Senior Portfolio Business Case Manager - London

The United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is a system leader for health security; taking action internationally to strengthen global health security, providing trusted advice to government and the public and reducing inequalities in the way different communities experience and are impacted by infectious disease, environmental hazards, and other threats to health.

UKHSA’s remit, as an agency with a global-to-local reach, is to protect the health of the nation from infectious diseases and other external threats to health. As the nation’s expert national health security agency UKHSA will:

• Prevent: anticipate threats to health and help build the nation’s readiness, defences and health security
• Detect: use cutting edge environmental and biological surveillance to proactively detect and monitor infectious diseases and threats to health
• Analyse: use world-class science and data analytics to assess and continually monitor threats to health, identifying how best to control and mitigate the risks
• Respond: take rapid, collaborative and effective actions nationally and locally to mitigate threats to health when they materialise
• Lead: lead strong and sustainable global, national, regional and local partnerships designed to save lives, protect the nation from public health threats and reduce inequalities.

Job overview

We are looking for a Senior Portfolio Business Case Manager to join the Central Portfolio Management Office (CPMO). The CPMO controls the diverse portfolio of programmes and projects across UKHSA; managing performance and risk, ensuring value for money, and focussing resources on the right things.

The successful candidate will join the Portfolio Governance, Investment and Assurance function. This area is responsible for the implementation of business case standards and associated processes, business case peer review and supporting investment committee decision making; thereby ensuring value for money and benefits management, independent assurance functions as well as the support for and management of the Performance and Operations Committee (POC).

The team are responsible for:

• Managing the Keyholder Process for business cases and provision of support and expert advice for business case authors, project leaders and SROs.
• Developing and maintaining Business Case Guidance for 5 case business cases, Training, Templates, Working Group and regular communications on business cases across UKHSA
• Assessing the desirability, affordability, and desirability of potential change projects, enabling the organisation to make informed and timely decisions.
• Supporting external assurance for significant programmes and projects within the portfolio; management of the distributed pool of UKHSA accredited assurance reviewers and supporting internal assurance.

Main duties of the job

As Senior Portfolio Business Case Manager, you will play an important role in bringing together the narrative, structure and plans for delivery, as laid out in a 5-case business case. Robust business cases help to justify the necessary investment in projects and programmes, and determine whether the project/programme is, and continues to be desirable, viable and achievable.

The successful candidate will lead and guide the development of business cases for major projects and programmes across the agency, ensuring alignment with organisational objectives and compliance with government standards.

This role is a government project delivery profession role and part of UKHSA’s project delivery resource model. It is aligned to the Project Delivery Capability Framework (PDCF) career pathway Business Case Manager 4.

Working for our organisation

We pride ourselves as being an employer of choice, where Everyone Matters promoting equality of opportunity to actively encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce.

UKHSA ethos is to be an inclusive organisation for all our staff and stakeholders. To create, nurture and sustain an inclusive culture, where differences drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our workforce and wider communities. We do this through celebrating and protecting differences by removing barriers and promoting equity and equality of opportunity for all.

Please visit our careers site for more information https://gov.uk/ukhsa/careers

We pride ourselves as being an employer of choice, where Everyone Matters promoting equality of opportunity to actively encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce.

UKHSA ethos is to be an inclusive organisation for all our staff and stakeholders. To create, nurture and sustain an inclusive culture, where differences drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our workforce and wider communities. We do this through celebrating and protecting differences by removing barriers and promoting equity and equality of opportunity for all.

