Innovate UK has the following secondment opportunity available for employees of Innovate UK Business Connect: Applications must be submitted by 11-07-2025 Head of PSO The post-holder will lead and manage the Programme Support Office team consisting of 6 Portfolio Managers as well as project/programme managers and associated functions that give support to domains, capability areas, and funding programmes as agreed with the Deputy Director Governance and Assurance and Senior Leadership Team (SLT) members. *Please note this advert will close on the 10th July 2025 at 23.59pm. Watch our video “Why Join Innovate UK?” here. Title: Head of PSO Band: UKRI Band G (UKRI Ts & Cs) Salary: £68, 525 gross per annum Reports to: Deputy Director Governance and Assurance Location: Swinodn (Hybrid Working) Contract: Permanent Innovate UK recognises the importance of work-life balance and we will be happy to discuss any requests for flexible working arrangements. Context: Innovate UK needs to become more effective and efficient, to become more agile to deliver our strategic priorities in an ever-changing environment. In aid of this, the Programme Support Office (PSO) was established to: Ensure a consistent approach to how we manage funding programmes across Innovate UK Provide consistent management information to show how we’re doing against our strategic goals both in terms of progress and impact Provide a home for our programme management professionals, and offer the opportunity to work on different things, with a structure for professional career progression Provide more flexibility in distribution of work across teams and the ability to focus our people on where they will add most value Provide balanced resource management, with the ability to understand the pipeline of resource required across the portfolio and the ability to flex to meet capability and capacity required The PSO currently provides programme management support to funding programmes within the Domains and Place and Global Directorates as well as some support to Products and Services. The PSO was established in early 2024 and has become a key part of our delivery approach in IUK. A key part of this role will be ensuring the continued embedding and establishment of the team, whilst continuing to develop and mature the service to meet agreed priorities, plus work closely with leaders across IUK to mature the service and ensure it continues to meet IUK objectives. We particularly welcome female applicants as women are under-represented within Innovate UK in this type of role. Job Purpose: The post-holder will lead and manage the Programme Support Office team consisting of 6 Portfolio Managers as well as project/programme managers and associated functions that give support to domains, capability areas, and funding programmes as agreed with the Deputy Director Governance and Assurance and Senior Leadership Team (SLT) members. Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities: Manage and develop the Programme Support Office function, integrating the function into IUK ways of working, and building strong relationships with SLT members and their teams through regular liaison to ensure the PSO service is achieving agreed aims and ambitions Working with the Deputy Director Governance and Assurance, Senior Leadership Team (SLT), HR and Business Change Teams, to take forward the findings and recommendations of the PSO Phase 1 Review (where these relate directly to the PSO) and lead future phases of the PSO roadmap as agreed with SLT. Responsible for oversight for the entire set of agreed programmes, working with the respective Programme Leads and teams to ensure programmes are on track & delivered, with appropriate governance in place Responsible for resource management that considers capability and capacity requirements, and that is in line with agreed SLT priorities. Support portfolio managers in, and be an escalation point for, challenging conversations with senior stakeholders Responsible for the Programme Support Office team of c 50 colleagues (with 6 direct reports) ensuring a co-ordinated approach across the agreed programmes in terms of the usual project/programme management duties but also ensuring a focus on evaluation, finance and communications so there is a consistency of approach across PSO and in line with IUK and UKRI best practice Responsible for leading the best practice PPM (Project/Programme Management) approach within IUK, aligned with and influencing UKRI ways of working as appropriate, to ensure consistency of approach across the organisation Ensure the identification and management of programme risks in a timely and appropriate manner, ensuring these are recognised by senior management with effective mitigations in place, and that risk management is embedded into decision-making Working closely with evaluation and impact management teams, ensure appropriate data collection is conducted for PSO-supported funding programmes for performance monitoring and evaluation purposes Responsible for development of and provision of Management Information on agreed programmes to support effective decision-making, and demonstration of impact Support the Senior Leadership Team to deliver the agreed programmes within agreed budget and resourcing targets Management of Parliamentary Questions (PQs) and Ministerial queries for Innovate UK, coordinating input and ensuring approval of responses within tight timescales. This is not an exhaustive list and you might be encouraged to undertake any other duties across the wider directorate, commensurate with the Band and level of responsibility of this post, for which the post holder has the key experience and/or training. Shortlisting criteria (S) – Assessed at shortlisting (I) – Assessed at interview (S&I) – Assessed at both shortlisting and interview Person Specification: Experience & Qualifications: Essential – Qualification(s) in portfolio and/or programme management e.g. Management of Portfolios, Managing Successful Programmes (or equivalent experience) (S) Qualification(s) in project management methodology e.g. Prince2, APMP (or equivalent experience) (S) Significant management experience in the effective and efficient