Job Description

Details

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Reference number

414347

Salary

81,000 - 90,000
A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
GBP

Job grade

SCS Pay Band 1

Contract type

Permanent

Business area

MOD - Air

Type of role

Project Delivery

Senior leadership

Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time

Number of jobs available

1

Contents

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Location About the job Benefits Things you need to know Apply and further information

Location

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RAF High Wycombe or RAF Cranwell

About the job

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Job summary

You will provide strategic leadership and ensure coherence across Cranwell Major Programmes and Projects, serving as the Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) for Air Sub Programme 1 (ASP1) PORTAL, a 950 million Category A programme, overseeing all aspects of the leadership and management of the programme which is AIRs Major Programme within the Defence Estate Optimisation Portfolio. You will be working closely with the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, Finance and Military Capability (FMC), Air Infrastructure and Air Command Finance to deliver the programme within the performance, cost and time envelope.


PORTAL is one of several high-profile programmes that will land at RAF Cranwell in the next 10 years, that you will have broader responsibility to lead on and Coherence with other Cranwell Major Projects.


The vacancy holder will be offering an online Q&A session on

Monday

14

th

July

between

10:00

- 10:30

to provide an overview of the role and welcome any questions you may have. Candidates can access the meeting by clicking

here

. Please note, this is not part of the formal assessment process.

Job description

The current responsibilities of the role include:

To lead the coherence of Cranwell major Programmes and Projects, which includes being the Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) for Air Sub Programme 1 (ASP1) PORTAL. Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) and Lead for Air Sub Programme 1, Category A Programme PORTAL. Accountable for the programme meeting its objectives, delivering the projected outcomes and realising the required benefits. Re-providing Phase 1 Recruit Training Squadron and Phase 3 Aviator Command Squadron to Royal Air Force (RAF) Cranwell and support delivery of 6000 trainees a year as well as managing the move of lodger units to other locations enabling the closure of RAF Halton. Secure the investment required to run the programme and fund the transition activities. Scrutinise Programme PORTAL to ensure the requirement is lean, value for money and affordable. Ensure the programme maintains alignment to the Ministry of Defence's strategic direction. Leadership of the PORTAL Capability Team, Programme Management Team and subordinate Projects. A multidisciplinary team, circa 15 people of Military, Civil Servants, and Contractors. Building productive relationships with external stakeholders and colleagues across large organisations at all levels, using excellent stakeholder management skills to bring together the key stakeholders in to 'one team' early in the programme / project life cycle, and navigate sensitive issues. Responsible for ensuring that the programme remains robust at all stages from inception to delivery. Exercising authority and influence across organisational boundaries to bring successful business change benefits to deliver infrastructure and estate optimisation benefits under Programme PORTAL, as well accountability for ensuring governance and assurance is set.

Person specification

The successful candidate must be able to demonstrate their experience and skills against the following essential criteria:

A credible and persuasive project delivery professional who will command the confidence of a range of Senior stakeholders including Ministers and Senior Officials and to support Board-level investment decisions. Displays professional courage with the confidence and authority to articulate, challenge, explain and justify decisions to stakeholders whilst remaining resilient in the face of extraordinary pressure. Proven experience in leadership roles which have required them to develop a vision that drives forward the organisation's work and its future; motivating, enabling and empowering teams to deliver, with experience of leading organisational change and creating a lasting legacy beyond that particular programme. Extensive breadth and depth of major project delivery experience, leadership of multiple complex projects/programmes across all project phases a number of times and performed a variety of leadership roles. Able to evidence successful delivery in terms of the complexity of what has been delivered and the scale of challenge. Experience of performing at high level over a sustained period, in a large organisation which has a complex operating environment, where there is uncertainty and continual change Ability to think strategically and respond quickly to complex changing circumstances and high-pressure situations, maintaining integrity and a clear view of overall project priorities. Comfortable making decisions and setting direction without having the full picture and can re-focus as detail emerge. Can and does apply project delivery knowledge and techniques to set projects up for success, reduce ambiguity and ensure successful delivery. Will have a good understanding of project delivery methodologies and techniques, have relevant project qualifications (MSP/APMP/Prince 2/Agile), and may have, or be working towards, external accreditation and professional membership. Graduate of the Major Projects Leadership Academy (or willing to undertake the course for those new to Civil Service).

Benefits

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Alongside your salary of 81,000, Ministry of Defence contributes 23,465 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.Learning and development tailored to your role An environment with flexible working options A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

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Selection process details

To apply for this post, you will need to complete the online application process by no later than

23:55 Sunday 20

th

July 2025

and will involve providing the two documents outlined below via the Civil Service Jobs portal:

A

CV

(no more than 2 pages) setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years. A

Personal Statement

(no more than 2 pages) explaining how your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role.

Both documents are weighted equally in their scoring, so it's important to consider this when uploading your application. Failure to submit both documents will mean the panel only have limited information on which to assess your application against the criteria in the person specification.


We understand that you might use AI and other resources for your application; however, please ensure all information you provide is factually accurate, truthful, and original and doesn't include ideas or work that isn't your own. This is so that your application is authentically and credibly your own.


External candidates who join the MOD and are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a six-month probation period.


For further information about the role and full application process, please refer to the candidate pack attached below. If you wish to receive any material in a different format for accessibility, then please contact People-CivHR-SCSCandidateSupport@mod.gov.uk.



Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
This role has a minimum assignment duration of 3 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise.




As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check .



See our vetting charter .
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

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) 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
Further information on nationality requirements

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code 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 .
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy .

Apply and further information

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This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

#

Job contact :

Name : SCS Recruitment Team Email : People-CivHR-SCSCandidateSupport@mod.gov.uk
#

Recruitment team

* Email : People-CivHR-SCSCandidateSupport@mod.gov.uk