Contents Location About the job Benefits Things you need to know Apply and further information Location East Midlands (England), East of England, North East England, North West England, Scotland, South East England, South West England, Wales, West Midlands (England), Yorkshire and the Humber About the job Job summary The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is a pivotal executive agency of the UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and is dedicated to safeguarding the UK's animal and plant health. With a team of over 3,000 professionals operating across 85 sites including laboratories, offices, and field depots, we are committed to advancing research and regulatory practices that protect both the environment and economy. Our role is critical in maintaining the UKs biosecurity standards alongside facilitating trade worth Billions to the UK economy. Job description This is an exciting time to join the APHAs Project and Change function. We are looking for a highly driven individual who can join our dynamic and diverse team to help implement a new flexible, central team of Project and Change capability and capacity, working cross-agency to manage and monitor the full range of APHA change projects - breaking down historical silos and building common standards and governance. The role of the Head of Central Portfolio Management Office (CPMO) is to define and maintain the standards for project management within APHA. This includes the implementation and sharing of best practice as well as the development and application of project procedures, tools and techniques in order to standardise methodologies and realise economies. The roles provides expert guidance, support and insight on APHAs portfolio of projects, and acts as the source of all project information and metrics. The Head of Central Portfolio Management Office (CPMO) is responsible for leading an effective programme management office managing G7 direct reports. You are primarily responsible for ensuring the prioritisation and effective allocation of resources across the portfolio to ensure optimal delivery of departmental / business strategic objectives in line with government priorities. You will play a pivotal role implementing and embedding the APHA Sustainable Futures Strategy which sets out its vision for the future. The role of the Head Central Portfolio Management Office (CPMO) is to define and maintain the standards for Portfolio and Programme management within APHA. This includes the implementation and sharing of best practices and the development and application of portfolio and programme management procedures, tools and techniques to standardise methodologies and realise economies. The Head of CPMO provides expert guidance, support, and insight on the portfolio of projects, and acts as the source of all information and metrics. You are expected to have an expert understanding of the best practice guides which includes but is not limited to Management of Portfolios (MoP), P3O, Management of Risk (MoR) and Managing Successful Programmes (MSP). Person specification Your responsibilities will include: Delivery and leadership Lead the APHA Central Portfolio Management Office (CPMO) to champion the use of best practice project management standards and processes. Business case Support Portfolio Managers in developing business cases with input from specialists as necessary. Budget Working with Portfolio Managers and Strategic partners to develop and agree on budgets for projects and/or programmes and forecast actual costs against them. Resources Manage the CPMO team and support the Head of Project Delivery & Change in the identification, recruitment, development, deployment, and reassignment of resources throughout the portfolio and the lifecycle of the projects. Stakeholder Management Advise the Head of Project Delivery & Change on appropriate tools and techniques for managing stakeholder relationships. Provide assurance on the effectiveness of stakeholder management arrangements. Risks and issues Establish the processes and standards for managing risks and issues. Assure the Head of Project Delivery & Change on the effectiveness of Risk and Issue management arrangements. Governance and assurance Ensure appropriate governance is in place and arrange external reviews e.g. Gateway Reviews at appropriate points in the lifecycle of all the portfolios projects. Monitor the effectiveness of controls and ensure that recommendations from external reviews are acted upon. Project performance and controls Establish and operate project controls on behalf of the Head of Project Delivery & Change, reporting on all progress and status to appropriate bodies. Identify common capabilities and opportunities for linking up, re-using and sharing of methods and resources between projects and programmes. Ensure learning from experience is disseminated across the organisation. Guidance and support Identify, develop and share best practice management processes, tools and templates and benchmarks against industry standards. Provide direction and guidance to the project team. Professional Development - Be an active member of the CPMO senior community, working with the lead(s) in Defra Project delivery profession to help shape standards and approach. You will have the following essential skills and experience: Experience: We are looking for an inspirational and engaging leader with the ability to set clear direction, convey a persuasive future vision and build, lead, coach and develop a high performing CPMO team. You will have a proven track record of running a Portfolio Office or PMO running high value and complex programmes/projects. You will be an excellent communicator - able to write succinctly and persuasively, adapting the writing style for briefings and papers based on the intended audience, as well as speak with conviction and authority about areas they are responsible for. You will be adept at building excellent working relationships at all levels of an organisation, and be a credible leader of people with the