Deputy Director, Line Management Capability Programme (LMC)

Deputy Director, Line Management Capability Programme (LMC)

Cabinet Office

Apply before 11:55 pm on Sunday 3rd December 2023

Reference number: 324446

Salary: £75,000 - £117,800

Non civil servants will be expected to start at the salary minimum if successful. Standard pay rules apply for existing civil servants.

A Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27%

Contract type: Permanent

Working pattern: Flexible working, Full-time, Job share

Location: Glasgow, London, Sheffield

About the job

The Deputy Director for Line Management Capability Programme sits within the Government People Group (GPG). This role leads and delivers the Line Management Capability Programme - which is a priority for GPG and being delivered across the whole of the Civil Service. The programme is a Civil Service People Plan priority and a key enabler of the Government Modernisation and Reform agenda.

This role holder will build on the first phase of our plan, with a focus on delivering accredited line management standards and successfully launching these across government. This will involve significant senior strategic engagement across HMG. This includes the Chief People Officer for the Civil Service, the CS People Board, our Permanent Secretary chaired steering group, HR Directors and their relevant leads and a wide range of senior colleagues from across departments and professions. The role holder will also further develop relationships with external and private sector partners. This includes working with our delivery partners, other governments, private sector leaders in line management and academia.

Job description

This is an exciting opportunity to change the way the Civil Service supports and invests in line management capability, and to lead the way in contributing towards systemic change. The post-holder requires the ability to oversee a fast paced, high-profile transformation programme, whilst also possessing sound strategic and operational change management skills. The post-holder will lead  a multi-disciplinary, geographically dispersed team and draw on skills from across Government People Group and beyond. The role also includes budget responsibility for c£1m.

We are looking for a HR leader who can build on the successes of the team’s work to date. The team is currently in the design phase moving into a focus on delivery. The post holder will play a lead role in ensuring the programme delivers for the Civil Service, working with senior leaders across departments, taking a whole system approach to improving line management and partnering with other major initiatives across HMG. 

You will have regular engagement with and act as an adviser to the Executive Director, Permanent Secretary, Senior Leadership Team, and external HRDs.

Key Responsibilities:

• Leading and developing a diverse, inclusive, high performing and happy team.
• Building the capability and processes needed within the team to deliver the programme at pace and within scope.
• The ability to build strong, credible and collaborative relationships at senior levels across government to deliver, and to communicate effectively and confidently with a wide range of audiences to build trust and support.
• Leading the team’s work on engagement across all departments and Civil Servants, particularly the line management population.
• Central to our strategy is ensuring there is an evidence-based approach to all we do, and is one that is grounded in experience in order to secure credibility, relevance and viability of the programme to the staff it is intended to support and develop.
• This role covers action on improving project delivery, cross-government performance management, the role of the functions, working across departmental boundaries and more. It requires close working with a range of partners in the Cabinet Office and across government to ensure ambition and momentum is maintained and we follow through on our commitments.
• Leading successful engagement with senior stakeholders including the permanent secretary champion and COO network, senior HR professionals, as well as external partners in industry and academia.

Person specification

This role requires an individual with expertise and experience across all areas of HR, particularly expert services to ensure careful alignment and synergy between the role of HR and line manager through the employee lifecycle. This is reflected in the Essential Criteria below:

• Significant experience of leadership and change management at scale.
• Experience of leading and driving a large portfolio of work, whilst also securing buy-in from strategic partners internally and externally.
• Experience and knowledge of leading an HR function, either expert services and/or HRBP team.
• Contract management experience.
• Ability to demonstrate clarity of argument and concise writing skills as well as delivery of communication plans and excellent strategic advice and counsel, working with senior stakeholders at Ministerial or Board level.
• Developing compelling communication strategies, plans and content; based on research, insight and evidence.

Qualifications

This is a senior HR professional role. CIPD qualification at Chartered Member as a minimum is required for this role, or currently working towards.