About the job

Summary

The Health and Care system, led by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), touches the lives of everyone in the country. DHSC is responsible for ensuring the system consistently delivers a high standard of care and secures the best possible value for money from over £120bn of taxpayer’s funds allocated by Parliament. One of the core objectives of DHSC is to ensure accountability of the health and care system, and to create an efficient and effective department. This is led by the Finance and Group Operations Group in DHSC. Within this the Capital & Investment directorate leads on Capital and Investment policy.

The work of our directorate is to ensure the healthcare system makes better use of capital investment, through:

• Delivery of the Government’s priority manifesto commitments, including the New Hospital Programme (NHP), 20 hospital upgrades and Public Finance Initiatives.

• Supporting the NHS with delivering on their investments for the future.

• Ensure the system spends within Capital budget set by Parliament.

The NHP Project Assurance Office (PAO) sits within the Capital Directorate, which brings together the policy, financial and project management experience to deliver the Government’s ambitious capital investment commitments and manage the wider policy agenda on the NHS estate. The formation of the NHP which is responsible for the Government’s manifesto commitment of delivering 40 new hospitals by 2030, has meant that we are now looking to expand the existing PAO team.

The PAO team is responsible for supporting governance, project management, programme controls, and reporting to the NHP Executive, DHSC, its Arm’s Length Bodies and the NHS. The team works closely with the Department’s financial and legal consultants and economic advisors as well as stakeholders across the whole group.

Job description

You will support the development of programme and project management frameworks and engage with key stakeholders at all levels to collaboratively identify and work through key issues across the NHP and wider portfolio.

The NHP is on the Government Major Project Portfolio (GMPP) and therefore subject to both programme and project level assurance reviews by the Infrastructure Project Authority (IPA).

Governance Manager

This is a key role that includes, but is not limited to, providing secretariat support, effective advice, guidance, review, and oversight. You will support the development and establishment of the governance structure for the New Hospital Programme (NHP) and provide the secretariat for its three main boards: the NHP Oversight Committee, chaired by the Minister of State for Health; the NHP Programme Board, chaired by the Senior Responsible Officer and the Executive Committee chaired by the Chief Programme Officer for NHP. You will feel comfortable working in a large and complex programme within a sensitive stakeholder environment. Proven experience of developing and implementing frameworks and governance structure within the civil service is essential.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for managing at least 1 HEO (and matrix management of EO admin support staff)

• Actively build and maintain a network of colleagues and contacts to achieve progress on shared objectives.

• Maintaining strong working relationships with Ministers, Private Offices, Senior Officials, and other Government Departments.

• Supporting the Governance Lead in ensuring all governance related activity is compliant and delivering as expected through an agreed audit plan.

• Provide the secretariat for the NHP Oversight Committee, NHP Programme Board and Executive Committee. Produce the agenda informed by the forward plan, the Chair’s brief, commission the papers from relevant policy leads, and produce a comprehensive meeting pack for each meeting, ensuring sufficient time is built into the process for all the required clearances. Draft minutes tailored to the needs of the board and produce an annual report for each Board. Proficient in Microsoft Suite. Strong attention to detail.

• Chair the weekly forward planning meeting with relevant Deputy Directors, Communications Leads and Policy officials to identify and capture priorities and decision for upcoming NHP Boards and wider capital delivery Ministerial meetings.

• Support and contribute to the review and development of the governance structure for the New Hospital Programme and Wider Capital Portfolio, including producing and reviewing terms of reference for the relevant NHP boards and committees and engaging with Minister’s private office and the NHP Executive Team to ensure they are fit for purpose.

• Provide support to key stakeholders to implement best practice models for other senior board within the NHP. Produce a “how to guide” on secretariat best practice and provide training sessions for colleagues.

• Work closely and build strong relationships with all key stakeholders and partners, including Ministerial and Permanent Secretary Private Offices, the NHP Executive Team both in DHSC and NHSE/I, and across the NHS.

• Provide ad-hoc support and lead on individual areas of responsibility.

• Strong organisational skills with a good eye for detail; including the ability to multi-task, set priorities and work to tight deadlines at pace.

• Good written communication skills with the ability to tailor for the relevant audience i.e. external stakeholders or Ministers.

• Ability and flexibility to work in a demanding and changing environment, under pressure and at pace.

Key skills and experience required for the role

• Experienced people manager, with the ability to manage complex stakeholder relationships.

• Knowledge and experience establishing and maintaining governance structure and frameworks within government.

• Proven project management / PAO experience within the Public or Private Sector working on projects that have a strong focus on governance, project controls and stakeholder management.

• Knowledge of working within project controls frameworks.

• Ability to manage effective engagement with external stakeholders, Senior Leaders, Ministers and SROs of projects.

Desirable for the role

• Experience of working on infrastructure, transformation and /or capital project would be an advantage but is not essential

• PPM qualification– including or equivalent to MSP, APM, MoR or Prince 2. We would support the successful applicant(s) to undertake a PPM qualification such as MSP, APM, MoR or Prince 2 when of joining the team if this is not already held.

Behaviours

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

• Changing and Improving
• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together

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

• Changing and Improving
• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing