eliminate waste, removing processes which consume resources but do not add value.
• proficiency in developing and implementing change strategies, engaging stakeholders, and fostering collaboration to ensure smooth transitions.
• the ability to use data-driven insights to monitor progress and adapt strategies for successful outcomes.
• experience in applying the above in a digital, agile, delivery context.
• an understanding and experience of collaborating with the variety of disciplines involved in digital and agile programme delivery.

In order to assist candidates with this role, we will be holding a virtual recruitment event on Tuesday, 10th February at 14:00 to 15:00. Please click the Apply button for more information and Google meet link.