Head of Project Professional Excellence

Over the past few months, leaders from across HMRC have worked together to set out a ten–year tax strategy and how we will achieve it. To support this, we have created the Transformation business group.

The Transformation Group will have three core functions:
Directly delivering our major cross–cutting programmes, while ensuring collaboration across HMRC's other business groups.
Exercising oversight and coordination of the portfolio, both the major changes and the range of projects that will continue to be delivered from other business groups.
Leading HMRC's project delivery function, setting standards and ensuring project professionals are trained, developed and perform to those standards.

ExCom will work with senior change leads across the department to agree which programmes require the dedicated oversight of this new Group. While the group gets established, its remit will focus on establishing the standards all projects will work to, continuing to oversee the COVID–related projects and taking leadership of the flagship Making Tax Digital programme.

Key to the successful implementation of our long term HMRC strategy will be our ability to lay out, in a clear multi–year roadmap, the combination of policy, process, people and IT changes we need to make.

As we develop planning processes to support this, we'll need to work together to make sure the roadmap is complete, coordinated and delivered. The new Transformation group will support and enable the direct delivery of major cross–cutting programmes together with oversight and coordination of a portfolio of wider change projects which, together, move us forward.

Job description
As Head of Professional Excellence for HMRC's Project Delivery function you will be responsible for setting the standard of excellence for the 2500 strong Project Delivery (PD) workforce in HMRC.

Working with expert partners in HR, the Infrastructure and Project Authority (IPA) and the wider Project Delivery function you will be responsible for ensuring HMRCs Project Delivery function is the best profession in government and the best place to work in Project Delivery in the UK.

Responsibilities include:
Setting the professional standard for all Project Delivery roles in the department. Once set, post holder is responsible for creating strategic capability plan to arrive at agreed thresholds.

Serve as Head of Profession, advising the Head of Function, on the strategic development of Project Delivery in HMRC.

Develop a strategic workforce plan for the Project Delivery function (capturing capacity and capability), ensuring our critical resource is deployed on the key strategic priorities for the profession.

Representing the department at cross–government forums, including at senior levels with the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA).

Facilitating better cross–Government working by promoting greater functional leadership and coordination that improves sharing of expertise and good practice across departments.

Leading a team of 16 FTE. This is a critical leadership role for the 2500 PD professionals in HMRC.

Owning the cross–departmental Project Delivery Budget, circa GBP900k, ensuring it is effectively used to support the strategic aims of the function.

Liaising with SCS2 PD community to ensure they are bought into corporate approach to the PD profession as opposed to developing a series of lower level, potentially duplicative local interventions.

Emphatically selling and promoting the merits of a HMRC wide approach to profession for areas such as capability.

Serve as a visible leader for Project Delivery on HMRC, leading on both regular and targeted comm to the members of the function.

Person Specification:
The successful candidate will have an effective track record in operating as part of a senior leadership team, with the ability to operate strategically to lead teams to deliver significant and tangible results.

In addition to the role responsibilities , you must be able to demonstrate the following (this is not a definitive list);

Essential Criteria.
Experience of leading major change programmes.

An ability to build relationships across directorate and organisational boundaries in order to collaborate and drive results.

A proven track record of leading teams both directly and through influence and standard setting. Evidence of building strong teams with a focus on talent acquisition and building capability.

Experience of motivating and leading others to deliver at pace, being comfortable with digesting complex information and ensuring the highest standards are set and adhered to.

Experience of identifying capability gaps and working innovatively to put in place appropriate talent, workforce and/or L&D interventions.

Academic/Professional Qualifications.
A recognised Professional PD, PPM or Change Management Qualification is desirable but not essential, such as;

Major Project Leadership Academy (MPLA)
Project Leadership Programme (PLP)
Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) Practitioner;
APM Practitioner Qualification (APMPQ);
Full Member of APM (MAPM);
APM Registered Project Professional (RPP);
PRINCE2 Practitioner