Project Manager

Job summary

Project management lies at the heart of so much of our success at the Animal and Plant Health Agency.

Are you highly organised with excellent communication skills?

Are you an experienced Project manager with a can-do attitude?

If so, we would love to hear from you!

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is a brilliant place to work where our people feel valued, have a voice and can be their authentic selves. We value difference and diversity, because it helps us be more innovative and make better decisions.

We are dedicated to being an inclusive employer, offering equitable opportunities for all individuals. Our goal is to build a diverse workforce, and we hope to attract applications from all backgrounds and underrepresented groups.

Job description

We are delighted to offer seven exciting opportunities for SEO Project Managers to join our team.

As a Project Manager, you will lead projects of moderate complexity, managing day‑to‑day delivery and guiding your project team to achieve clear, measurable outcomes. You will be responsible for driving progress, ensuring objectives are met within agreed time, cost and quality parameters, and maintaining strong project governance throughout. Working closely with stakeholders across the organisation, you will play a key role in ensuring successful delivery, shaping project direction, and enabling the realisation of benefits that support APHA’s strategic priorities.

Borders and Trade Programme

These roles sit within APHA’s Borders and Trade Programme, which is preparing the organisation for changes arising from the UK and the EU’s commitment to pursue a new Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement. The programme supports EU reset activity by delivering changes to systems, processes and ways of working as negotiations progress. You will work under the direction of Programme Managers to deliver work that enables the safe trade and movement of animals, plants and agrifood products, whilst upholding high standards of biosecurity and food safety.

The role involves a wide range of work including, but not limited to, the following:

Project Leadership & Delivery

Lead the project on a day‑to‑day basis, setting clear direction, providing guidance and coaching to the team and ensuring delivery remains focused on agreed objectives through the use of appropriate delivery approaches and ways of working.

Project Planning, Controls & Performance

Develop and maintain robust delivery plans, track performance against milestones. Apply proportionate controls to manage progress, inform decision making and maintain delivery to time, cost and quality.

Budget and Resourcing

Oversee project budgets and resource planning, ensuring financial tracking is accurate and resources are effectively deployed to meet delivery requirements across the project lifecycle.

Risks, Issues & Dependencies

Identify, assess and actively manage risks, issues and dependencies, implementing mitigations and escalating where needed to maintain progress and support informed decision making.

Governance, Assurance & Reporting

Operate within established governance frameworks, applying agreed standards and processes, and produce clear, timely reporting to provide assurance and enable effective oversight and decision making.

Stakeholder Management

Identify and engage key stakeholders, building effective relationships, managing expectations and communicating progress, risks and decisions clearly throughout delivery.

Benefits Realisation

Support the delivery of agreed outcomes by working with stakeholders to track benefits, ensure alignment to objectives and identify risks to realisation.

Continuous Improvement

Drive continuous improvement by identifying opportunities to enhance delivery practices, capturing lessons learned and embedding good practice across projects.

Person specification

The following experience is required for the role:

• Project delivery expertise — Demonstrated ability to deliver projects successfully, including defining objectives, planning and coordinating activity, and managing delivery within agreed time, cost and quality constraints to achieve measurable outcomes.

• Strong project leadership — Proven experience providing day‑to‑day leadership, establishing proportionate project controls, designing effective project structures, selecting suitable delivery methodologies, and leading multidisciplinary teams to deliver agreed objectives.

• Risk, issue and dependency management — Ability to identify, assess and monitor risks, issues and dependencies; implement effective mitigation; and escalate appropriately to enable timely, informed decision‑making.

• Governance, reporting and assurance — Experience operating robust project governance, producing high‑quality reports, enabling decision‑making at the right level, and ensuring appropriate assurance throughout the project lifecycle.

• Communication and stakeholder engagement — Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to build strong working relationships, engage stakeholders effectively, and manage change through clear communication and agreed change‑control processes.

• Leading cultural and organisational change — Ability to plan, lead and embed positive cultural change to realise benefits, securing commitment to a shared vision, recognising when wider organisational change is required, and ensuring intended benefits are clearly identified, owned and delivered.

Qualifications

A recognised portfolio, programme or project management qualification (e.g., APM PFQ/PMQ, PRINCE2, MSP or MoP), or relevant experience, with a willingness to work towards a qualification.

Behaviours

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Changing and Improving
• Leadership
• Delivering at Pace

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

• Communicating and Influencing

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £42,665, Animal and Plant Health Agency contributes £12,360 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).

