Project Support Officer

Job summary

Are youready to play a key role in transforming services for over 250,000 civil servants?

Do you thrive on organisation, problem-solving, and making things happen?

Want to be at the heart of a programme delivering critical Human Resources (HR), Finance, and Commercial tools?

If so, this could be the perfect job for you

This role represents an exciting opportunity to be at the forefront of change, contributing to the delivery of a programme that will affect over 250,000 civil servants, providing business critical tools in HR, Finance, and Commercial functions.

The Synergy programme will develop a Common Operating Model across functions and departments, implement a new technology platform to replace Single Operating Platform (SOP), a new Business Process Service contract to replace the current SSCL (Shared Services Connected Limited) agreement, and stand up a new cluster-level Shared Service Organisation.

The Project Support Officers will enable the smooth running of the programme by supporting the Project Management Office (PMO) or the project managers and programme managers in one of the wider Synergy Team areas, through the operation of project management processes, and the co-ordination of business management actions and activities on their behalf.

Job description

This role is aligned to the Project Support Officer 2 standard in the Project Delivery Capability Framework (pages 202-203), 6.7775_IPA_Project Delivery Capability Framework 2021. This Capability Framework is provided as guidance to help you understand the skills and behaviours we value. You do not need to meet all the criteria listed in this document to apply.

If joining the PMO Team precise responsibilities will be flexible, but we expect the post holder will:

• Lead on resourcing for the programme team. Monitor resources, write job specifications, complete Eploy forms and assist on other recruitment tasks as needed. Support work by managers on resourcing strategy.
• Lead the rollout of timesheet recording by staff across Synergy@Defra and work with Management Accounts colleagues to drive compliance so it aligns for resource forecasts to Synergy Finance team in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Develop relationships with the Management Accounting Team, Finance business partners and Central Synergy Finance.
• Line manage the programme team Executive Officer (EO), including supervision of their work on information management, financial administration, management of team contracts, and coordination of workshops and commissions from the central Synergy team.
• Support the team as needed on the production of reports, project plans, and other documentation. Secure updates from action owners on risks, issues and commissions.
• Support financial controls by monitoring project spend and contribute to the compilation of budgets and the development of the business case.
• Support the coordination of actions and products for multiple governance forums.
• Contribute as required to other team needs as those emerge.

If joining one of the wider teams – Finance & Commercial / Digital & Data / HR / or Change, precise responsibilities will be flexible, but we expect the post holder will:

• Action tracking/monitoring – Ensuring Synergy functional/change programme actions are captured and effectively managed using appropriately tools i.e. MS planner. This includes keeping team members task oriented to complete activities to deadlines and problem solving to remove blockers as required.
• Monitoring and Reporting – Supporting with reporting on the functional/change Synergy programme and its constituent projects. Prepare performance reports, presenting statistics and key information.
• RAID Management – Supporting the management of Synergy functional/change programme risks, issues, assumptions, and dependencies, working with project managers/programme managers and escalating as appropriate.
• Planning and Scheduling – Supporting with effective planning and scheduling. Working with programme and project teams to review and develop plans for route to green.
• Project Management – Supporting project delivery activities such as business readiness.

Please note this role can be based at any Defra office, where there is capacity. Travel to other sites and overnight stays may be required for meetings or training events.

Person specification

This role is suitable for an individual with appropriate skills gained in a non-project environment. It is also suitable as an entry-level position for a project delivery professional with qualifications.

Essential Criteria

• Experience supporting complex projects and programmes with a strong background in programme support and/or administration which is imperative to the success of this role.
• Very strong organisational skills, and able to navigate programme structures to deliver quality outputs.
• A high degree of proactivity and problem-solving skills, demonstrating initiative to operate autonomously.
• An ability to manage a large number of issues, workstreams and initiatives concurrently and be able to track things over the line to completion in a timely manner, including when they are being delivered through others.
• Experience of building and maintaining effective relationships at all levels and across a broad range of stakeholder groups using a variety of channels to get the best results.
• An ability to digest a wide range of information; handling both quantitative and qualitative evidence to provide relevant and nuanced recommendations for senior stakeholders.
• Strong written and oral communication skills, with the ability to communicate an issue in a succinct manner and provide tactful, assertive and credible advice.

Lead technical competencies:

• Quality Management
• Change control
• Knowledge management

Behaviours

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Changing and Improving
• Working Together

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £34,765, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs contributes £10,071 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Infobite: Benefits of the alpha pension scheme (youtube.com)

Flexi Time Policy - Our Flexi-time policy allows you to vary your hours from day to day, within the requirements of your role, to suit your needs and to offer a better work/life balance.

Leave - If you work full time at Defra you are entitled to 25 days’ leave (rising, over 5 years, to 30 days’). If you work part time it will be pro-rated.

Privilege day - You are also entitled to a privilege day off in May to mark the King’s birthday (date varies), plus time off for the 8 public holidays a year.

Career breaks - We recognise that your work-life balance can extend beyond the short-term to the longer-term, and to support this you are able to apply for career breaks. These are unpaid extended breaks from work, granted at the discretion of the department.

Volunteering leave - 3 days paid volunteering leave every year (pro-rata). Once you have passed probation.

Season ticket loan – for an interest free season ticket loan, if you have worked within the Defra for more than three months. This can be used to purchase train and bus season tickets, as well as station car parking.

Tenancy deposit loan – for an interest free loan, to assist you in meeting the deposit costs for your privately rented home.

Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) scheme – Since the closure to new entrants of the employer childcare voucher scheme, the government introduced the Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) scheme. In this scheme, working parents open an online childcare account and for every £8 they pay in, the government adds £2, up to a maximum of £2,000 a year for each child or £4,000 for a disabled child. Parents then use the funds to pay for registered childcare.

Support to buy a bicycle – we run two schemes that can help you buy a bicycle for your commute:

1. The Cycle to Work Scheme –you can apply for a bicycle for your commute, up to the value of £6,000, which is recovered from you through salary sacrifice, as a tax-free benefit. At the end of the repayment period, you have the option to buy the bike if you wish, saving around 30% of the original cost.
2. Bike loan – if you are not eligible to apply for the Cycle to Work Scheme, you can apply for a loan of up to £1,000 towards the cost of a bike using the Bike loan Scheme. This however is not a salary sacrifice scheme.

High-street and online discounts - Offers through SmartSpending™ which is accessed through the STaR platform. Accessible 24/7, you can save at hundreds of top retailers.

Maternity leave, paternity leave and shared parental leave - We offer generous maternity leave, paternity leave and shared parental leave. You are entitled to up to 39 weeks of Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), if you meet the qualifying conditions. You are entitled to 26 weeks at full pay, with up to 13 weeks at reduced pay (statutory rate). Most partners are entitled to 15 days of paid paternity leave. Shared parental leave arrangements are in place, allowing parents to divide their leave with each other.

Professional Membership - Defra group will fund one professional membership for each permanent employee which is relevant to their role.

Eye care scheme - If you use a computer screen in connection with your job, we will pay for a regular eyesight test, and you may also be entitled to help towards purchasing new glasses, if they are needed for computer use.

The Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) is a free 24/7 confidential telephone advice service, available to all of our staff throughout the year.

Civil Service Sports Council - The opportunity to join the Civil Services Sports Council.

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.

Application Process

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV and personal statement. The CV should include your job history. In your personal statement please outline your suitability for the role, aligned specifically to the essential skills and experience criteria (in no more than 500 words).

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

Sift

Should a large number of applications be received, the initial sift may be conducted using your personal statement. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

Sifting will take place during the week commencing 2nd February 2026.

Interview

If successful at application stage, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed on behaviours and strengths.

Your interview will be conducted by video, on MS Teams.

Interviews are scheduled to take place during the week commencing 16th February 2026 but may be subject to change.

Near Miss Candidates

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

Location

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.

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).

Successful applicants currently employed by the hiring Defra organisation for this post may choose to remain in their current contractual location or may choose to change contractual location to one of those listed above. This should be discussed and agreed 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 organisational locations 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.

Please note this role can be based at any Defra office, where there is capacity. Travel to other sites and overnight stays may be required for meetings or training events.

Reserve List

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

Salary

New entrants to the Civil Service are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band. The internal roles rules apply to existing Civil Servants, i.e. level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive 10% increase. Either case is determined by whichever is the highest.

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 an 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.

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. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk.

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.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be 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 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.

All of these posts require the successful candidate to hold basic security clearance. Candidates posted to London may be subject to a higher level of clearance because of the security requirements for that location. Job offers to these posts are made on the basis of merit. Security vetting will only take place after the receipt of a job offer.

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

Please be aware the levels of national security clearance are changing which may impact on the level needed for this role by the time of appointment. All efforts will be made to keep candidates informed of any changes and what that will mean in terms of vetting criteria. For more information please See our vetting charter

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.

Feedback

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.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 : Rosie Tomlinson
• Email : rosie.tomlinson@defra.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