Head of Corporate Portfolio

Job summary

Can you establish and lead a high-performing corporate portfolio function, bringing together governance, planning, resourcing and performance management to support strategic delivery?

Do you have the credibility and influencing skills to provide strategic advice to senior leaders, build strong relationships across a complex organisation, and drive delivery through others?

Have you successfully led people, workforce planning and organisational improvement initiatives, creating an environment where teams can thrive and deliver at pace?

If so, we’d love to hear from you!

The Decarbonisation, Technology and Strategy group plays a key role in delivering the Department for Transport’s strategic outcomes.

We support Ministers and the Department by communicating strategic direction and decisions, helping DfT plan and prepare for future and coordinating cross-cutting themes including strategy, science, artificial intelligence, analysis, data and decarbonisation agendas. ​We lead on policy and implement programmes that deliver greener and healthier transport, including low carbon fuels and air quality, and manage the department’s innovation portfolio.

The purpose of this role is to help the DTS group be effective, efficient and innovative. You will be responsible for ensuring effective governance, resourcing, recruitment, internal communications and finance across the group.

Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays a privilege day for the King’s birthday.
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Read more in the Benefits section below!

Find out more about what it's like working at Decarbonisation, Technology and Strategy DFT Central – Home , Civil Service Careers

Job description

This role will be responsible for creating and managing a virtual Programme Management Office for DTS, helping us get the most out of the corporate resources available to us on planning and performance, risk, finance and HR. You will oversee the DG private office, including management of the Assistant Private Secretary and Diary Manager. You will be responsible for providing portfolio and project support and assurance along with business and resource management services to the Group.

Your responsibilities will include, but aren’t limited to:

• Establish and lead the corporate service function for the Group.
• Lead the DG’s Office function, providing expertise and an escalation point to unlock complex issues.
• Provide direct and strategic support to the DG acting as an advisor and principal link between the DG and Senior Leadership team.
• Lead on people issues for DTS Group, working in a matrix way to deliver through others, supporting the DG in creating a people Board to provide a clear picture of people activity, risks and challenges.
• Responsibility for the efficient running of the DG’s Private Office and line management of the DG’s APS and Diary Manager.
• Providing the DG with strategic assurance and advice on a variety of issues and representing the DG’s views in discussions, correspondence and at meetings.
• Lead on strategic workforce planning for the Group to ensure a clear plan to meet headcount targets prioritisation.
• Lead on internal communications for the Group, working with the comms team and enabling a clear culture and ways of working.

Great line management is important to us as an organisation, and we will equip and support line managers to develop the skills set out in the Civil Service Line Management Standards.

For further information on the role, please read the attached role profile. Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - whilst all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.

Person specification

Required experience:

To be successful in this role you will need to have the following experience:

1. Strong people leadership skills.
2. Deliver results at pace, handle uncertainty and demonstrate exceptional judgement in a complex environment.
3. Highly developed interpersonal and influencing skills, with the ability to establish credibility and trust quickly with a large and diverse network of senior leaders up to board and/or Ministers (or equivalent) level.

Additional Information

Working hours, office attendance and travel requirements

Full time roles consist of 37 hours per week.

Regular travel to other offices will be required and attendance of a minimum of two days in the London office, which may involve overnight stays.

If you have a question about hybrid working, part time/job share hours, flexible working, travelling for work, or require a reasonable adjustment, please contact the Vacancy Holder during the recruitment process to avoid possible disappointment later in the process should your working arrangements not be compatible with the requirements of the role (see below for contact details).

Visa Sponsorship

Sponsorship is not offered for this role. Successful applicants must ensure they have and maintain the legal right to live and work in the United Kingdom.

Behaviours

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing
• Leadership
• Working Together
• Seeing the Big Picture

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £69,501, Department for Transport contributes £20,134 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).

