Head of Delivery and Secretariat Team (G6)

The Civil Service Strategy Unit (CSSU) is at the heart of the government’s agenda for change, aimed at growing the economy and improving people’s lives right across the United Kingdom. We are an active part of the Public Sector Reform & Efficiency Unit, whose mission is to make it easier for people to get great things done across the civil service and wider public sector.

With colleagues, we aim to improve speed, efficiency and innovation in improving public services, making them joined-up, resilient and effective in meeting the public’s needs and expectations. In CSSU we ensure that priority, cross cutting reform initiatives are developed, prioritised, delivered and scaled. With a direct link to the Civil Service Chief Operating Officer and liaison with Ministers, we have the ability to champion reform issues at the highest levels of government.

This is an ambitious role looking at all aspects of the Civil Service, focusing on how we can radically improve our people, organisation, and digital use in departments, functions, professions and public bodies. We are a delivery-focused "think-and-do" tank where you can iterate, test, and fail fast, learning lessons on the way to find what truly works.

CSSU has been newly reshaped in order to be more agile to the key strategic issues. The Directorate consists of around 40 staff, located across the UK, who work together to deliver high quality strategic advice. This is a pivotal and high-impact leadership opportunity for an experienced Project Delivery professional to drive the core governance and delivery mechanisms for Civil Service reform to unlock PM’s vision for a Productive and Agile State.

You will have a proactive mindset, actively intervening upstream to mitigate and prevent ‘worse and slower’ outputs and outcomes. When delays or drops in quality do occur, you will actively mitigate and work to get the workstream back on track. You’ll be adept at handling, overseeing, and reporting issues yourself, but more importantly, you will diagnose where progress has not been made, make suggestions (or seek networks) to fix those things, and understand when escalation is appropriate.

You will lead a team of 10, using your tools (including governance, stocktakes, etc.) to drive up the performance of departments and maximise opportunities. Therefore, you will ensure the smooth and effective operation of the secretariat of Civil Service governance and the central Portfolio Management Office (PMO) responsible for activating and enabling the most important reform workstreams and driving performance of departments in delivery of reform.

This role requires exceptional organisational skills, a strategic mindset, and the ability to operate effectively at the most senior levels of government. You’ll be making things happen, teasing out pain points in delivery and suggesting ways to fix them, including brokering agreements/solutions with others.

PAS PMO Oversight: Lead the team that delivers end-to-end secretariating of senior Civil Service governance forums. You will use Civil Service governance as a key lever that enables us to reform the CS. You will take the PAS delivery framework and sequence the decisions that enable it. You will be adept at sense-making and providing a high-quality client experience, which includes developing impactful agendas, commissioning and quality-assuring papers, ensuring robust minute-taking and action-tracking, and providing high-quality support to the Chair. You will also pilot the use of technology to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of governance forums.

Corporate/Team Leadership and Personal Development: Lead, manage, and develop a team of 10, including 4×G7 direct reports. Foster a high-performing and collaborative culture, setting clear priorities and ensuring the team delivers with precision and professionalism.