Grade 6 Programme Delivery Manager

Job summary

In the Schools Digital portfolio, our aim is to support schools and teachers to have the best environment, tools and support so that every child can achieve and thrive. We work with Schools Group to deliver Manifesto commitments on recruiting and retaining teachers, including the 6.5k manifesto commitment, SEND reform and helping schools improve.

This is an exciting time to join the portfolio with significant reform programmes underway for SEND and schools, which will have a direct impact on the outcomes on the teaching landscape and help every child achieve and thrive.

Our diverse and inclusive culture reflects the society we live in. This helps us to achieve better outcomes for all our users. We work in multi-disciplinary teams using Agile methods to innovate and radically improve services that:

• Support schools to manage and improve their performance
• Support teachers and teacher trainee mentors to provide the best start in life for children
• Support children to get the best SEND support
• Drive economic growth

You can read more about our strategy on the DfE digital and technology blog, by visiting our LinkedIn page.

We encourage applications from a diverse range of candidates.

At DfE, we are proud of the commitment we make to diversity and inclusion and of the progress we have made. We have active and vibrant staff networks, special leave policies and workplace adjustments put in place for those who need them. We are continuing to build a diverse DfE, in an inclusive environment which nurtures and realises potential in all, at all levels.

Equality and Diversity - Department for Education

This vacancy uses the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework

Job description

In the Schools Digital portfolio we work closely with policy teams and Service Owners to research, design and build services that help provide schools, teachers and a system where every child is achieving and thriving.

As a Programme Delivery Manager in Schools Digital, you will :

• Lead, coach and motivate multiple agile multi-disciplinary teams, helping them plan and deliver their work, ensuring they make progress, meet the government service standard and create services that meet users’ needs.
• Help Schools Digital teams conduct discoveries, alphas, betas and get to live, delivering services that meet the needs of Schools, teachers and children
• Identify the people, skills and resources that teams need to deliver the agreed goals across Schools Digital
• Identify and challenge organisational processes that impede delivery and work with stakeholders as needed to improve them, including implementing and iterating Schools Digital governance processes
• Use your delivery expertise to identify and actively manage risks, issues and internal and external dependencies across multiple delivery teams. Act as an escalation point for risks raised by delivery teams, supporting or intervening as necessary to enable prompt and effective management.
• Work with Schools Policy Leaders to create the best services for users, coaching and influencing Schools Policy to make evidenced-led decisions and champion agile ways of working, and embed user-centred design in both ways of working and decision-making.
• Be part of the Schools Digital Senior Leadership Team

Working with the Senior Leadership in Schools Digital you will also:

• Help create a culture and environment where teams can deliver effectively, are passionate about their work and can bring their ‘whole selves’ to work.
• Play an active part in our digital delivery community of practice in Schools Digital and DfE. Working with the Head of Profession for Delivery Managers you will help to drive cultural and procedural change through the community
• Build agile delivery management capability through hands on coaching and identifying development opportunities in and outside of our Delivery Manager community.

Person specification

Essential Criteria:

We are looking for someone who can show evidence of the following essential criteria:

• Financial and Commercial Management- you can act as the escalation point and resolve large or high risk commercial management issues, you can coach others in appropriate commercial management, you can influence or create complex budgets across an organisation, programme or product view, manage the budget you are given and make it work
• Maintaining delivery momentum- Using Agile principles, youoptimise the delivery flow of teams, actively address the most complicated risks, issues and dependencies including where ownership exists outside the team or no clear ownership exists, identify innovative ways to unblock issues
• Making a process work- identify and challenge organisational processes of increasing complexity and those processes that are unnecessarily complicated, add value and can coach the organisation to inspect and adapt processes, guide teams through the implementation of a new process. You can coach and lead teams in Agile and Lean good practices, create and tailor the right approach for a team, challenging, evaluating and iterating the approach through the life cycle.
• Communicating between the technical and non-technical- You can mediate between people and strengthen relationships, adopting the appropriate communication method with stakeholders at all levels, manage stakeholder expectations and moderate difficult discussions about high risk and complex topics, even within constrained timescales, speak on behalf of, and represent the community to, large audiences inside and outside the organisation
• Planning – You can lead a continual planning process in a very complex environment, plan beyond product delivery, identify dependencies in plans across services and co-ordinate delivery, coach other teams as the central point of expertise

Desirable Criteria:

• Community collaboration- you can solve and unblock issues between teams or departments at the highest level, you can coach the organisation on team dynamics and conflict resolution, while also building and growing the community
• Life cycle Management- You can, lead and coach teams through different phases of the life cycle, ensure effective support for the product or service and its users, predict, prevent, mitigate and manage potential risks at different phases of the life cycle, contribute to the assessment of other teams with assessments

Desirable criteria will only be assessed at interview, in the event of a tie break situation, to make an informed decision.

Behaviours

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Making Effective Decisions
• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service

Technical skills

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

• Agile and Lean Practices

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £70,854, Department for Education contributes £20,526 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Applicants currently holding a permanent post in the Civil Service should note that, if successful, their salary on appointment would be determined by the Department’s transfer / promotion policies.

As a member of the DfE, you will be entitled to join the highly competitive Civil Service Pension Scheme, which many experts agree is one of the most generous in the UK.