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave).
• 8 Bank Holidays plus an additional Privilege Day to mark the King’s birthday.
• Access to the staff discount portal.
• Excellent career development opportunities and the potential to undertake professional qualifications relevant to your role paid for by the department, such as CIPD, Prince2, apprenticeships, etc.
• Joining a diverse and inclusive workforce with a range of staff communities to support all our colleagues.
• 24-hour Employee Assistance Programme providing free confidential help and advice for staff.
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Find out more about the benefits of working at DfT and its agencies (opens in a new window).

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 and Experience.

How to apply:

Our selection process ensures a comprehensive assessment of each applicant's qualifications, skills, and potential fit within our organisation.

The selection process for this role will be:

Stage 1: Sift of CV and personal statement.

Stage 2: Interview

You must be successful at each stage to progress to the next stage.

Stage 1: Sift

At sift, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

• Experience – you will be asked to provide a CV (unlimited wordcount) and personal statement (1000 word count). Please provide evidence of your Experience of the following:

1. Strong people leadership skills.
2. Deliver results at pace, handle uncertainty and demonstrate exceptional judgement in a complex environment.
3. Highly developed interpersonal and influencing skills, with the ability to establish credibility and trust quickly with a large and diverse network of senior leaders up to board and/or Ministers (or equivalent) level.

Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to interview.

The sift will take place from 21/09/2026.

Stage 2: Interview

At interview stage, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

• Behaviours – (Leadership, Seeing the Big Picture, Delivering at Pace, Communicating and Influencing and Working Together)
• Experience
• Strengths

You will also be required to create and deliver a presentation to assess the Behaviour Leadership. Guidance will be provided if you are invited to interview.

The interviews will take place week commencing 30/09/2026.

This interview will be conducted in person at our London office (Great Minster House, 33 Horseferry Road, SW1P 4DR). Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.

You can find out more about our hiring process, how to apply, and application and interview guidance on our careers site (opens in a new window).

Please note that we will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change.

Further information on the selection process

Feedback on your application can only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

We will also hold a12 month reserve list for this role, which may lead to potential opportunities beyond the role you applied for. You can read more about our reserve lists here.

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website.

Reasonable Adjustments

As a Disability Confident Leader employer, we are committed to ensuring that the recruitment process is fair, accessible and allows all candidates to perform at their best. If a person with a visible or non-visible disability is substantially disadvantaged, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need during the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at an interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

If you need a reasonable adjustment so that you can complete your application, you should contact Government Recruitment Service via dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Document Accessibility

This job advert contains links to the DfT Careers website. Our website provides useful guidance and information that can support you during the application process. If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert or the information on our website, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Further Information

For more information about how we hire, and for useful tips on submitting your application for this role, visit theHow We Hire page of our DfT Careers website. You can find detailed information about the recruitment process and what to expect when applying for a role.

Pre-employment Checking

If your application is successful but you have been dismissed from the Civil Service, your application could be removed at the pre-employment checking stage depending on the nature of the dismissal.

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. 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.

All External applicants and current employees of accredited non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) will be required to undergo a Social Media Check. A Social Media Check is a review of your publicly available online activity, typically across platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and others. The purpose is to identify any public posts or content that could raise concerns for employers, such as:

Hate speech or discriminatory behaviour

Threats or acts of violence

Illegal activity or substance misuse

Sexually explicit material

Extremist views or affiliations

Importantly, this check does not involve hacking into your accounts or accessing private messages. It only considers content you have chosen to make public. Employers use this kind of screening to help ensure their workplace remains safe, inclusive, and aligned with company values. It’s not about judging your personality or lifestyle—it’s about checking for potential red flags that might affect the role or company culture. If you have questions or concerns about the social media check, we would be happy to explain in more detail what’s being looked at and how your data is handled securely and fairly.

Feedback

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).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.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 : Ross Gribbin
• Email : PSGribbin@dft.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.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: dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website Here

Attachments

Role Profile Opens in new window (pdf, 196kB)