Please visit our careers site for more information https://gov.uk/ukhsa/careers

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The main responsibilities for this role are as follows:

• Oversee the production of business cases, collaborating with stakeholders to identify and define business needs and project objectives, conducting cost-benefit analyses, risk assessments, and financial evaluations
• Responsible for ensuring the business case follows UKHSA and Treasury requirements and makes use of lessons learned from similar projects.
• Ensures that all relevant organisational factors for change are incorporated within a comprehensive business case, including clear rationale for preferred options.
• Develop guidance and provide expert advice to project teams on the requirements and development of the business case, using organisational templates and HMT 5 case model.
• Present business case rationale to senior leaders and governance boards.
• Work with key stakeholders to anticipate and mitigate issues and delays whilst engaging with senior leaders.
• Lead stakeholder engagement to identify, define and quantify benefits. Negotiating to agree the key benefits.
• Manage key stakeholder relationships to support the production of business cases, ensuring linkage with benefits realisation.
• Lead on adopting configuration management techniques to ensure the business case retains validity throughout the project lifecycle, updating sponsors as required.
• Be an active member of the UKHSA Project Delivery Profession Community.

Essential Criteria:

• Significant experience of drafting and developing project/programme business cases (lead criteria)
• An understanding of HMT 5 case model for business cases.
• Detailed understanding and experience of benefits management and governance in a project delivery environment.
• Working knowledge of budgeting and cost management, risk and issues management and business change and implementation in a project delivery environment.
• Excellent analytical and financial modelling skills, with a strong attention to detail.
• A visible leader with experience of challenging and negotiating at a senior level.
• Strong interpersonal skills, and the ability to develop effective relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, collaborating across boundaries.

Selection Process Details

Please note you will not be able to upload your CV. You must complete the application form in as much detail as possible. Please do not email us your CV

Stage 1: Application & Sift

Success profiles

This vacancy is using success profiles and will assess your behaviours, experience and technical skills. You will be required to complete an application form. You will be assessed on the above listed 7 essential criteria , and this will be in the form of a:

• Application form (‘Employer/ Activity history’ section on the application)
• 1000 word Statement of Suitability.

This should outline how your skills, experience, and knowledge, provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria.

The Application form and Statement of Suitability will be marked together.

Longlisting:

In the event of a large number of applications we will longlist into 3 piles of:

• Meets all essential criteria- including lead criteria (Significant experience of drafting and developing project/programme business cases)
• Meets some essential criteria but not lead criteria
• Meets no essential criteria

Only the first pile of meets all essential criteria will be taken through to sift

Shortlisting: In the event of a large number of applications we will shortlist on:

• Significant experience of drafting and developing project/programme business cases

If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to interview and assessment

Please do not exceed 1000 words. We will not consider any words over and above this number.

Feedback will not be provided at this stage.

Stage 2: Interview (success profiles)

You will be invited to a (single) remote interview.

Behaviours and Technical skills will be tested at interview.

The Behaviours tested during the interview stage will be:

• Leadership
• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing

Technical Skills:

Technical questioning – project delivery experience

Interviews are set to take place week commencing May 19^th

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Eligibility Criteria

Open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service (including by definition internal applicants).

Location

As a hybrid worker, you will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of your contractual working hours (approximately 3 days a week pro rata, (averaged over a month) working at one of UKHSA's core HQ’s (Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, and London) Our core HQ offices are modern and newly refurbished with excellent city centre transport link and benefit from benefit from co-location with other government departments such as the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC).

Security Clearance Level Requirement

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is Basic Personnel Security Standard.

Candidates who pass the interview criteria but are not offered a post will be kept on a reserve list for 12 months and may be contacted if similar roles become available.

Person specification

Statement of Suitability and Application Form

• Statement of Suitability and Application Form

Behaviours

• Leadership
• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing

Technical

• Technical

IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ

Your application may be rejected and/or you may be subject to disciplinary action if evidence of plagiarism is detected. Examples of plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by artificial intelligence (AI), as your own.

Applicants must also meet necessary security and vetting requirements, along with any other relevant pre-employment checks.

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

For more information on job nationality requirements and the right to work in the UK, see the Civil Service Nationality rules (opens in a new window) and the UK Visas and Immigration rules (opens in a new window)

Either case is determined by whichever is the highest.

