26.131 Portfolio Planner

Job summary

This role is responsible for supporting the planning and sequencing of the DBS change portfolio, i.e. the Change and Transformation Plan, a collection of programmes and projects that contribute to the delivery of business outcomes and objectives. The role will focus primarily on gathering the right information to develop the plan, providing clarity on key milestones to define what, when and how activities will be organised to ensure business outcomes can be achieved, with the resources available. Work with the project teams and key stakeholders to track and monitor progress against the plan.

Job description

· Support the development of the portfolio delivery plan (C&T Plan), ensuring activities are sequenced appropriately

· Support the Portfolio Manager to maintain the portfolio delivery plan (C&T Plan) and critical path to monitor progress and report issues, ensuring this is updated in line with governance standards.

· Support project teams to plan projects, acting as a critical friend and advisor to support effective planning, building capability and the use of best practice in planning. Provide expert advice for team members and the project community.

· Challenge and test planning assumptions to ensure that plans are realistic and achievable, at both portfolio and project level.

· Support project managers to identify options to optimise delivery through resource smoothing, resource levelling and rescheduling of activities.

Corporate Duties:

· Promote within the function a culture of high performance, continuous improvement and innovation that values learning and a commitment to quality.

· To create positive relationships with all DBS stakeholders through the appropriate management of their expectations and agreed objectives.

· Be an ambassador for DBS, instilling and maintaining confidence in the external world.

· ‘Living the Civil Service values and serving the public’; demonstrating the behaviours which reflect those set out in the Civil Service Leadership Statement

. Always being guided by DBS values: ensuring that day to day behaviours and interactions with colleagues reflect these values.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

ABILITY

• Ability to build effective working relationships and work collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Excellent written and oral presentation skills with ability to present complex data in a clear and comprehensible way.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively in partnership and across organisational boundaries.
• Resilience in challenging circumstances: ability to work under pressure, remaining calm but decisive.

EXPERIENCE

• Experience working in a change / portfolio environment.
• Able to prioritise work, working within a fast-paced environment providing a creative approach to problem solving.
• Experience working within teams to deliver shared goal.
• Experience of sequencing activity to deliver against deadlines, finding ways to resolve conflicts in schedules.

TECHNICAL

• Understanding of relevant project methodologies.
• Proficient in the use of project planning tools, such as Microsoft Project.
• Proficient in Microsoft packages such as Word, Outlook and Teams.

Desirable Criteria

ABILITY

• Experience of working within a politically sensitive environment.

EXPERIENCE

• Experience of influencing and constructively challenging teams and stakeholders based on insight.

TECHNICAL

• Understanding and working experience of Government Functional Standards.
• Understanding of corporate governance requirements.
• Understanding of the safeguarding environment.

Behaviours

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

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

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Seeing the Big Picture

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Planning.
• Digital and data.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £36,444, Disclosure & Barring Service contributes £10,557 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

The DBS offers a number of excellent benefits for its employees. These can include:

• Generous annual leave entitlement
• Excellent maternity, paternity and adoption schemes (after a qualifying period)
• Commitment to the health and wellbeing of our employees
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Flexible working opportunities
• Eyecare voucher scheme
• Occupational Health Service including referrals for counselling and physiotherapy
• 24/7 Counselling and Wellbeing Service
• A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

The DBS vision and purpose is to make people safer by being a visible, trusted and influential organisation, providing an outstanding quality of service to all our customers and partners, where our people understand the important safeguarding contributions they make and feel proud to work here. To do this, the DBS is committed to being an employer that is able to attract, develop, retain and engage diverse talent that is representative of the communities we serve, and to be an organisation providing outstanding service to all our existing and new customers, who are diverse and have a range of different needs. We want all our staff to be able to bring their ‘whole self’ to work.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

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

TO APPLY FOR THIS ROLE: Please provide a CV together with a suitability statement of no more than 500 words, outlining how your skills, experience and qualifications meet the requirements of the role, including all essential and desirable criteria, and the key responsibilities, and a 250-word behaviour example demonstrating the behaviour: Seeing the Bigger Picture.

AT INTERVIEW: For all candidates who are successful at the initial sifting stage, you will be invited to a Microsoft Team Virtual interview.

The interview will consist of a panel based interview. The aim of the panel interview will be to assess your ability to demonstrate:

• 2 x behaviours: Communicating and Influencing & Working Together
• 4 x strength-related questions
• 2 technical questions.

The following timeline outlines indicative dates. Please note, these dates may be subject to change without prior notice.

Advert Closing date: 5th October 2026 at 10:00am.

The initial candidate sift is due to take place from: 6th October 2026.

Interviews are due to take place week commencing: 2nd November 2026.

Whilst we will endeavour to provide some flexibility with regards to dates wherever possible, it is unlikely that we will be able to offer an alternative date once an appointment has been scheduled.

BEHAVIOUR PROFILE

The Civil Service has defined a set of behaviours that, when demonstrated, are associated with job success. For this role you should demonstrate the following Civil Service Behaviour Seeing the Bigger Picture.

Seeing the Bigger Picture

Understand how your role fits with and supports organisational objectives. Recognise the wider Civil Service priorities and ensure work is in the national interest.

Communicating and Influencing

Communicate purpose and direction with clarity, integrity and enthusiasm.Respect the needs, responses and opinions of others.

Working Together

Form effective partnerships and relationships with people both internally and externally, from a range of diverse backgrounds, sharing information, resources and support.

Further Information:

To view the DBS Recruitment and On-boarding Privacy Notice, please click the link below:

DBS Recruitment and On-boarding Privacy Notice - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

This privacy notice covers personal data collected during the recruitment, security clearance and on-boarding process.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) 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.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil 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

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 : DBS People Support Team
• Email : DBSPeopleSupportTeam@dbs.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : DBSPeopleSupportTeam@dbs.gov.uk

Attachments

Job Description Portfolio Planner Sept 26 Opens in new window (docx, 450kB)