Further benefits offered also include:

• A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by 1 day per year up to a maximum of 30.

• An extensive range of learning & professional development opportunities tailored to your role.

• Access to a range of retail, travel and lifestyle employee discounts.

• Staff bonuses and recognition, salary sacrifice benefit options, and an employee discount scheme.

• Three days special leave with pay, per year, for volunteering (pro-rata for part time employees).

• Making it work for you - With so many flexible options, most people can find a work schedule to suit their circumstances.

These are just a few of our benefits we offer. To find out the full range of what we offer refer to the Information Pack attached for more detail.

Learning and Development

Everyone in APHA is supported to develop their skills and capabilities. When you join the Directorate, you will be welcomed into your new team through an induction programme that will provide you with helpful information on the civil service, our work and our policies. Your line manager will also work with you to establish your priorities for the year, developing a performance, learning and development plan tailored to you and your role.

In return for your dedication, we will support your ongoing personal development through appropriate training. Inclusion, support and the development of our people matter to us. We aim to support the career and personal wellbeing of everyone in APHA.

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.

Stage 1

Application Process

After submission of the first stage of your application you will be invited to complete a Civil Service Verbal Test. If you successfully pass the test, you will be invited to complete the final stage of the application.

Please complete the online tests as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours is recommended), the closing date for the tests is 23:55 on 13th August 2026. If you fail to complete the online test before the deadline your application will be withdrawn. Guidance for the test will be available when you are invited to take the test. The tests are administered online and accessed via the CS Jobs website.

Do not leave completing the tests until the last minute in case you experience any access or technical issues. There may not be technical support available after business hours and after 2pm on the closing date of 13th August 2026.

While the tests should work on most operating systems and modern browsers with a good internet connection, we cannot guarantee that every combination will work. At the beginning, the test will check which browser you are using, and alert you if it is likely to be incompatible.

It is highly recommended that you complete the online tests on a desktop computer, not a mobile phone or tablet.

Please note that online tests associated with this vacancy are not subject to time limits; for further information visit the Reasonable adjustments for online tests - a candidate guide

You will be directed to the Talogy - True Talent – Scheduled Maintenance Window Webpage for online tests during an outage.

Our online test supplier will be performing scheduled maintenance between 3 p.m. and Midnight on 2nd August 2026. You will be unable to access tests during this period.

If you are in the middle of a test when the maintenance begins, your progress will be paused. You will be able to resume your test from where you left off via your application centre once the downtime has ended. Please note that you will not be able to launch any new tests while the system is offline.

You will also be required to complete the following as part of your application:

• A CV submitted through an on-line tool accessed through the Civil Service Jobsite; there is no requirement to upload your personal CV.

• A 750 word Personal Statement.

• A Behaviour statement of 250-words for the lead Behaviour, Communicating & Influencing following the Behaviour criteria outlined in the Success Profiles: Civil Service behaviours - GOV.UK framework for the grade of the role.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

CV Guidance

Your CV should consist of your career history, including any key achievements and your main responsibilities in each role and be no longer than 2 pages. Your CV will be used to provide further context on your Personal Statement. The CV will not be scored but can be used to support your application.

Personal Statement Guidance

When completing your Personal Statement, please read and understand the Person Specification and Job Description thoroughly, as this is what your written evidence will be assessed against. Please ensure you evidence the key personal qualities and experiences that align with the criteria. Consider the person specification and Job Description and look to demonstrate how your previous experience may align with the expectations and be applicable to the role. The written evidence you provide must relate to your own experiences. Your layout is entirely your preference; you may choose narrative, bullets, etc.

We encourage you to use the full word allowance of the Personal Statement but not to exceed.

You may choose to address each criteria separately, however, one narrative example may cover and evidence several criteria.

Should a high volume of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the Lead behaviour - Communicating & influencing. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift and/or progressed straight to interview.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

For further guidance and information on how to construct your application (CV, Personal Statement and Behaviours), you are encouraged to visit the Civil Service Careers website. How to write your CV , Civil Service Careers

Stage 2

Preparing for the interview

During the interview you will be assessed based on:

• Your previous experiences relevant to the role requirements outlined in the advert following the Success Profiles: Experience - GOV.UK framework.
• The Behaviours specified in the Job Advert, following the Behaviour criteria outlined in the Success Profiles: Civil Service Behaviours - GOV.UK framework for SEO positions.
• A selection of Strength based questions related to the role requirements. Following the Success Profiles: Strengths - GOV.UK framework. There is no expectation or requirement for you to prepare for the strengths-based questions in advance of the interview, though you may find it helpful to spend some time reflecting on what you enjoy doing and what you do well.

