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Senior Delivery Manager

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Department
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Location
Newcastle upon Tyne, Bristol, York, Reading, Warrington
Openings
1 post
Grade
Grade 7
Salary
£56,375 to £62,830
Closing
14 days left
Profession
Other
Contract
Permanent
Security clearance
BPSS
Working pattern
Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time
Apply on Civil Service Jobs

Job summary

Defra is the UK government department responsible for safeguarding our natural environment, supporting our world-leading food and farming industry, and sustaining a thriving rural economy. Our broad remit means we play a major role in people's day-to-day life, from the food we eat, and the air we breathe, to the water we drink.

Digital, Data, Technology and Security (DDTS) is the trusted team for digital across the entire Defra Group.

We have around 1000 colleagues across DDTS and our ambition is to make it easier and faster than ever for people to interact with Defra. If you are ready to drive innovation and push boundaries, we want to hear from you. Join us and together we will create a great place for living, and a green and healthy future for all.

Find out more about DDTS:

Defra digital, data and technology blog

LinkedIn

Defra Jobs

We are Government Digital and Data Candidate Information Pack V3 - 1

What they’re looking for

  • Responsibilities
  • Build and maintain teams, ensuring they are motivated, collaborating and working well
  • Identify obstacles and help the team to overcome them
  • Focus the team on what is most important to the delivery of products and services
  • Encourage and facilitate continuous improvement of the delivery team
  • Coach and mentor both team members and others to apply the most appropriate Agile and Lean tools and techniques
  • Have strong communication skills and engage senior stakeholders
  • Skills and Experience
  • This role is aligned to the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework for senior delivery managers:
  • Agile and Lean practices: You can coach and lead teams in Agile and Lean good practices. You know how to create and tailor the right approach for a team, challenging, evaluating and iterating the approach through the life cycle.You can experiment with new and innovative ways of working to improve delivery across the organisation. You act as a recognised expert and advocate for Agile and Lean approaches
  • Commercial management: You can take responsibility for complex relationships with contracted suppliers. You know how to identify appropriate contractual frameworks and appropriate suppliers, and how to ensure good value through negotiation
  • Communication skills: You can mediate between people and mend relationships, communicating with stakeholders at all levels. You can manage stakeholder expectations and facilitate discussions about high risk and complexity even within constrained timescales. You can speak on behalf of, and represent the community to, large audiences inside and outside of government
  • Financial management: You know how to influence or create budgets that are complex. You can manage the budget you are given and make it work
  • Life-cycle perspective: You know how to work and consult with the right people at the right time to move through the product life cycle and deliver value. You can use evidence to decide when a team should continue, change direction or stop. You can identify tools and techniques required at different phases, and know how to guide colleagues and stakeholders through the entire life cycle.
  • Maintaining delivery momentum: You know how to optimise the delivery flow of teams. You actively address the most complicated risks, issues and dependencies including where ownership exists outside the team, or no clear ownership exists. You can identify innovative ways to unblock issues.
  • Making a process work: You can identify and challenge organisational processes that are unnecessarily complicated. You add value and can coach the organisation to inspect and adapt processes. You can guide teams through the implementation of a new process.
  • Planning: You know how to lead a continual planning process in a very complex environment. You can identifydependencies in plans across services and co-ordinate delivery, and plan beyond delivery. You are able to coach other teams as the central point of expertise.
  • Team dynamics and collaboration: You choose the right type of feedback at the appropriate time and ensure the discussion and decision stick. You can identify problems or issues in the team dynamic and rectify them.
  • For further information around the technical elements of this role please see the framework.
  • Selection process
  • The Civil Service marks each element of the selection process on a merit basis. You can visit the gov.uk website for further information on the Civil Service rating scale.
  • Ensure you have tailored your CV and Personal Statement to the 'skills and experience' section of the job advert by providing examples on how you are suitable for the role using the STAR method.
  • Please ensure you demonstrate clearly, within your personal statement, how you meet these requirements, as the information you provide will form a key part when the panel is scoring your application.
  • For further information on STAR, you can check out our Hints and Tips document.
  • Application process
  • As part of the application process, you will be assessed on your experience. This will be evaluated by looking at your CV and personal statement, so please provide the following and ensure your experience is clearly demonstrated:
  • A CV
  • A 750 word Personal Statement: Referring to the 'skills and experience' sections of the job advert, please demonstrate how you are suitable for the role by providing relevant examples.
  • You will also be assessed on the Technical Skill ‘Agile Delivery Methodology’ at application and will be asked to provide a 250 word statement on how you've implemented Agile Delivery Methodology in your work and any relevant training you've undertaken.
  • Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
  • Sift
  • Sift will begin shortly after the advert closes.
  • Should there be a large number of applications, an initial sift will be conducted using your personal statement. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment or interview.
  • Interview
  • If successful at sift, you will be invited to an interview where you will be assessed on the Behaviours listed below.
  • Interview dates are to be confirmed. Please note that these may be subject to change.
  • Interviews will be held virtually on Microsoft Teams.
  • For further information on Success Profiles, you can visit the links below and watch our videos on DefraJobs.
  • Behaviours
  • Experience
  • Technical Skills

Behaviours you’ll be assessed on

This advert says the panel will score you against these behaviours at Grade 7 level. Each one links to worked examples.

Job description

A Senior Delivery Manager is accountable for the effective delivery of complex, high risk products and services. Within Defra, you could be helping to protect homes and businesses from flooding, make our air and rivers cleaner, protect animals and the environment, support farmers, and ensure food security.

Successful candidates will bring a delivery-focused mindset and the ability to apply their skills where they can add most value, supporting a range of products and services as organisational priorities evolve.

Nationality requirements

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)

Selection process

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

Selection process details:

For further information on the selection process for this role, please refer to the person specification section of the job advert.

Location

As part of the pre-employment process for this post, successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. The agreed contractual workplace is then the substantive and permanent place of work for the successful candidate(s).

Where the location is ‘National’ the successful appointee should discuss and agree an appropriate contractual location in line with both Defra’s location policy and site capacity, prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.

The agreed amount of time spent at a workplace for this post will reflect the requirement for Civil Servants to spend at least 60% of their working time in an organisation workplace with the option to work the remaining time flexibly from home. Working time spent at a workplace may include time spent at other organisational locations including field-based operational locations, together with supplier, customer or partner locations. This is a non-contractual agreement which is consistent with common Civil Service expectations.

Travel costs to non-contractual workplaces will be subject to departmental travel and subsistence policies. Travel costs to contractual workplaces are the responsibility of the employee.

The successful candidate is required to carry out all their duties from a UK location, and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time.

Further Information

Reserve list

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Near miss

Candidates who are judged to be a near miss at interview may be considered for other positions in Defra which may be at a lower grade, but have a potential skills match.

Merit Lists

Where more than one location is advertised, candidates will be posted in merit order by location. You will be asked to state your location preference on your application.

Salary

New entrants to the Civil Service are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band. The internal roles rules apply to existing Civil Servants, i.e. level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive 10% increase. Either case is determined by whichever is the highest.

Reasonable adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

Contact Government Recruitment Service via defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Accessibility

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'contact point for applicants' section.

Security Clearance

All of these posts require the successful candidate to hold Basic BPSS security clearance. Job offers to these posts are made on the basis of merit.

Childcare Vouchers

Any move to DEFRA from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

Visa Sponsorship Statement

Please take note that Defra does not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker License sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

Internal Fraud Database Check

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

Feedback

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

Practise before you apply

Civil Service panels score every answer against the Success Profiles behaviours at Grade 7 level. Practise STAR answers and get them marked against the same framework.

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