Project Delivery Advisor

Job summary

If you’re interested in making a difference to people’s lives, the Treasury can offer you an exciting opportunity to influence decision making that affects the whole of the UK. Working at the heart of government, we collaborate across government to promote responsible public spending and drive strong and sustainable economic growth.

Our work ranges from protecting customers through the regulation of the financial sector, helping to reduce carbon emissions and creating a greener economy, to promoting British trade around the world and supporting people across the country on jobs, growth and more.

Job description

National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority, HMT

The Prime Minister has called for reform of the British state, seeking to go further and faster on renewal, and to ensure a more active government. To support these aims, the government has brought together its expertise on infrastructure strategy and delivery under a joint unit of HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office, establishing the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA).

NISTA has six core objectives:

• Overseeing the government’s 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy: implementing the Strategy and overseeing future refreshes.

• Identifying and coordinating infrastructure needs: assessing evolving needs and opportunities and developing a more spatial approach to infrastructure planning to maximise sustainable economic growth – including clusters of projects – and other objectives.

• Unblocking barriers and streamlining delivery of the government’s major projects: advising on project set-up, planning, project delivery, benefits realisation and providing expert commercial and financial advice.

• Setting standards and improving the government’s project delivery capabilities: developing best-in-class guidance and tools and delivering leadership and learning programmes, as well as drawing in industry expertise and best practice in the UK and Internationally.

• Providing effective assurance for the government’s priority projects: overseeing the Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP).

• Leading expertise on private finance: providing advice and guidance on the government’s approach to the private financing of major projects.

Since its creation in April 2025 it has delivered jointly HMT colleagues the UK Infrastructure: A 10 year Strategy, setting out a long term vision for infrastructure and setting the framework for a new approach to delivery infrastructure in the UK. In Jul 2025 is delivered the first major reform with its UK Infrastructure Pipeline.

The work of NISTA is essential to enabling economic growth and successful delivery to meet the aims and ambitions set by government in its plan for change, and five missions, which includes delivering Net Zero by 2050.

About the Role

As a Project Delivery Advisor in the Energy, Net Zero, Business and Foreign Affairs team in NISTA you will be responsible for providing advice to and supporting programmes and projects that are either identified by the government as a Mega Project or form part of the Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP). This will require you to:

1. Provide expert project delivery advice to major projects sponsored by the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), the Department of Business and Trade (DBT) and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO); identify and unblock barriers to the delivery of those projects, assist in streamlining delivery without compromising the delivery of project scope and benefits to time and cost commitments. Support project set-up activity and business case development, plan NISTA assurance interventions across project lifecycles, and act as a critical friend on project boards.
2. Provide briefings and advice to senior officials and input to briefings for ministers. Provide clear evidence-based recommendations to senior officials at major project investment decision points, e.g. Treasury Approval Points (TAPs), Major Project Review Group (MPRG) and Mega Project Delivery Panel (MPDP) meetings.
3. Act as the NISTA account lead facing a department, working closely with the department’s Head of Profession and Portfolio Management Office to target central support on mega and major projects that are critical to delivery of government and departmental priorities. This will involve resolving departmental delivery issues, identifying potential programmes that may be suitable for onboarding onto the GMPP, and supporting efforts to professionalise project delivery within the department.
4. Drive improvements in departmental project delivery standards (e.g. per the Government Functional Standard for Project Delivery, the Teal Book, and the Green Book in respect of project appraisal and business case development). Drive compliance with NISTA standards and expectations in respect of independent assurance of major projects, SRO appointments, project delivery accreditation and training of senior project leaders (e.g. SROs).
5. Support projects to provide timely and accurate data reporting to NISTA and the centre of government; analyse project data to identify risks to delivery, and work with departmental project teams to resolve or escalate delivery issues as appropriate.
6. Contribute to the progression of NISTA’s key cross-cutting initiatives and priorities (e.g. the 10 Year National Infrastructure Strategy, the Infrastructure Pipeline), and exemplify NISTA’s reformed role in Government controls systems, spatial planning, and development of the Project Delivery Profession.

If you would like to speak to the hiring manager informally prior to the closing date, please contact Samina Khan (samina.khan@nista.gov.uk)

Visa sponsorship is not available for this role.

Person specification

Application Stage

Application Form

Applications should consist of a CV including your employment history, and a 750-word statement setting out how you meet the shortlisting criteria below. Your CV and employment history won’t be scored. It’s used to give context to your application and support discussions at interview.

The panel will review applications and invite those that best demonstrate evidence of the shortlisting criteria for interview. Please keep this in mind when writing your application.