The Civil Service pay structure and progression is different from NHS Agenda for Change (AfC), most local authority pay grades and other systems that have annual pay increments. For further details, please refer to the Information Sheet- Starting Salaries & Benefits attachment.

For AfC or Medical/Dental posts, you must have the correct professional registration to be appointed. The pay will follow the AfC or Medical & Dental terms & conditions. You may be asked to provide evidence of previous service whilst we are conducting pre-employment checks to determine your starting salary.

You cannot take the post up as a fixed term. If you are an existing UKHSA member of staff, you will take up the post as either a level transfer or a temporary promotion as per the UKHSA’s Pay policy.

Given the nature of the work of the UKHSA, as a Category 1 responder under the Civil Contingencies Act, you may be required in an emergency, if deemed a necessity, to redeploy to another role at short notice. You may also be required to work at any other location, within reasonable travelling distance of your permanent home address, in line with the provisions set out in your contract of employment.

Late Applications will unfortunately not be considered.

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 equality of opportunity. The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles.

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 UKHSA Public Accountability Unit via email: [email protected] If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website here.

Reserve List - If more than the required number of suitable candidates pass the interview criteria, you may be kept on a reserve list for 12 months subject to your agreement. You may be contacted, in merit-order, if similar roles with closely matching essential criteria become available and the department choose to appoint from a reserve list.

The panel will assess if candidates meet the requirement of the role first, using a specific benchmark system. If you are interviewed for the post and do not meet the required threshold for the specified grade, your application may be assessed against a similar, lower grade role and you may be offered the post should one be available.

Interview expenses will not be reimbursed.

UKHSA is required to check employment and/or education history covering three consecutive years. Please ensure you give details of at least two different referees, even if you were employed in one company for three years or more.

If you are offered a job, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system. Please note, all communication regarding your application will be made via email, please ensure you check your junk/spam folders as emails are sometimes filtered there.

Any move to UKHSA 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/.

Benefits of working at UKHSA include:

• Generous annual leave:
• 26 days for the first 5 years of continuous service
• 28 days after 5 years of continuous service
• 32 days after 10 years of continuous service
• Plus public holidays and one privilege day for the King’s birthday
• Access to a generous Defined Benefit pension scheme with employer contributions.
• Access to a cycle-to-work salary sacrifice scheme, season ticket advances and payroll giving.
• Access to a retail discounts and cashback site.
• We also promote flexible working patterns (part-time, job-share, condensed hours). UKHSA views flexible working as essential in enabling us to recruit and retain talented people, ensuring that they are able to enjoy a long-lasting career with us. All employees have the right to apply for flexible working and there are a range of options available including working from home, compressed hours and job sharing.
• We also offer a generous maternity/ paternity and adoption leave package.

Hybrid Working

UKHSA operates a hybrid working model where business needs allow. This provides us with greater flexibility about how and where we work, to get the best from our workforce.

As a hybrid worker, you will usually spend a minimum of 60% of your contracted hours (averaged over a month) working at one of UKHSA's locations (approximately 3 days a week pro rata) and the rest of your time working from home.

Disability Confident Scheme

If you wish to be included in this scheme please tick the box on your application form.

Reasonable Adjustments

The Civil Service is committed to making sure that our selection methods are fair to everyone.

To help you during the recruitment process, we will take into account any reasonable adjustments that could help you.

An adjustment is a change to the recruitment process or an adjustment at work.

This is separate to the Disability Confident Scheme.

If you need an adjustment to be made at any point during the recruitment process you should:

Contact the recruitment team in confidence as soon as possible to discuss your needs.

You can find out more information about reasonable adjustments across the Civil Service here: https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/reasonable-adjustments/

International Police Check

If you have spent more than 6 months abroad over the last 3 years you may need an International Police Check. This would not necessarily have to be in a single block, and could be time accrued over that period.

Internal Fraud check

Currently this is only for External candidates to the Civil Service.

Security Vetting

Please check the Security Clearance needed for the role and follow the link for more information:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels/national-security-vetting-clearance-levels