Project Manager

Job summary

We are looking for adaptable Project Managers to lead high-impact digital, regulatory, operational, transformation and service improvement projects. Working within a strategic priority team, you will turn objectives into effective delivery and achieve measurable outcomes through multidisciplinary teams.

Job description

You will:

• Lead projects from planning to implementation, delivering agreed scope, timescales, budgets and outcomes.

• Develop practical project plans and manage progress, risks, issues, dependencies and opportunities.

• Bring together specialists from across policy, regulatory, operational, legal, communications, digital, data and delivery.

• Provide assurance and reporting to project and programme boards to support timely and informed decisions.

• Build effective relationships and use influencing and negotiation skills to keep delivery on track.

• Support change, communications, learning and engagement to embed outcomes and realise benefits.

• Coach project teams, facilitate lessons learned and strengthen delivery practice across the ICO.

You will use digital tools and select the most appropriate delivery approach for each project, whether Agile, waterfall, hybrid or iterative.

This is an opportunity to deliver projects that support the ICO’s priorities, influence how change is delivered and promote collaboration, learning and continuous improvement.

You will have experience relevant to the role responsibilities and person specification and accumulated through any combination of academic or vocational qualification or experience.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the independent regulator of information rights. In a data-driven world, we provide advice, guidance, and support to organisations enabling compliance with their obligations, as well as protecting individuals and their personal data.

As an employer, we are passionate about making a positive difference to the lives and careers of our people, and we empower you to be curious, impactful, collaborative and respectful.

Person specification

Essential criteria assessed at application stage:

• Experience of managing and delivering projects in public or private sector environments.
• Evidence of successful implementation of projects that deliver strategic value across varied domains including digital, data, regulatory, and transformational workstreams (also assessed at interview).
• Proficiency in Microsoft 365 applications.
• Ability to deliver projects under strategic oversight, working in partnership with the Programme Manager or Digital Programme Manager to ensure alignment with organisational priorities (also assessed at interview).
• Demonstrated leadership in managing project teams, with experience in coaching, mentoring, and developing capability across a matrix environment (also assessed at interview).
• Strong stakeholder engagement and influencing skills, with the ability to represent project interests across governance forums and enable effective decision-making (also assessed at interview).
• Commitment to continuous improvement, with experience in leading lessons learned exercises and embedding findings into delivery practice (also assessed at interview).
• Regulatory or public policy knowledge is desirable but not essential where the candidate can demonstrate the ability to learn the context and operate effectively with specialist colleagues.

Essential criteria assessed during interview:

• Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to negotiate and to build and maintain good working relationships both internally and externally, up to and including senior management level.
• Knowledge of project and delivery methodologies and the ability to select and apply the most appropriate approach (e.g. agile, waterfall, hybrid or iterative approaches) based on the nature of the work.
• Understanding of portfolio governance and project assurance, with the ability to contribute to reporting and decision-making processes.
• Excellent judgement and the ability to deal with a changing environment both on a day-to-day and long-term basis.
• Ability to operate effectively within a regulatory, policy, operational or transformation environment and quickly develop sufficient understanding of the relevant context to support successful project delivery.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £44,297, Information Commissioner's Office contributes £12,832 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).Please visit ico.jobs for full details, including salary and benefits.

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

Equality, diversity, and inclusion

The ICO is committed to promoting and enhancing equality, diversity, and inclusion. We are focused on developing a workforce that is representative of the communities we serve and together we are building an inclusive workplace where all of our colleagues have the opportunity to make a real difference. We are championing this through our Equality Diversity and Inclusion Board together with a number of staff networks. Read more about our commitment on our website.

Candidates with a disability who meet the minimum criteria for this vacancy will be invited to interview as part of the ICO’s commitment to the Disability Confident Scheme.

If you are disabled or have an impairment and require an alternative application method, please email the HR team at recruitment@ico.org.uk .

Closing Date

Please submit your CV and cover letter by 23:59 Sunday 22 November. Your cover letter should be no more than 1,000 words and should clearly demonstrate how you meet the essential criteria for the role.

We may close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications. To ensure your application is considered, we encourage you to apply as soon as possible. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your application, please contact us at recruitment@ico.org.uk.

In the event of a high volume of applications, we may not be able to invite all candidates who meet the minimum criteria to interview. However, we encourage you stay in touch and apply for future roles that match your interests.

All candidates who meet the minimum criteria and apply in-line with our guaranteed interview scheme for disabled and ethnic minority applicants will be interviewed.

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.

Medical

Successful candidates will be expected to have a medical.

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 : recruitment@ico.org.uk
• Email : recruitment@ico.org.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : recruitment@ico.org.uk