You will have 25 days leave, increasing by 1 day every year to a maximum of 30 days after five years’ service. In addition, all staff receive the King’s Birthday privilege holiday and 8 days’ bank and public holidays.

We offer flexible working arrangements, such as job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours.

Most DfE employees will be working a hybrid pattern, spending at least 60% of their time in an office or work setting. Changes to these working arrangements are available in exceptional circumstances but must be agreed with the line manager and in line with the requirements of the role.

Travel to your primary office location will not be paid for by DfE, but costs for travel to an office which is not your main location will be covered.

Part‑time hours available, from a minimum of 90% FTE.

As an organisation, which exists to support education and lifelong learning, we offer our staff excellent professional development opportunities.

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, Experience and Technical skills.

Step 1 - Application:

To apply for this role, you will be required to provide a CV and Statement of Suitability.

• Your CV should include details of your employment history, and the skills and experience gained in those roles.

• Your Statement (max 750 words) should demonstrate how your experience meets the essential and technical criteria listed above.

To confirm, the maximum word count for the personal statement is 750. Please adhere to this limit as anything over 750 words will not be taken into account.

Technical Skills

You will be required to provide a 250-word example demonstrating how you demonstrate the technical skill listed above.

In the event of a high volume of applications, we will conduct the initial sift against the essential technical skill: Agile and Lean Practices. Candidates who pass the initial sift will progress to a full sift.

We also reserve the right to raise the pass mark for the initial sift in the event of a high volume of successful applications.

Step 2: Interview:

Part 1:

As part of the interview process, candidates will be required to complete a task which will be issued prior to interview, and prepare and deliver a 5-minute presentation based on the task. The presentation should be primarily verbal; however, candidates may also use PowerPoint slides if they wish. No handouts are required, and notes can be used. The task details will be shared with shortlisted candidates.

Part 2:

At interview you will be asked questions to assess your experience in line with the essential criteria listed above. At interview you will be asked questions around the behaviours listed in the advert.

Other Information:

Interviews may be via Microsoft teams or face to face; the vacancy manager will confirm prior to the Interview.

In your application, please don’t include personal information that identifies you.

This means we can recruit based on your knowledge and skills, and not background, gender or ethnicity - it's called name blind recruitment (opens in a new window).

Please ensure that you remove from your application, all references to your:

• name/title

• educational institutions

• age

• gender

• email address

• postal address

• phone number

• nationality/immigration status

We reserve the right to raise the minimum pass mark in the event of a high volume or strong field of candidates.

Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK from the location options provided and not from overseas.

The government is committed to supporting apprenticeships, enabling people to learn and progress in a role whilst earning. We want to monitor the number of people who have completed apprenticeships who are now applying to progress further in their career and are asking this question to all candidates, on all vacancies. You will be asked a question as part of the application process about any previous apprenticeships you have completed. Your response to this question will not affect your application and it is not a requirement of the role to have completed a previous apprenticeship.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check maybe 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 circumstance some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Department of Education of your intention by emailing Pre-Employment.Checks.DFE@education.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

Department for Education do not cover the cost of travel to your interview/assessment unless otherwise stated.

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

Candidates will be posted in merit order based upon location preference. Where more than one location is advertised you will be asked to state your preferred location.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

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.

Terms and conditions of candidates transferring from ALBs and NDPBs

Bodies that are not accredited by the Civil Service Commission and are not able to advertise at Across Government on Civil Service jobs will be treated as external new starters and will come into DfE on modernised terms and conditions with a salary at the band minimum.

Bodies that are accredited by the Civil Service Commission but do not have civil service status will be offered modernised terms and will not have continuous service recognised for leave or sickness benefits. Salaries should be offered at band minimum, but there is some flexibility where this would cause a detriment to the individual.

Bodies that are accredited by the Civil Service Commission and do have Civil Service status will be treated as OGD transfers. Staff appointed on lateral transfer will move on to pre-modernised DfE terms (unless they were on modernised terms in their previous organisation). Staff appointed on promotion will move on to modernised DfE terms. Staff will transfer over on their existing salary (on lateral transfer) and any pay above the DfE pay band maximum will be paid as a mark time allowance. Staff moving on promotion will have their salaries calculated using the principles set out in the attached OGD transfer supplementary information.

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 Department of Education via centralrecruitment.operations@education.gov.uk 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.

Please refer to the attached ‘Reasonable Adjustments Guide 05_2025 – accessible version’ at the bottom of the advert, for further information.

Childcare Vouchers

Any move to Department for Education (DfE) will mean you will no longer be able to carry on claiming childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. 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 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

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.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 : Ana Beatriz Alencar
• Email : Ana.alencar@education.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : Centralrecruitment.operations@education.gov.uk

Further information

The Department for Education’s recruitment processes are underpinned by the Civil Service Commissioners Recruitment Principles, which outlines that selection for appointment is made on merit based on fair and open competition. You have the right to complain if you feel a department has breached the requirement of the Recruitment Principles. In the first instance, you should raise the matter directly with the department concerned via CentralRecruitment.Operations@education.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages

Attachments

DfE Terms & Conditions Opens in new window (docx, 23kB)Reasonable Adjustments guide 05_2025 - accessible version - Copy Opens in new window (pdf, 723kB)OGD Transfer Supplementary information - accessible version (1) Opens in new window (pdf, 327kB)