Business Management Lead

Details
Reference number

437431

Salary

£44,241

A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

GBP

Job grade

Senior Executive Officer

Contract type

Permanent

Business area

Human Resources

Type of role

Administration / Corporate Support

Business Management and Improvement

Finance

Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time

Number of jobs available

1

Contents

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

Location

Birmingham, Hastings, Leeds, Swansea

About the job
Job summary

We're looking for a proactive and strategic HR Business Operations Manager to join our team at the Department for Transport (DfT). This role is central to ensuring our HR function runs smoothly and efficiently, supporting everything from financial planning and governance to workforce management and service improvement.

You'll report to the Head of HR Business Management and lead a small team focused on delivering high-quality business support across HR. You'll work closely with senior leaders and corporate service teams, providing expert advice on budgets, resources, and operational processes.

This is a fantastic opportunity for someone who enjoys working with data, solving problems, and driving improvements in a fast-paced environment.

The role is diverse, giving you the opportunity to develop a wide range of skills . Anyone coming into this role can expect to be in a fast-changing environment and be a self starter who is able to work with autonomy

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 King's birthday
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Read more in the Benefits section below and find out more about what it's like working at DfTc: Department for Transport Central - Department for Transport Careers

Job description

Your responsibilities will include, but aren't limited to:

• Lead and coordinate HR projects and commissions, ensuring timely and effective delivery, including business planning processes. Provide scrutiny and challenge to SLT as required.
• Provide financial insights and reporting using Excel and Power BI to support decision-making.
• Manage budgets and resource planning in collaboration with finance and hold a strong relationship with the Commercial team as Contract Owner of several HR contracts.
• Ensure compliance with governance and audit requirements, including responding to official requests (e.g. Freedom of Information).
• Support workforce planning and forecasting, including monitoring HR data quality and risks.
• Advise senior HR leaders on financial risks and long-term planning for staffing and budgets
• Build strong relationships across HR to improve business management practices and provide training where needed.
• Maintain a central register of HR staff with additional responsibilities (e.g. IT, security, budget holders).
• Overseeing the corporate support functions including Security Liaison Officers and Local Information Management.
• Lead and own the Business Continuity Planning cycle, including annual testing.
• Oversee the delivery of the annual Management Assurance process, ensuring agreed actions are reviewed to completion.
• Lead and support a small team, promoting continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Great line management is important to us as an organisation, and we will equip and support line managers to develop the skills they need. We aim to empower line managers to create teams where people can flourish and deliver excellent outcomes for the public.

Person specification

Required experience:

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

• Enjoys working with data and can turn numbers into meaningful insights to support decision-making.
• Has experience in financial management and understands key commercial principles.
• Can build strong working relationships with senior colleagues and communicate clearly and persuasively.
• Is skilled in using Excel (Power BI is a plus) to create engaging and interactive reports.
• Maintains confidentiality and handles sensitive information with professionalism.
• Has experience delivering business support or operations in a fast-paced environment.
• A record of managing and reviewing processes with the ability to surface and resolve issues.
• Can manage competing priorities and adapt to changing demands with a calm and organised approach.

Working hours, office attendance and travel requirements

Full time roles consist of 37 hours per week.

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

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).

Behaviours

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

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

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £44,241, Department for Transport contributes £12,816 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits:

• 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).
• 8 Bank Holidays plus an additional Privilege Day to mark the King's birthday.
• Access to the staff discount portal.
• Excellent career development opportunities and the potential to undertake professional qualifications relevant to your role paid for by the department, such as CIPD, Prince2, apprenticeships, etc.
• Remove for VCA adverts: Joining a diverse and inclusive workforce with a range of staff communities to support all our colleagues.
• 24-hour Employee Assistance Programme providing free confidential help and advice for staff.
• Remove for DVLA contact centre roles: Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Find out more about the benefits of working at DfT and its agencies .

Things you need to know
Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles , and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

How to apply:

The vacancy holder (details below) is happy to talk to candidates about the role, especially those who are less familiar with working in the Civil Service.

Our selection process ensures a comprehensive assessment of each applicant's qualifications, skills, and potential fit within our organisation.

The selection process for this role will be:

Stage 1: sift of CV and personal statement

Stage 2: Interview

You must be successful at each stage to progress to the next stage.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV and personal statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Stage 1: Sift

At sift, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

• Experience – you will be asked to provide a CV (unlimited wordcount but no more than 2 pages) and personal statement (750-word count). Please provide evidence of your Experience of the 'Required experience' as outlined in the job description.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using your CV to assess 'Experience'. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

Please note: the sift will be completed on a rolling basis whilst the campaign is still live, so you may receive your sift scores before the advert closing date.

The sift will take place week commencing 01/12/2025

Stage 2: Interview

At interview stage, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

• Behaviours – 1. Leadership 2. Communicating and Influencing 3. Changing and improving 4. Making effective decisions

The interviews will take place from 10/12/2025

This interview will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.

You can find out more about our hiring process, how to apply, and application and interview guidance on our careers site .

Please note that we will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change.

Further information on the selection process

Feedback on your application can only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

We will also hold a12-month reserve list for this role, which may lead to potential opportunities beyond the role you applied for. You can read more about our reserve lists here.

AI Tools and Platforms

Artificial intelligence (AI) can be a useful tool to support your application, but all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate, and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism is identified (such as presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Reasonable Adjustments

As a Disability Confident Leader employer, we are committed to ensuring that the recruitment process is fair, accessible and allows all candidates to perform at their best. If a person with a visible or non-visible disability is substantially disadvantaged, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

Complete the "Assistance required" section in the "Additional requirements" page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need during the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at an interview, or if you're deaf, a Language Service Professional.

If you need a reasonable adjustment so that you can complete your application, you should contact Government Recruitment Service via as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Document Accessibility

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

This job advert contains links to the DfT Careers website. Our website provides useful guidance and information that can support you during the application process. If you cannot access the information on our website for any reason, please email for assistance.

Further Information

For more information about how we hire, and for useful tips on submitting your application for this role, visit the How We Hire page of our DfT Careers website. You can find detailed information about the recruitment process and what to expect when applying for a role.

Pre-employment Checking

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant's details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

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

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).

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 : Lucy Smith
• Email :

Recruitment team

• Email :

Further information

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 Government Recruitment Services via email:

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

---