Please note that only applications submitted through Civil Service Jobs will be accepted.

The essential criteria for the role are as follows:

1. Proven track record of delivering major projects, programmes or large-scale portfolios in complex multi-stakeholder environments.
2. Experience of drafting advice on complex topics to senior executives, officials and / or ministers, in the face of a range of competing views and priorities, often in ambiguous environments, under pressure and challenging timescales.
3. Experience of building strong relationships and working with and through others, particularly at senior leadership levels, with evidence of being able to adapt personal style to influence decisions and achieve successful outcomes, e.g. brokering consensus in complex delivery environments.

Experience of working in or with DESNZ, DBT and / or FCDO, or in energy / net zero / business and industry / foreign affairs roles is desirable but not essential.

Interview Stage

If you are successful at the application stage, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed against the following criteria:

• Experience: drafting advice on complex topics in the face of competing views and priorities under pressure and challenging timescales; building strong relationships and working with others with evidence of adapting personal style to influence decisions and achieve successful outcomes.
• Technical Skills in Project Delivery
• Strengths
• Behaviours:
  • Delivering at Pace
  • Communicating and Influencing
  • Making Effective Decisions
  • Seeing the Big Picture

Interview Task / Presentation

Prior to your interview, we will contact you about a task / presentation that the panel would like you to deliver as part of the assessment. Further details will be communicated to you nearer the time.

Behaviours

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions
• Seeing the Big Picture

Technical skills

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

• Provide evidence of how you meet this role's requirements for expertise in project delivery.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £69,820, HM Treasury contributes £20,226 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Generous Annual Leave - 25 days (rising to 30 after 5 years), plus public holidays and the King’s birthday.
• Outstanding Pension Scheme - Defined Benefit pension with employer contributions of 28.97%
• Parental Leave Packages - Including 6 months’ occupational pay for maternity/adoption, shared parental leave options.
• Flexible & Hybrid Working - Options include part-time, job-share, compressed hours, flexitime, and hybrid working (where business needs allow).
• Advance Schemes & Discounts - Rental deposit, cycle-to-work, SmartTech, season ticket loans, and access to HM Treasury’s benefits portal for a wide range of discount codes.

You can review HM Treasury’s full offer here.

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.

Candidate Guidance

Please review the candidate guidance for an overview of the Success Profiles and STAR approach, along with top tips for applications and interviews.

Recruitment Timeline

• Closing date: 17/05 at 23:55
• Shortlisting: w/c 18/05
• Interviews: w/c 08/06

This timeline is indicative and may be subject to change. We will inform you if there is a substantial change to the recruitment timeline.

If your contact details change at any time during the selection process, please ensure you update your Civil Service Jobs Profile.

Reserve Lists

You will be placed on a reserve list if your application is successful, but we cannot offer you a role immediately. Where more than one location has been advertised, candidates will be posted in merit order by location. You will be asked to provide your location preference on your application form. Please note that a place on the reserve list does not guarantee an offer.

If you are offered a role in your first preferred location and you decline the offer or are unable to take up the post within a reasonable timeframe, you will be removed from the reserve list, other than in exceptional circumstances.

Those on the reserve list may also be approached for similar roles at a lower grade. If you are offered a role at a lower grade and choose to decline, you can remain on the reserve list.

Internal Fraud Database Check

Candidates cannot apply to roles in the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

Successful candidates will be subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database. This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This also applies to those who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the database will be refused employment.

National Security Vetting

Everyone working with government assets must complete Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks. Additionally, successful candidates will be subject to National Security Vetting. The level of security vetting required for this role is Security Check (SC).

To allow for meaningful checks to be carried out, applicants will need to have lived in the UK for at least 3 out of the past 5 years. You will be asked to provide residency information within your application form, and eligibility for national security vetting will be checked once the advert closing date has passed. In certain circumstances, for example if you have been working abroad on a government posting, a lack of residency would not be a bar to security clearance however the Department will need to consider eligibility on a case-by-case basis once the advert closing date has passed.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a 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 : jon loveday
• Email : jon.loveday@nista.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : hrrecruitment@hmtreasury.gov.uk

Further information

Complaints Process: Our recruitment process is underpinned by the principle of appointment based on fair and open competition and appointment on merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should in the first instance contact HMT by email at: hrrecruitment@hmtreasury.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission, which regulates all Civil Service recruitment.

Attachments

458115 - Project Delivery Advisder - Role Profile Opens in new window (pdf, 2505kB)HM Treasury Guidance on Pay 2024 Opens in new window (pdf, 74kB)