Senior Project Manager

Do you excel at delivering complex projects in fast-paced environments?

Have you successfully led project teams through change and transformation?

Would you thrive in a role driving digital transformation and delivering meaningful change at scale?

If so, wed love to hear from you!

This is an exciting time to join the Digital, Information and Security Directorate within the Department for Transport as we restructure our directorate to ensure we are ready for future challenges, building a more sustainable, skilled and in-house capability.

Lead project delivery. Drive transformation. Make a lasting impact.

Join us as a Senior Project Manager and oversee the delivery of high-profile digital projects, bringing together people, technology and innovation to deliver meaningful change across the Department for Transport.

Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here

• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays a privilege day for the Kings birthday

• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Read more in the Benefits section below!

Find out more about what it's like working at Project Delivery - Department for Transport Careers

As a Senior Project Manager, you will lead the delivery of complex, high-risk digital projects that support business, policy and operational priorities across the Department for Transport. Working within the Create Service Line, you will oversee projects through their full lifecycle, ensuring they are delivered to agreed time, cost and quality objectives while maintaining strong governance and stakeholder engagement.

You will provide leadership to multidisciplinary project teams, creating a clear project vision and enabling teams to perform at their best. Working closely with senior stakeholders, suppliers and delivery partners, you will manage risks, dependencies and resources, ensuring informed decision-making and successful outcomes.

Using data and insight to monitor progress and forecast performance, you will identify opportunities, address emerging challenges and drive continuous improvement throughout the delivery lifecycle. You will also play a key role in strengthening project management capability through coaching, mentoring and sharing best practice.

This is an exciting opportunity to lead business-critical digital initiatives, influence strategic delivery decisions and help shape the future of digital services across DfT.

Your responsibilities will include, but arent limited to:

• Providing daily management and effective leadership of the projects and project teams.
• Designing the project structure suitable for each stage, establish project controls, selecting appropriate delivery methodologies, and managing transitions between project phases.
• Identifying and managing stakeholder relationships, ensuring necessary senior-level support. Manage relationships with DfT and the agencies stakeholders appropriately.
• Identifying and monitoring project risks and issues, develop mitigating actions and escalation routes.
• Identifying and outlining project benefits throughout the project into operational use.
• Collaborating with related stakeholders to manage interdependencies.

For further information on the role, please read the role profile. Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - whilst all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.

To be successful in this role you will need to have the following experience:

• Experience of leading on a project or programme, in a fast paced complex environment with multiple organisations.
• Proven track record of successful end-to-end delivery of projects and managing project teams.
• Extensive knowledge of risks and issues management, planning how to mitigate or respond to those risks and issues and implementing the responses.
• The ability to clearly define roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities and establish controls and approval routes appropriate to each stage of the work to monitor progress and compliance.
• Experience of confidently engaging with internal and external stakeholders at all levels to generate commitment to project or programme outcomes, and to build trust to deliver at pace.
• The ability to identify and outline the project benefits throughout the project lifecycle into operational use.
• Experience of working in different project methodologies including an agile environment or strong knowledge of agile working practices.

Essential qualifications:

• PRINCE2 Practitioner
• Management of Risk Practitioner
• Benefits Management Foundation
• APM Project Management Qualification Practitioner
• Managing Successful Programmes
• APM Chartered Project Professional
• Project Leadership Programme (PLP)
• Managing Projects and Leading Workstreams
• GOST practitioner level or working towards this
• Experience of working in an agile environment or strong knowledge of agile working practices.

The successful candidate must either hold or be willing to work towards the Government Project Delivery Accreditation once in role.

You will be required to provide evidence that you hold any essential qualifications at some point during the recruitment process. If you cannot provide evidence, your application will be withdrawn.

Working hours, office attendance and travel requirements

Full time roles consist of 37 hours per week.

Whilst we welcome applications from those looking to work with us on a part time basis, there is a business requirement for the successful candidate to be able to work at least 30 hours per week.

Occasional travel to other offices will be required, which may involve overnight stays. 

This role is suitable for hybrid working, which is a non-contractual arrangement where a combination of workplace and home-based working can be accommodated subject to business requirements.

The expectation at present is a minimum of 60% of your working time a month will be spent at either your designated workplace (one of the locations cited in the advert) or, when required for business reasons, in another office/work location/visiting stakeholders. Your designated workplace will be your contractual place of work. There may be occasions where you are required to attend above the minimum expectation.

If you have a question about hybrid working, part time/job share hours, flexible working, travelling for work, or require a reasonable adjustment, please contact the Vacancy Holder during the recruitment process to avoid possible disappointment later in the process should your working arrangements not be compatible with the requirements of the role (see below for contact details).

Visa Sponsorship

DfTc does not offer Visa Sponsorship for this role.