Programme Support Officer

Job summary

The Government Digital Service (GDS) is the digital centre of government. We are responsible for setting, leading and delivering the vision for a modern digital government.

Our priorities are to drive a modern digital government, by:

• joining up public sector services
• harnessing the power of AI for the public good
• strengthening and extending our digital and data public infrastructure
• elevating leadership and investing in talent
• funding for outcomes and procuring for growth and innovation
• committing to transparency and driving accountability

We are home to the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (I.AI), the world-leading GOV.UK and at the forefront of coordinating the UK’s geospatial strategy and activity. We lead the Government Digital and Data function and champion the work of digital teams across government.

We’re part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and employ more than 1,000 people all over the UK, with hubs in Manchester, London and Bristol.

The Government Digital Service is where talent translates into impact. From your first day, you’ll be working with some of the world’s most highly-skilled digital professionals, all contributing their knowledge to make change on a national scale.

Join us for rewarding work that makes a difference across the UK. You'll solve some of the nation’s highest-priority digital challenges, helping millions of people access services they need.

Please note

Former DSIT recruitment campaigns are continuing as usual, but candidates should be aware that following the Government’s announcement on the changes to some civil service departments, roles will be subject to the machinery of government moves and will ultimately be in one of the new departments. We will provide more information if you are selected for a role. This work remains of high importance to the civil service, and we thank you for your continued interest.

Job description

About the team

GOV.UK One Login is the new straightforward, secure way to access a range of government digital services and is a critical programme within DSIT. The Programme Management Office (PMO) plays a vital role in supporting the successful delivery of GOV.UK One Login.

We work collaboratively with teams across the department, providing the business support, governance and operational coordination that enable our colleagues to deliver their objectives.

Our team is responsible for a wide range of activities, including recruitment, onboarding and offboarding, finance, governance, business planning and stakeholder engagement. We are committed to continuous improvement, working together to develop efficient processes that support high-quality delivery in an Agile environment.

We're a supportive and inclusive team that values collaboration, innovation and professional development. You'll have the opportunity to build your skills, broaden your experience and contribute to work that makes a real difference.

Job Summary

Are you an experienced programme or project support professional who enjoys keeping complex work organised, coordinating activity and helping teams deliver their priorities?

We're looking for a Programme Support Officer to join our Programme Management Office. This is a varied and rewarding role where you'll provide high-quality business, programme and operational support across a range of activities that are essential to the successful delivery of GOV.UK One Login.

You'll work closely with programme managers, delivery teams, corporate functions and senior stakeholders across the department. You'll coordinate recruitment and workforce activity, support financial and governance processes, maintain programme information and reporting, manage shared inboxes and contribute to the delivery of business priorities.

You'll also take an active role in improving the way the PMO operates, identifying opportunities to streamline processes, improve information and strengthen the support we provide to programme teams.

This is a role for someone who is organised, proactive and comfortable working in a fast-paced programme environment, managing competing priorities and taking ownership of their work.

Person specification

Key Responsibilities

As a Programme Support Officer, you'll provide essential business, programme and operational support to the Programme Management Office, helping to ensure that the programme has the people, information, processes and governance arrangements needed to deliver its priorities effectively.

You'll work closely with programme managers, delivery teams, corporate colleagues and senior stakeholders across DSIT. You'll coordinate a range of activities, maintain accurate programme information, monitor actions and deadlines, and ensure that important business processes are completed efficiently and to a high standard.

You'll be expected to work with a degree of independence, use your judgement to manage competing priorities and proactively identify issues or opportunities for improvement.

Your responsibilities will include:

Programme and Project Support

• Provide day-to-day programme support to programme and project managers, helping to coordinate activity and maintain progress against agreed priorities and deadlines.
• Maintain programme trackers, action logs, risk and issue information and other programme records.
• Coordinate information and actions across different teams, ensuring that owners are identified and deadlines are understood.
• Monitor progress against key activities and proactively follow up outstanding actions.
• Support programme planning, workshops, meetings and other delivery activity.
• Identify issues, dependencies or delays and escalate these appropriately.

Governance

• Coordinate programme governance meetings, including scheduling meetings, managing attendance, preparing agendas and coordinating papers.
• Ensure papers and supporting information are collated, quality checked and circulated within agreed timescales.
• Record decisions, actions and key points accurately.
• Maintain governance action and decision logs and proactively follow up with action owners.
• Track actions through to completion and provide updates to programme leads.
• Support the preparation of information for programme boards, senior leadership meetings and other governance forums.
• Maintain clear and accessible governance records and documentation.