ability to get the best out their staff and have a genuine commitment to their development Qualifications - You will hold one or more of the following: PRINCE2 Practitioner Managing Successful Programmes Practitioner P3O Practitioner Management of Risk Practitioner Management of Portfolios Practitioner Behaviours We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process: Leadership Making Effective Decisions Communicating and Influencing Changing and Improving Seeing the Big Picture We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form: Leadership Benefits Alongside your salary of £65,430, Animal and Plant Health Agency contributes £18,955 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides. Learning and development tailored to your role An environment with flexible working options A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97% Things you need to know Selection process details This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience. Application Process As part of the application process you will be asked to provide a CV and complete a 750 word Personal Statement detailing your suitability for the role based on the essential skills and experience detailed within the advertisement. You will also be asked to provide a 250-word statement demonstrating how you meet the following Behaviour: Leadership. Further details around what this will entail can be found on the application form. Sift Should a large number of successful applications be received, there will be an initial sift assessing the Personal Statement. Those who pass the initial sift will either be progressed to a full sift or straight to interview. Sift and interview dates to be confirmed. Interview If successful at application stage, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed on Behaviours, Experience and Strengths. The Behaviours are as follows: Leadership (Lead behaviour) Making Effective Decisions Communicating and Influencing Changing & Improving Seeing the Big Picture During your interview, Experience will be assessed through a pre-prepared scenario-based presentation. Details of the exercise will be provided prior to your interview. You will also be asked Strength questions. Your interview will be conducted via MS Teams. Please note that candidates located in Weybridge will require CTC (Higher Security Clearance). 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 Defras location policy and site capacity, prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes. Successful applicants currently employed by the hiring Defra organisation for this post may choose to remain in their current contractual location or may choose to change contractual location to one of those listed above. This should be discussed and agreed 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. Defra includes the core department, APHA, RPA, Cefas and VMD. Reserve List A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made. Salary New entrants are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band. 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. Criminal Record Check If successful and transferring from another Government Department, a criminal record check may be carried out. In order to process applications without del ay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service /Disclosure Scotland on yo ur 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.grscabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading. For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email Infodisclosurescotland.co.uk 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.grscabinetoffice.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 youre 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. 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 applicants 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. NSV For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the following page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demystifying-vetting Higher Security Clearance Please be aware the levels of national security clearance are changing which may impact on the level needed for this role by the time of appointment. All efforts will be made to keep candidates informed of any changes and what that will mean in terms of vetting criteria. For more information please See our vetting charter. All of these posts require the successful candidate to hold basic security clearance. Candidates posted to London may be subject to a higher level of clearance because of the security requirements for that location. Job offers to these posts are made on the basis of merit. Security vetting will only take place after the receipt of a job offer. Childcare Vouchers Any move to Defra from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment. Security Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks. 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) Working for the Civil Service The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). 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. Diversity and Inclusion The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window). Apply and further information This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative. The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window). 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 : Defra HR Resourcing Support Email : HRResourcingSupportdefra.gov.uk Recruitment team Email : defrarecruitment.grscabinetoffice.gov.uk 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: Government Recruitment Services via email: defrarecruitment.grscabinetoffice.gov.uk If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/contact-us/ to visit Civil Service Commission. Attachments APHA Information Pack - G6 - Head of CPMO - Final Opens in new window (pdf, 1753kB) Welsh APHA Information Pack 2 Opens in new window (pdf, 1704kB) 378037 WELSH VERSION - Head of CPMO Opens in new window (pdf, 207kB) Share this page Print Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn GMail