Project Delivery Capability Lead

The Department for International Trade (DIT) is the Government’s exports and trading department, focusing on drawing inward investment to the U.K. and supporting U.K. businesses to operate overseas. DIT has four key priority outcomes:

- Secure world-class free trade agreements and reduce market access barriers, ensuring that consumers and businesses can benefit from both
- Deliver economic growth to all the nations and regions of the UK through attracting and retaining inward investment
- Support UK business to take full advantage of trade opportunities, including those arising from delivering Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), facilitating UK exports
- Champion the rules-based international trading system and operate the UK’s new trading system, including protecting UK businesses from unfair trade practices

DIT focuses on providing and promoting the future of the United Kingdom as an independent trading nation. The Project Delivery and Change Directorate supports the delivery of priority and transformative projects across DIT. Supporting the maturing and provision of greater stability across DIT’s organisational structures and further supporting DIT to provide a greater platform for success. DIT are united by a common set of values and expectations for our staff to be expert, engaged, enterprising and inclusive. We value diversity in all its forms.

Enabling Effective Project Delivery (PD) in DIT

As a department, DIT has made great strides in developing its project delivery maturity since its formation. The PAC PD Capability lead is responsible for ensuring that not only the existing opportunities to enhance PD skills continue, but that it is now built upon by expanding that range to include a substantial capability package for Senior Responsible Owners (SROs) and Programme Directors as well as targeting those working on DIT’s major transformation programmes and other priority projects.

The PD Capability lead delivered our initial Learning & Development (L&D) strategy that rolled out access to in-house training, online learning, and formal professional qualifications. The delivery of this capability is essential to DIT's ambitious agenda. As the department matures it is vital that the skills & competencies of our senior leads to deliver projects effectively is enhanced. As a priority the PD Capability lead will be responsible for developing and implementing development programmes for both SROs and Programme Directors to build capability in areas essential to successful project delivery.

The PD Capability lead will also be responsible for enhancing the PD Capability offer across DIT for all PD professionals including the recently launched PD Flexible Resource Pool, with the support of an established team. In addition, the role will be critical to supporting the delivery of DIT’s objectives: Great People: Workforce, skills and location and supports the strategic enabler in the ODP: to build and strengthen PD functional expertise of the PD Community in DIT; and to build and retain PD capacity in DIT.

Job description
- Driving forward the PD Learning & Development Strategy
- embedding the new L&D strategy for project delivery including how we work with both our regions and global DIT network
- Capability development
- development of targeted L&D activities for different roles (eg SROs, PMOs, business case authors etc and giving guidance to teams on best practice for L&D
- Leadership Programmes - targeted promotion of Project Leadership Programme (PLP), Major Projects Leadership Academy (MPLA) and Orchestrating Major Projects (OMP) as well as any others developed
- Evaluation of L&D - Oversight of the development of an evaluation strategy of L&D undertaken within DIT
- Professionalisation of PD within DIT- assisting with improving the levels of PD professionalism through owning the new IPA accreditation process within DIT and running the PD Community of Practice. This includes embedding Government Online Skills Tool (GOST) and Project Delivery Capability Framework (PDCF) to support the PD Profession with accreditation and career development
- Lead on presenting a number of awareness level courses - either ones developed by self or others
- Stakeholder engagement
- with key stakeholders within DIT on priorities for L&D which include HR, other functional areas, and the wider PD community as well as outside bodies including the IPA, APM and PMI
- Periodic reporting - oversight of the development of KPIs on L&D activity and managing the reporting process to ensure there is accurate, timely and relevant management information on activity
- Strategic oversight of contracts/agreements relating to L&D and capability management including ILX and GOST
- Line management - active line management of an SEO and HEO

Hybrid working

Please be aware that this role can only be worked from within the UK and not overseas.

Informal hybrid working arrangements will be available as agreed with the vacancy manager and in