Defence Digital Senior Digital Portfolio Manager
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APPLY HERE: Defence Digital Senior Digital Portfolio Manager
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Apply before Apply before 11:55 pm on Thursday 19th June 2025
- Location:
- MOD Corsham, Westwells Road, Corsham, SN13 9NR,
- Salary: £59,690
- Reference number: 406629
Defence Digital ensures our Armed Forces remain among the most technologically advanced in the world. We do this by putting innovative and effective technology into the hands of over 200,000 users, from the boardroom to the front line.
We lead on cutting-edge data science, automation, and cybersecurity at scale. Our mission goes beyond the battlefield by leading humanitarian efforts and driving digital innovation that impacts lives across the globe.
Defence Digital forms part of Strategic Command which manages the MOD’s joint capabilities for the Army, RAF, and Royal Navy.
Watch our video to see what we do at Defence Digital!
Passionate about using your skills to make a critical difference? Your next career move could be here!
Job description
As a Senior Digital Portfolio Manager, you'll play a pivotal role in managing and coordinating a dynamic portfolio of projects. Your goal is to ensure the delivery of secure, resilient, and assured communications and information services that support the MOD and the Armed Forces.
You'll be at the forefront of ensuring successful outcomes by:
- Establishing robust governance and assurance frameworks.
- Monitoring progress and deftly managing risks and issues.
- Preparing the business for seamless change.
Beyond that, you'll be the go-to person for all service and program reporting, maintaining governance oversight, and orchestrating boards and meetings to keep everything on track.
Responsibilities:
- Coordinate programme resources, programme planning processes including requirements management, product development, milestone definition, and financial profile.
- Monitoring complex change delivery performance through the analysis of project and programme data, analysing trends and identifying thematic issues.
- Management of SSO staff, including Civil Servants, Military, and contractors.
- Providing control and coherence over all approvals and outletter requirements and obligations through tracking and engagement.
- Ensure compliance with acquisition safety, quality, continual service improvement and business continuity.
- Providing programme assurance through conducting assurance reviews with the relevant deployed programme leaders.
For further information on the role and duties, please refer to the Government, Digital and Data Capability Framework: Digital portfolio manager - Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework
Person specification
Your work will be varied, challenging, and fast-paced, and you will need to be flexible, adaptable, and able to strategically solve problems to deliver. You will be adaptable when applying your knowledge of project management tools and methodologies, capable of designing a project structure and organisation to meet the requirements of the project according to its point in the life cycle.
You will have excellent communication skills, adapting your style and quickly developing rapport to maximise both impact and understanding. Therefore, it is important that you are comfortable networking throughout the business, challenging, and influencing decision-making when required.
When submitting your CV, please highlight your career history and experience relevant to this role. Additionally, refer to the "Things You Need to Know" section of the advert and provide a personal statement (max. 1250 words) demonstrating the essential criteria listed below:
- Provide examples of a project or programme you led, outlining your role, its complexity, and how you handled the approvals process.
- Experience of establishing effective governance processes across internal delivery and wider stakeholders, for programme and service assurance.
- Please describe your experience as a leader, including your ability to build capability and develop a high-performing, motivated project team.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Changing and Improving
- Delivering at Pace
- Working Together
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- Governance and Assurance
- Communicating Analysis and Insight
- Planning
Benefits
- An environment with flexible working options
- A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
- 25 days annual leave rising (1 day per year) to 30 days upon completion of 5 years’ service
- Ability to roll over up to 10 days annual leave per year
- In addition to 8 public holidays per year you will also receive leave for HM The King's birthday
- Minimum of 15 Days Special Leave in a rolling 12-month period to for volunteer military or emergency service reserve commitments
- Special Paid Leave for volunteering up to 6 days a year
- Enhanced parental and adoption leave
- Employee Assistance Programme to support your well-being
- Most sites have good travel links with free car parking; many also have other facilities such as a Sports & Social Club and Gyms
- Benefit Pension Scheme: Civil Service pension
- Please see Benefits link for more info: Civilian Discover My Benefits (mod.gov.uk)
Equality and Diversity
Our people are at the heart of everything we do at Defence Digital. It’s vital that our workforce reflects the diversity of both our audience and the wider society in the UK, so we’re proud to be an equal opportunities employer and we actively seek candidates from diverse backgrounds and communities. We also recognise the importance of a good work life balance, so we do everything we can to accommodate flexible working, including part-time and job shares for all our roles. Please let us know in your application or at any stage throughout the process if this is something you want to explore.
Professional Framework Statement
Defence Digital operates an organisation model in which every individual belongs to a Government Profession. The successful applicant will be posted into one of the defined Government Professions on Standard Terms of Reference for the grade. Defence Digital reserves the right to move individuals between roles, within their allocated profession, to meet the needs of the business and in support of agile resourcing. Within Defence Digital each profession is led by a Professional Head of Community who will lead professional development and support the Continuous Professional Development path for their group.
Learning & Development
In Defence Digital we have a strong learning and development ethos, supporting you to fulfil your potential by providing:
- Learning and development tailored to your role
- Professional and Personal Development of skills
- Access to thousands of training courses through Civil Service Learning, some free or paid by MOD
- Ability to obtain industry recognised qualifications supported by MOD
Hybrid Working
Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working. This is a non-contractual arrangement where all employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in office, subject to capacity. Requirements to attend other locations for official business or work in another MOD office will also count towards this level of attendance. Applicants can request further information regarding how this may work in their team from the Vacancy Holder (see advert for contact details). The successful candidate is required to carry out all their duties from a UK location and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time. This post is working 37 hours.
Strategic Command is going through a significant transformation programme which aims to improve the way the Command conducts its business and delivers for Defence and the nation. As a consequence of this, all posts within Strategic Command Headquarters and in time the wider organisation, are/will be subject to review and potential changes as we continuously improve across the period of the transformation programme. These changes may be minor or could be more substantive and will generate new opportunities. Throughout, the Command’s transformation programme is committed to following the MOD’s framework on managing and supporting people through the change process and places an emphasis on early and open consultation and engagement with the Command’s personnel and Trade Unions.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
Candidates will be required to provide CV details to include job history; qualification details and previous skills and experience.
Candidates will be required to provide a statement of suitability. (1250 - Word count) It is vital that this includes evidence of the essential criteria (which is listed within the Person Specification). Each one will be scored 1-7 and make up part of your overall score to assess your suitability to be invited to interview.
At sift, you will be assessed against your CV and Statement of suitability.
At interview, you will be assessed against the following behaviours and technical skills:-
- Changing and improving
- Delivering at pace
- Working together
- Governance and Assurance (technical skill)
- Communicating Analysis and Insight (technical skill)
- Planning (technical skill)
Please find below, a link to our video which gives you helpful tips and guidance on the CS Jobs application process:
Watch: How to apply on CS Jobs: Guide and Tips
AI Usage in Job Applications
We encourage the use of technology to streamline the job application process. Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools can be helpful in generating ideas, improving writing style, and increasing efficiency. However, it is essential that any content submitted as part of a job application is truthful, accurate, and a genuine reflection of the applicant’s qualifications and experiences. Any use of AI should be supplementary to your own knowledge and abilities. Ultimately, the application should demonstrate your unique skills and suitability for the role.
If you are invited for an interview, it will be conducted via Teams. We will strive to offer as much flexibility as possible, but please note that alternative interview dates may not be available.
The Ministry of Defence requires all candidates who are successful at interview to declare any outside interests. These declarations will be discussed with successful candidates following the interview process and before a formal offer of employment is made, as some outside interests may not be compatible with MOD civilian roles. This will not, in the majority of cases, prevent employment in MOD, but it is a measure that must be taken to ensure that appropriate mitigations can be put in place to manage any potential, perceived or actual conflicts of interest from the first day of employment.
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. There is a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. If you need to advise us that you need additional help or reasonable adjustments for the recruitment process, please contact: DBSCivPers-Resourcingteam3@mod.gov.uk .
As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came in to effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical. This role does not meet that category and we will not sponsor a visa. It is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points based system.
Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.
Strategic Command is going through a significant transformation programme which aims to improve the way the Command conducts its business and delivers for Defence and the nation. As a consequence of this, all posts within Strategic Command Headquarters and in time the wider organisation, are/will be subject to review and potential changes as we continuously improve across the period of the transformation programme. These changes may be minor or could be more substantive and will generate new opportunities. Throughout, the Command’s transformation programme is committed to following the MOD’s framework on managing and supporting people through the change process and places an emphasis on early and open consultation and engagement with the Command’s personnel and Trade Unions.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).
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) (opens in a new window)
- 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 (opens in a new window)
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window).
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