If you are selected for interview, you will receive an electronic notification to your Civil Service Jobs account.

Upon receiving the interview invitation, please log into the system to schedule your interview slot in advance.

Your interview will be conducted via MS Teams, and a link will be provided in your interview invitation.

The interview

The interview will follow a blended approach and will last approximately 45 minutes.

A blended interview aims to be more of a conversation at interview, offering a more inclusive approach.

The Strength and Behaviour based questioning explores what the candidate can and has done, but also their potential.

Behavioural questions will explore what you have done in previous jobs or experiences as well as what you have achieved and/or learned.

Strength questions will explore what you enjoy and your motivations relevant to the job role.

This is an example of a strengths-based question:

“It is often said that the customer's needs should come first. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?”

After the interview

Once all the interviews have been conducted, candidates will be notified of the outcome by email. If you are successful at the interview stage, we will be in touch to offer you a role. Offers will be made in merit order.

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

Eligibility

Please take extra care to tick the correct boxes in the eligibility sections of your application form. We understand mistakes sometimes happen but if you contact us later than two working days (Monday-Friday) before the vacancy closes, we will not be able to reopen your application for you. If you do make a mistake, please contact us via: recruitment.sdd@apha.gov.uk using the subject line to insert appropriate wording for example – ‘Please re-open my application – [insert vacancy ref] & vacancy closing date [insert date]’

Reserve List

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

Near Miss

Candidates who are judged to be a near miss at interview may be considered for other positions in Defra which may be at a lower grade but have a potential skills match.

Merit Lists

Candidates will be posted in merit order.

The highest scoring candidate will be given the longest FTA post.

Loan and Fixed Term Appointments

Existing Civil Servants and applicants from accredited NDPBs are eligible to apply but will only be considered on loan basis (Civil Servants) or secondment (accredited NDPBs). Prior agreement to be released on a loan basis must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant. This includes grade on return.

This is a Fixed-term Appointment as a Project manager on APHA’s Borders and Trade Programme because, the post is not permanent. It is time limited due to a fixed funding period or as part of a specific project. The fixed-term will end when the funding or the project expires.

Your responsibilities will include those shown on the Responsibilities section of the advert. This post will therefore begin from the agreed start date and end on 1 x 18 Month & 6 x 30/09/2027.

Salary

New entrants to the Civil Service are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band.

Location

The post holder must work from one of the locations listed in the Location section of the advert.

Please be aware that this role(s) will be contractually based in a Defra group workplace/office. The successful candidate is required to carry out all their duties from a UK location (excluding Northern Ireland) and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time.

For most candidates your hours of work will be a blend of working from an APHA workplace (specific to the team location) with working at home.

As part of the pre-employment process for this post, successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. The agreed contractual workplace is then the substantive and permanent place of work for the successful candidate(s).

Where the location is ‘National’ the successful appointee should discuss and agree an appropriate contractual location in line with both Defra’s location policy and site capacity, prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.

The agreed amount of time spent at a workplace for this post will reflect the requirement for Civil Servants to spend at least 60% of their working time in an organisation workplace with the option to work the remaining time flexibly from home. Working time spent at a workplace may include time spent at other organisation allocations including field-based operational locations, together with supplier, customer or partner locations. This is a non-contractual agreement which is consistent with common Civil Service expectations. Travel costs to non-contractual workplaces will be subject to departmental travel and subsistence policies.

Travel costs to contractual workplaces are the responsibility of the employee. The successful candidate is required to carry out all their duties from a UK location and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time.

Defra includes the core department, APHA, RPA, Cefas and VMD.

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 Government Recruitment Service via defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as 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.

Accessibility

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Criminal Record Check

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/ Disclosure Scotland on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email Info@disclosurescotland.co.uk

Internal Fraud Database Check

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.

Childcare Vouchers

Any move to DEFRA from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

Visa Sponsorship Statement

Please take note that Defra does not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker License sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship.

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.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.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 : Recruitment Team
• Email : recruitment.sdd@apha.gov.uk

Recruitment team

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

Attachments

APHA Information Pack Nov 25 Opens in new window (pdf, 1869kB)