leadership and successful delivery of complex and varying portfolios and programmes (S&I) Demonstrable experience of establishing and developing service functions (S&I) Demonstrable experience of collaborative working with a diverse range of senior leaders across multiple organisations/partners, building consensus and achieving stakeholder buy-in (S&I) Demonstrable experience of managing and developing large teams through distributed leadership –– leading a team, setting a vision and taking people on the journey (S&I) Strong track record in managing and distilling data to support effective decision-making, and dealing with urgent stakeholder information requests (S&I) Strong track record in demonstrating the impact of programmes and projects to senior stakeholders (S&I) Strong track record in resource management, working with senior management to prioritise resource utilisation based on business need (S&I) Experience of working effectively in an environment which is subject to rapid change (S&I) Proven track record of working effectively with a range of diverse stakeholders (S&I) Desirable – Higher education to bachelor or masters level (or vocational qualification equivalent) (S) Change management and Lean Six Sigma methodologies (S) Experience in and/or clear understanding of the technology and innovation landscape (S&I) Significant portfolio/programme management experience relating to funding programmes (S&I) Strong track record of implementing, leading and developing portfolio offices or programme management services (S&I) Resource management in a matrix environment (I) Strong track record in development of effective performance and impact reporting (S&I) Demonstration of continuous improvement activity that has had a significant impact on the wider organisation (S&I) Skills: Excellent communication skills, written and verbal (S&I) Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills (I) Excellent programme planning and delivery skills (S&I) Strong people management, leadership and development skillset (S&I) Ability to get things done – being solution focussed with a collaborative style (I) Accuracy and attention to detail (S&I) Strong self-awareness skills and a high level of professionalism (I) Patience and self-motivation (I) Self-assurance and strong resilience (I) Awareness of the political sensitivities and the workings of both Government and its partners and customers (I) Competencies: All team members demonstrate compatibility with and capability against our Core Competencies such as: Thinking and Problem Solving – Stakeholder management – Communication skills – Influencing – Self-awareness/self-management – Strategic awareness – Working with others– Project management Some of the above competencies will be assessed at interview stage, in addition to the criteria’s listed in the person specification. Travel Requirements: Swindon-based : There may be the occasional requirement for national travel. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: Innovate UK is a diverse workforce of people. We believe that encouraging these differences and drawing the best from them will build a productive environment in which everyone feels valued, where talents are fully utilised and in which organisational goals are met. Underpinning this is a belief that it is a fundamental right for everyone to be treated equally, with fairness, respect and dignity. We will act directly and use our influence to ensure that this right is promoted and upheld; we encourage applications from all those who meet the criteria set-out in our role profiles. Equal Opportunities: We are an equal opportunities employer, committed to employing any person who meets the criteria for our roles. When undertaking recruitment we may require applicants to undertake certain tests or assessments, some of which will be online and others may be in-person. If you have a disability, heath condition or specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia then you may be entitled to support with undertaking this type of assessment exercise. Where you feel that reasonable adjustments are required to support you, we ask that you advise your recruitment point of contact in a timely fashion, providing further information. In confidence, Innovate UK will then review your application for adjustments and provide support as required. UK Research and Innovation: Innovate UK is partner organisation within UK Research and Innovation. If successful in securing the position, your employer will be UK Research and Innovation. More information can be found online http://www.ukri.org/. Employee Benefits: We offer a benefits package crafted to provide an excellent work/life balance. This includes 30 days’ annual leave, 10.5 public and privilege days, flexible working hours, an exceptional defined benefit pension scheme, and access to a variety of support networks and discount schemes. Benefits of working at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Flexible Working: We understand the importance of work-life balance, and are happy to discuss the possibility of flexible working with applicants. Pre-employment Screening: To enable us to hire the very best people we will conduct a comprehensive pre-employment check on successful applicants as part of the recruitment process. The role holder will be required to have the appropriate level of security screening/vetting required for the role. UKRI reserves the right to run or re-run security clearance as required during the course of employment. UKRI supports research in areas that include animal health, agriculture and food security, and bioscience for health which includes research on animals, genetic modification and stem cell research. Whilst you may not have direct involvement in this type of research, you should consider how this aligns with your personal values or beliefs. To enable us to hire the very best people we will conduct a full and comprehensive pre-employment check as a crucial part of the recruitment process on all individuals that are offered a position with UKRI. This will include a security check and an extreme organisations affiliation check. Applications must be submitted by; 11-07-2025