Rail connectivity underpins long term, economic development, supporting jobs and housing and allowing companies and workers widened choices about where they locate.
The Major Rail Projects Group within the Department for Transport is responsible for the development and delivery of benefits from long term investment in strategic rail infrastructure from HS2 between Birmingham and London, the Euston Project, and Northern Powerhouse Rail linking our northern cities.Once delivered these will join up our biggest cities fostering agglomeration and faster growth.
HS2 and Northern Powerhouse rail will provide new capabilities for the services that will be run by Great British Railways as it brings train operating companies into public ownership and takes an integrated view of track and train to focus on the best results for passengers.
In order to realise these benefits for the country and travellers we need to deliver new infrastructure more efficiently and more reliably. We have recently appointed Mark Wild to lead and reset the delivery of the remainder of HS2 between Birmingham and London. Strengthening connectivity across the North is a manifesto commitment with cross-party and local support and there is now a big job to convert this into a robust and prioritised delivery programme. That will build on the improvements already being delivered between Leeds and Manchester through the Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade and apply the lessons from HS2 to ensure more efficient and controlled delivery.
Leading a talented multidisciplinary team of around 50 people, the Director of Portfolio Management has a central role in this agenda and is responsible for the cross-cutting support to the directors sponsoring the delivery of both HS2, the Euston Project and Northern Powerhouse Rail. To do this the Portfolio Management Team provides funding, economic analysis, land and property policy and advice, and runs our governance and assurance across all our programmes, as well as owning the delivery agreements with HS2 Ltd and our work with Network Rail as the organisations developing and delivering the new infrastructure.
I am committed to diversity and inclusion and your application is welcome whether you are disabled or able bodied and regardless of your social and ethnic background, sexual orientation and gender identity.
If you are talented senior leader interested in supporting delivery of some of the country’s largest projects and making a difference at national scale then I encourage you to apply.
The Portfolio Management Director is responsible for the cross-cutting advice and support to the development and delivery of new rail infrastructure and its benefits, working closely with the five other Directors sponsoring development and delivery of HS2, the Euston campus and Northern Powerhouse Rail.
The role holder is responsible for:
* Owning the contracting framework, sponsorship model and relationship between DfT and HS2 Ltd and Network Rail as our delivery bodies – working alongside DfT’s shareholder function on appointments and corporate governance and jointly ensuring the right capability and capacity.
* Funding HS2 Ltd and Network Rail to develop and deliver the railways including managing in-year spend, and supporting the Department’s financial settlements with HMT through Spending Reviews including leading the Group’s interfaces with DfT’s finance function and HM Treasury.
* Leading the policy and powers allowing acquisition, management and disposal of the land and property needed to construct the railways including, safeguarding, compulsory purchase and statutory and voluntary compensation schemes – working closely with DfT Group Property colleagues and interfacing with the independent Construction and Resident’s Commissioners.
* Providing programme management to the Group’s programmes including resource management, capability and culture, assurance, dependency management and reporting and the provision of effective governance at ministerial, inter-departmental and programme level.
* Overseeing economic analysis, transport planning and social research support to HS2 and East West Rail to support business case development, cost-benefit analysis cost benchmarking, and benefits-led decision making.
* Identifying and sharing lessons to improve cost control and delivery within and between our programmes and more widely across government.
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