About the job

Summary

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is an executive agency of the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), delivering over £2 billion in payments to farmers, traders and landowners each year.

Further information on the range of schemes we deliver can be found on the Rural Payments Agency website.

The RPA is in an exciting period of transition, as schemes move from primarily EU programmes to UK funding. This is a great time to join and lead a dynamic, forward thinking delivery team.

The Central Gatekeeper, Co-Ordination and Change Team help drive delivery, change & improvements within the Agricultural Transition Directorate. Serving circa 1000 people and working with and across several high-profile directorates we’re at the centre of operational delivery. The team is the ideal area to shape your career, providing vast opportunities for learning and development.

This role offers an opportunity to really make a difference in terms of business delivery by building continuous improvement capability into our operational teams and working collaboratively with others to find innovative solutions and make improvements.

Being uniquely positioned to collaborate and work with people at all levels across the agency our delivery partners in Natural England and Forestry Commission and wider Defra, this exciting and challenging role requires a candidate that can confidently deliver a quality service; through working at pace to meet tight deadlines.

The successful candidate will be at the forefront of delivering and supporting a range of processes and products, and ensuring any changes introduced fully support our customers and people. This role will have responsibility for carrying out a range/blend of activities within that remit. Every day can present a different challenge.

It will suit an organised self-starter with strong analytical skills and a keen focus on better outcomes for our customers and people.

You will need to be confident in effectively challenging others using data and evidence whilst being receptive to new ideas and ways of working.

The ideal candidate will have a 'can-do' attitude to solving problems.

Job description

The successful candidate will be fluent at:

• Quickly developing an understanding of relevant processes and required performance outcomes alongside their importance for our people and customers.

• Being visible and a go-to person within our team, instilling business excellence by challenging the norm, identifying where we can change and improve our end-to-end processes working with our people to champion improvements driving efficiency and delivery of great customer service.

• Providing clear direction and be willing to share knowledge providing support to Product Leads and other team members.

• Effectively managing all assigned tasks through to completion in line with agreed deadlines. Identifying risks and mitigation considering long term impacts and changes to deliverables.

• Have a leading role & responsibility for carrying out a unique range/blend of the activities in supporting our operational teams by delivering and supporting a range of processes and products.

• Leading and communicating, working collaboratively with others to ensure that business requirements are clear so that any changes being introduced fully support customers and our people. Where necessary assessing and mitigating impacts and monitoring/reporting on volumes and future impacts.

• Effectively engaging with a wide range of stakeholders, often at senior levels and across the business; building strong relationships and networks, positively impacting and influencing decision making and leading the successful resolution to problems, delivery of change and continuous improvement activity.

• Confidently leading and facilitating meetings and workshops using problem solving tools and techniques.

• Ensuring new change is rolled out successfully and embedded. Being able to support people through controlled rollout and continued post-live support.

• Using technical expertise to support the delivery of both ‘business as usual’ and ‘key business’ events, assuring accuracy of data, analysing and identifying innovative solutions to resolve issues where necessary.

• Be expected to work flexibly in providing support across the team.

• There may be an opportunity to manage and support a small team of HEO Operational Analysts and/or EO’s.

• The successful applicant may be required to undertake occasional travel to other sites and occasional overnight stays.

Responsibilities

Essential skills and experience;

• Ability to prioritise workloads for themselves and others delivering products at pace, to the required quality standard within a changing environment.

• Ability to identify and influence stakeholders and build and maintain strong relationships and networks with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders across RPA and Defra group.

• Experience of working effectively and collaboratively to lead and implement change and continuous improvement.

• Strong interpersonal skills and a proven ability to communicate clearly.

• Strong organisational skills with the ability to prioritise work making effective decisions, being flexible and resilient in an often ambiguous and changing environment.

• Experience in operational delivery and change management.

Behaviours

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

• Changing and Improving
• Managing a Quality Service
• Leadership
• Making Effective Decisions

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

• Changing and Improving

Benefits

• Learning and development tailored to your role

• An environment with flexible working options

• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity

• A Civil Service pension