Portfolio Manager

Job description

Working on some of the department’s biggest and most fulfilling programmes, which support young people aged 11-18 or up to 25 with additional needs, we are seeking motivated people with a solid track-record of project delivery under pressure. We are seeking an experienced portfolio manager who can oversee a portfolio of ambitious youth capital projects, demonstrate leadership across a range of stakeholders and provide assurance across the entire portfolio through governance, reporting and management information. This role sits within the new Youth Capital Portfolio Management Office (PfMO). The PfMO will support and assure the following programmes and projects:

• Completion of Phase 2 of the Youth Investment Fund Programme, overseeing its remaining construction and benefits realisation activities.  This forms part of the Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP);
• MMC Project - Delivery of circa 25 additional youth centres using modern methods of construction approaches;
• Establishing a new capital investment programme for small-scale refurbishments and equipment known as the Better Youth Spaces Programme;
• Other programmes and projects which may result from the Government’s recently announced Youth Strategy.

Person specification

The ideal candidate would have the following key skills and experience: 

Essential requirements:

• Governance and reporting – Experience of managing the establishment of clear governance frameworks and reporting regimes aligned to Management of Portfolios best practice and including analysis.
• Business cases and assurance – Experience of managing the work with project teams to coordinate business case development ensuring appropriate specialist input and timely approvals.
• Planning, scheduling and resourcing – Experience of managing the maintenance of portfolio delivery maps and critical paths to monitor project progress. Experience of recognising and tracking interdependencies and the development of resourcing strategies. 
• Benefits management – Experience of managing the support for programmes and projects to develop mechanisms for measuring benefits. Experience of leading the establishment of ownership and responsibility for benefit realisation.

Desirable requirements: 

• An understanding of commercial, procurement, grants and/or construction processes
• One or more of the following qualifications.  Given they are desirable, please do not be deterred from applying even if you don't have the following qualifications: Management of Portfolios, APM Chartered Project Professional (ChPP), APM Project Professional Qualification (PPQ), APM Project Management Qualification (PMQ), PRINCE2, Managing Successful Programmes, Management of Risk. For existing civil servants: Project Leadership Programme

We are running an information session where prospective applicants can find out more about the role. This will be hosted by Jamie Williams, Deputy Director for the Youth Capital Portfolio Team, and will take place on:

• Tuesday 7 January 12:00 - 13:00 

The session will be an opportunity to hear more about the role, the team and wider directorate and the department. It will also be an opportunity for you to ask any questions.

Please register your interest by filling the Registration form on the website, latest by 16:00 on Monday 6 January, and you will be sent an invitation. 

Please note that the session will not focus on the DCMS recruitment process - please direct any queries that you have on this topic (timelines, reasonable adjustments, onboarding, etc.) to recruitment.team@dcms.gov.uk