DBS Senior Delivery Manager - Project Manager

Are you a dedicated person who is passionate about making a difference?

Would you like to work for the Ministry of Defence?

Defence Business Services (DBS) is one of the largest shared service organisations in Europe that provides a wide range of corporate services, to over 1.2 million end users, including serving and past military and families, as well as MoD civil servants and industry. DBS delivers large scale administration and smaller specialist services to enable the wider MOD to focus on its core aims, maintaining the UK’s Defence and Security. Services include Human Resources, Pay, Veterans, Finance and Procurement.

• Our Vision - To support UK defence customers with outstanding service every time.
• Our Mission - Together we will proudly support Defence, continuously improving and delivering flexible, timely, sustainable and value for money services that underpin the whole force and enhance operational capability.

DBS is committed to creating a great place to work for all our colleagues. We are building an inclusive culture and respectful environment that reflects the diversity of the society.

We want to maximise the potential of everyone who chooses to work for us through opportunities to develop your skills and experience. We also offer a range of flexible working patterns and support to make a fulfilling career accessible to you and offer a Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 28.97%. Where your role permits, we support a blended working approach alternatively known as hybrid working.

Come and join the DBS community today!

DBS has recently undertaken a review of its operational locations in the North West, and have consolidated all activities in Norcross, Blackpool. A further move, to the new Government Hub at Talbot Gateway in Blackpool, is scheduled to take place in 2027.

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). Prior agreement to be released on a loan basis must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant, including arrangements regarding grade on return.

The Role

The role of the Project Manager is to lead and manage the Project Team on a day-to-day basis. The Project Manager is responsible for driving and overseeing the delivery of the project ensuring that the objectives are clearly defined and achieved within the agreed time, cost and quality constraints. The Project Manager has a key role in project Governance and working with Stakeholders to ensure the agreed project outputs are delivered to enable benefits to be realised.

Specific responsibilities include but not limited to:

Delivery – create and lead the project to deliver the agreed outcomes within time, cost and quality constraints

Project Management – day-to-day management and leadership of the project and project team. Set project controls. Design the project structure and organisation appropriate to stage. Select and apply appropriate delivery methodologies. Manage effective transition between project phases.

Business Case – develop and draft the business case with input from specialists as necessary

Budget – develop the budget and track delivery within budget

Resources – identify the skill requirements and deploy and develop resources. Manage medium sized team [to deliver the project]

Benefits Realisation – deliver the agreed business case benefits and outcomes. Ensure appropriate benefits realisation strategy is in place and monitor longer term delivery of benefits against the business case

Stakeholder Management – identify and manage stakeholder relationships and need for senior level support. Manage internal and external relationships as appropriate

Risks & Issues – identify and monitor project risks and issues. Develop mitigating actions and escalate as appropriate. Identify and work with related projects to manage interdependencies

Governance – support effective governance and decision making. Provide reports and engage in mechanisms that hold you, as project manager, to account for delivery

Assurance – engage with Assurance reviews and support actions on recommendations. Organise Assurance processes such as Gateway reviews, as required

Change Management – ensure effective change management processes are in place to agree and document changes to deliverables as agreed with stakeholders

Guidance and Support – provide support, guidance and coaching from the project team. Show commitment to personal development. Promote effective individual and team performance

Programme Performance & Controls – cascade vision and translate into delivery objectives for the team. Develop and maintain project plan. Identify and set appropriate project controls. Manage performance and report progress to sponsors.

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

Please ensure that at the application and interview stages of the campaign you review the Success Profiles Framework to assist you in the demonstration of your skills and experience.

Your suitability for the role will be assessed using the Success Profile elements that have been chosen for this campaign. Each element will be scored accordingly, and the successful candidate will be appointed on merit.

Candidates will be required to provide CV details to include job history.

Personal Statement:

Candidates will be required to provide a statement of suitability (1000 Word Max)

At sift, candidates will be assessed against their CV and Statement of suitability and the following:

Behaviours:

• Working Together
• Seeing the Big Picture

Technical Skill:

• Project Delivery - Stakeholder Engagement - Level Practitioner - https://projectdelivery.gov.uk/pdcf/project-manager-g7/#section-4

At interview, candidates will be assessed against the following:

Behaviours:

• Working Together
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing

Technical Skills:

• Project Delivery Framework Risk and Issue Management - Level Practitioner - https://projectdelivery.gov.uk/pdcf/project-manager-g7/#section-4
• Project Delivery - Stakeholder Engagement - Level Practitioner - https://projectdelivery.gov.uk/pdcf/project-manager-g7/#section-4

Applications will be sifted on all Success Profile elements, but in the event of a high number of applications, the sift will be conducted on the following success profile elements:

Primary: Behaviour - Working Together

Sift start date: Early October

Interviews are currently taking place via the following method: MS Teams

Interview start date: Mid - Late October

In the rare case where individuals have exact matching scores, the order of merit will be determined based on the behaviour scores at interview in the following order:

1 - Behaviour - Working Together

2 - Behaviour - Seeing the Big Picture

3 - Behaviour - Leadership

4 - Technical - Project Delivery - Stakeholder Engagement

5 - Technical - Project Delivery Framework Risk and Issue Management

6 - Behaviour - Communicating and Influencing

If candidate scores are still exact, the merit order will then be determined on the sift score in the following order:

1 - Career - Job History

2 - Career - Personal Statement

3 - Behaviour - Working Together

4 - Behaviour - Seeing the Big Picture

5 - Technical - Project Delivery - Stakeholder Engagement

Further information:

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came into effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points-based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical. This role does not meet that category, and we will not sponsor a visa. It is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points-based system.

Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

The Ministry of Defence requires all candidates who are successful at interview to declare any outside interests. These declarations will be discussed with successful candidates following the interview process and before a formal offer of employment is made, as some outside interests may not be compatible with MOD civilian roles. This will not, in the majority of cases, prevent employment in MOD, but it is a measure that must be taken to ensure that appropriate mitigations can be put in place to manage any potential, perceived or actual conflicts of interest from the first day of employment.

The Ministry of Defence adopts a zero-tolerance approach to unacceptable behaviours, which includes bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, and victimisation. You will not be eligible and will not be considered for this post if you have been dismissed from a role for such unacceptable behaviours within the last five years. This will also apply if you resign or otherwise leave a role but, because of an adverse decision, would have been dismissed for gross misconduct had you continued in that employment. Pre-employment checks will be carried out.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.