Office for National Statistics Jobs 2023 – Programme Delivery Manager

About the job

Location

We operate a hybrid working model and fully support flexibility with colleagues already based across the UK working from home and linked to one of our core locations in Newport, Titchfield (Fareham), Darlington or Edinburgh.

For this role you will be linked to one of the core locations, the frequency of attendance at our offices is agreed with you as relevant to your role.

Job Summary

About the job

Are you a forward-thinking and ambitious Programme Manager looking for the next step within your career?

We are looking for two proven agile experts to join our Digital Services and Technology (DST) department, where our culture is based around agile working and keeping our users-both internally and externally- at the centre of our thinking.

The roles will be within the Integrated Data Service (IDS) or the Survey Collection and Ingestion (C&I) service:

• Integrated Data Service, an opportunity to be involved in a unique project, which is part of the Government Digital Strategy and will change how we use & supply data across the government.
• Survey Collection and Ingestion service, an opportunity to be involved in building ONS’ user facing digital services (from tracking responses across our complex supplier infrastructure to providing the field force kit to chase responses in real time).

Job Description

As a Programme Delivery Manager you will be responsible for ensuring that agile practices are embedded in our culture and manage a highly capable digitally skilled workforce.

In both roles you will be responsible for DevSecOps software development teams that are currently delivering for their services. You will be responsible for delivering software products and services which will make each service a reality. You will be very familiar in all aspects of the software development lifecycle, the principles and challenges of DevSecOps and have some experience of providing cloud based solutions and working with cloud providers.

You will manage several highly skilled and collaborative teams whose responsibilities include delivery of solutions on a mutli-cloud platform. You will work alongside qualified programme professionals in the division and will also contribute to the implementation of the ONS Digital Strategy. You will have proven stakeholder management skills, including engaging with stakeholders across the department, the ONS, suppliers and other external stakeholders.

• Integrated Data Service

The IDS programme has been created to join up and combine data assets that are ready for use to answer complex policy questions, enabling more collaboration to support economic growth, and provide better public services for the public good. You will have influence across the wider ONS programme team which is providing the whole end-to-end service.

Using a service design and user centered approach, we are working to integrate with multiple cloud vendors to allow effective data sharing across government, providing better evidence for decision-making.

• Collection & Ingestion Service

Our multidisciplinary teams work with stakeholders within ONS and across government to understand what is required, and with survey participants to understand the best way to collect and disseminate statistics for the public good.

We build on customer insight and user centered design so we can significantly improve the experience of our participants. We ask searching questions to those commissioning work from us to be able to ensure that what we build adds real value to ONS, as well as the rest of government.

Responsibilities

• Ensure the branch is resourced to meet the demands of the agreed DST organisational objectives and deliverables.
• Line management of delivery managers, software engineers and business analysis, including any contingent labour resources.
• Ensure smooth matrix working with other professions such as technical architects, solution architects, information assurance and security as well as the Service Design teams.
• Provide delivery direction and co-ordination to the team and more widely.
• Ensure appropriate governance and assurance activities (inc. escalation) are agreed and actioned.
• Represent DST in cross-ONS operating model activities.
• Actively engage across DST divisions in areas such as strategy, risk management, planning and reporting.
• Establish mutually beneficial relationships with suppliers and build effective commercial relationships.
• Owner of applicable DST Accountability Framework Objectives.
• Contribute to the wider delivery profession via our Communities of Practice.
• Experience of working in teams requiring cultural and structural transformation to business technologies and processes. Have experience of change management in the context of strategic, organisational and people change.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Able to act as the escalation point and resolve large or high risk commercial issues, coaching others inappropriate commercial management and lead on commercial engagements with third parties, shaping commercial decisions.
• Able to lead, work with, direct and influence the work of teams of multi-disciplinary individuals and ensure that they work together to deliver successful outcomes for both IT and the business, along with key architectural objectives. Ability to mediate and mend relationships as well as managing stakeholders’ expectations.
• Influence or create complex budgets within the constraints of the project and manage the budgets that are given, whilst retained a continued awareness of the budget against actual costs incurred.
• Understands the different phases of product delivery while successfully leading teams through the full product lifestyle. Identifying which tools and techniques should be used at each stage, while identifying and deal with potential risks.
• Able to optimise the delivery flow of teams, actively address the most complicated risks, issues, and dependencies.
• Guides a team through the implementation of a new process, identifying and challenging organisational processes of increasing complexity. Able to add value, coach the organisation to inspect and adapt processes.
• Able to take a continuous approach to continual planning process in a complex environment. Able to plan beyond product delivery. Able to identify dependencies in plans across services and coordinate delivery.
• You will be a proven agile expert. You will ensure agile practices are embedded and take an iterative approach to product and service delivery of the project and services.

Behaviours

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Changing and Improving
• Delivering at Pace
• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing

Benefits

The

Whether you are hearing about us for the first time or already know a bit about our organisation, we hope that the benefits pack attached (bottom of page) will give you a great insight into the benefits and facilities available to our colleagues, and our fantastic working culture.

We are an organisation that takes well-being seriously and lives and breathes the desire to modernise the workplace of the future. Everyone, from our office-based colleagues across our office sites, to our field interviewers and airports and ports passenger survey teams, are part of a diverse and inclusive family.

Inclusion & Accessibility

At ONS we are always looking to attract the very best people from the widest possible talent pool, and we are proud to be an inclusive, equal opportunities employer. As a member of the Business Disability Forum and a Disability Confident Leader we’re committed to ensuring that all candidates are treated fairly throughout the recruitment process.

As part of our application process, you will be prompted to provide details of any reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process that you need. If you would like to discuss any reasonable adjustments before applying, please contact the recruitment team in the first instance.

If you would like an accessible version of any of the attachments or recruitment documents below or linked to in this advert, please contact the recruitment team who will be happy to assist.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using

Stage 1 – Application & Sift

Assessment at application stage will be based on your job history, skills & experience.

The CV, job history and skills & experience should be tailored to demonstrate any skills, knowledge and experience that are relevant to the content of the role.

Your personal statement should be no longer than 1250 words. You should use this space to provide evidence for each essential criteria within the person specification. As the criteria are scored, we would recommend that you give clear examples for each including the impact of your actions.

In cases where there is a high number of applications the sift pass mark may be adjusted and candidates will be invited to interview in merit order, i.e. those scoring the highest.

Success Profiles Behaviour examples are not required at this stage.

Stage 2 – Interview

Should you be invited to interview, you will be assessed using various assessment techniques aligned to the Civil Service Success Profiles, where you’ll be assessed against all the Behaviours outlined in the advert.

A presentation may be required at interview. Successful candidates will be given full details in advance of their interview.

In the current circumstances, interviews will be conducted by Video.

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

Important Dates

Sift date: from 28th October 2023

Interview dates: w/c 7th November 2023

Dates are subject to change.

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

Security

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is

People working with government assets must complete

Nationality Requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of the
• relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
• relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
• certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals

Working for the Civil Service

The

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s

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.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job Contact

• Name : Martin O’Brien
• Email : martin.o’[email protected]

Recruitment team :

• Email : [email protected]

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact [email protected]. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the