Recruitment, Onboarding and Workforce Support

• Coordinate recruitment activity across the programme, working with hiring managers, recruitment teams and relevant stakeholders.
• Maintain recruitment trackers and provide updates on vacancies, recruitment stages and outstanding actions.
• Coordinate interviews, assessments and associated administration.
• Support pre-employment activity and ensure recruitment actions are progressed within agreed timescales.
• Coordinate onboarding activity to ensure new starters have a smooth and effective joining experience.
• Support offboarding activity, ensuring relevant actions are completed when colleagues leave the programme.
• Maintain accurate workforce information and provide updates to programme managers where required.

Finance and Business Management

• Support programme financial processes, including purchase orders, invoices and financial queries.
• Maintain accurate financial trackers and records.
• Work with budget holders and finance colleagues to monitor expenditure, commitments and outstanding financial activity.
• Support financial reporting and provide accurate information to programme managers.
• Track financial actions and deadlines and escalate issues where these may affect delivery.
• Support wider business management activity across the PMO as required.

Management Information and Reporting

• Maintain accurate programme management information, trackers and reporting records.
• Collect and consolidate information from programme and delivery teams.
• Support the production of regular programme reports, updates and management information.
• Quality check information and identify gaps, inconsistencies or outdated information.
• Provide timely and accurate information to support programme planning and decision-making.
• Maintain clear records and audit trails for key programme activities.

Business Planning

• Support the programme team in coordinating delivery against the agreed business plan and programme priorities.
• Maintain trackers showing progress against key activities, milestones and deliverables.
• Gather updates from colleagues and identify areas where activity is delayed or requires further action.
• Support the preparation of business planning updates and reporting for programme leads and senior stakeholders.
• Monitor upcoming deadlines and proactively highlight risks, dependencies or actions requiring attention.

Shared Inbox and Operational Support

• Manage shared programme inboxes, monitoring incoming requests and ensuring they are triaged and responded to promptly.
• Respond to routine enquiries and direct more complex requests to the appropriate colleague or team.
• Monitor outstanding requests and follow up where action or information is required.
• Maintain appropriate records of enquiries and actions.
• Identify recurring queries or issues and contribute to improving processes and guidance.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Build and maintain effective working relationships with programme colleagues, corporate teams and senior stakeholders.
• Coordinate activity across multiple teams and ensure colleagues understand actions, responsibilities and deadlines.
• Communicate clearly and professionally with stakeholders at different levels.
• Provide regular updates on progress and outstanding activity.
• Use judgement when dealing with sensitive, urgent or competing requests.
• Work collaboratively to resolve issues and remove barriers to delivery.

Prioritisation and Delivery

• Manage a varied workload across several areas of programme support.
• Prioritise activity according to business requirements, risks and deadlines.
• Work independently with minimal supervision while recognising when advice or escalation is required.
• Respond effectively to changing priorities and urgent requests.
• Maintain the quality and accuracy of work while working to tight deadlines.
• Proactively identify potential delays and take action to keep activity moving.

Continuous Improvement

• Identify opportunities to improve PMO processes, systems and ways of working.
• Develop and maintain templates, guidance, trackers and processes where these improve consistency or efficiency.
• Review existing processes and suggest practical improvements.
• Work with colleagues to implement agreed improvements.
• Share learning and good practice across the PMO.
• Contribute to creating efficient, user-focused and consistent programme support services.

Essential Criteria

To be considered for this role, applicants must be able to demonstrate clear and relevant experience against the following criteria:

1. Programme or project environment

Experience working in a Programme Management Office (PMO), project support office, business management team or similar programme delivery environment.

This should include providing direct support to programme or project delivery activity rather than solely providing general administrative support.

2. Governance

Experience coordinating programme or project governance activities, including organising meetings, preparing and coordinating papers, maintaining action and decision logs and tracking actions through to completion.

3. Recruitment and workforce support

Experience supporting recruitment, workforce planning, onboarding or offboarding activity within a corporate, programme or project environment, including coordinating activity across multiple teams or stakeholders.

4. Management information and financial tracking

Experience maintaining