Portfolio Director - NHS Pensions
Job summary
Are you ready to lead transformational change that makes a real difference across the NHS? Do you want to use your expertise to shape and deliver largescale programmes that improve services, strengthen value for the taxpayer and support better health outcomes?
As our Portfolio Director for NHS Pensions, you'll play a key role in working with the Senior Responsible Owner and the NHS Pensions Senior Leadership team to lead and deliver some of the most complex and high-profile programmes and projects in the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA).
Leading major digital and service transformation, you'll oversee and deliver programmes that span national systems, involve significant investment, and impact all members of the NHS Pension scheme. This is a unique opportunity to help shape the future of the NHS Pension Scheme, ensuring we deliver with precision, integrity, and innovation. You'll influence change at scale and work with a wide range of senior leaders across government, the NHS and the wider health and care system.
What do we offer?
- 27 days leave (increasing with length of service) plus 8 bank holidays.
- Active wellbeing and inclusion networks
- Excellent pension (23.7% employer contribution)
- Various salary sacrifice schemes
- Employee Assistance programme, offering free 24/7 support for you and your loved ones
- Access to a wide range of benefits and high street and online discounts.
Main duties of the job
As the Portfolio Director for NHS Pensions, you will lead the successful delivery of large and complex transformation programmes, including those on the Government Major Projects Portfolio and Department Major Projects Portfolio. You will:
- Work in collaboration with Senior Responsible Officer/ NHS Pensions Director
- Establish robust governance and assurance arrangements.
- Manage high-level risks, issues and dependencies.
- Build and lead high performing multidisciplinary teams.
- Develop strategic relationships with senior leaders across government, NHS bodies and delivery partners.
- Ensure programmes are aligned to NHSBSA and wider NHS strategies.
- Prepare and secure Outline and Full Business Case approvals.
- Manage significant programme budgets, ensuring value for the taxpayer
- Oversee procurement and implementation of new digital and technical solutions (alongside commercial and Pensions services).
- Provide leadership that supports smooth transition to live service.
- Promote sustainability and social value within portfolio design.
- Uphold the NHSBSA values and lead teams in line with our CARE behaviours.
This is a hybrid role and can be based at any NHSBSA location across the UK.
Regular, national travel will be required on a weekly basis. Interviews are currently due to take place w/c 11th May at our Blackpool site.
Please note, dates may be subject to slight change dependent on service needs
About us
Here at the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), what we do matters.
We manage the NHS Pension scheme, process prescription payments and much more. Our services are used by NHS organisations, contractors and the public: we're proud to be part of something meaningful, that touches millions of lives.
We design our services around customer needs and place people at the heart of our organisation. That's why when you join us, you'll be empowered and supported to help your career grow.
As one of the UK's Best Big Companies to work for, we're connected to our values: Collaborative, Adventurous, Reliable and Energetic. We care about our people, our purpose, and your progress.
We strive to offer a fantastic colleague experience, where every colleague is heard, supported and respected. Wellbeing, diversity and inclusion is at the centre of this, and you can join our Lived Experience Networks who help us bring our authentic selves to work.
We're committed to being a flexible employer and we try to offer a working pattern that suits you where possible, through hybrid working, flexible hours and more.
Alongside a competitive salary with pay progression, we offer a people-centric benefits package, connecting you to the rewards and benefits you value most!
Ready to join us in delivering business service excellence to the NHS, helping people live longer, healthier lives? Apply today and see where the NHSBSA can take you.
We are people connected to care.
Job description
Job responsibilities
In this role, you are accountable for:
1. Establishing robust governance and assurance, managing risks and issues, and ensuring readiness for change.
2. Manage multiple stakeholder groups in highly complex environments, build consensus across diverse stakeholders, and develop strategic relationships with internal and external suppliers, with the support of the Senior Responsible Owner (SRO).
3. Build and lead high-performing, multidisciplinary programme teams, ensuring delivery to time, cost, and quality.
4. Ensure strategic alignment of the transformation programme, to both NHSBSA and the wider NHS strategies and plans (ensuring Technology, commercial, and people aspects are considered).
5. Developing Outline and Full Business Cases, (as per HM Treasurys five case model) and securing approvals from Programme Board, SRO, DHSC, Cabinet Office, and HM Treasury.
6. Managing a significant Transformation Programme budget, ensuring that the Programme is delivered within the agreed budgetary commitments, in line with the agreed delegated authority and tolerances set, whilst delivering taxpayer value.
7. Representing the NHSBSA and the programme working with senior stakeholders to identify, escalate and resolve issues and mitigate significant risks to delivery.
8. Establish appropriate and proportionate governance in line with NHSBSA and wider system standards, engaging with and influencing a range of strategic stakeholders providing regular updates to Cabinet Office, NISTA, DHSC and NHS sponsors, commissioners and users ensuring alignment to the NHSBSA portfolio management framework and other best practice guidelines.
9. Oversee the procurement and implementation of products and solutions which replace the existing legacy platform(s), in line with national, regional and local commercial strategies, ensuring value for the taxpayer.
10. Provide strategic leadership to monitor and maximise benefit delivery,
11. Ensure smooth transition to live service and implementation of new solutions, replacing legacy platforms where applicable
12. Ensure the programme management office function, is able to deliver accordingly with the necessary skills and capabilities to meet the programmes internal and external demands and delivers in accordance with portfolio and programme management frameworks and best practice using digital tools and data insights to inform decisions and track delivery.
13. Ensure quality assurance of dependency management and alignment with business governance.
14. Embed sustainability and social value into programme design, procurement and delivery.
15. Work in partnership with the other Directors and colleagues across the business to ensure the full engagement of all colleagues in their area and support in the delivery of the NHSBSAs portfolio management purpose and vision.
16. Provide professional leadership to all programme team colleagues at all levels throughout the NHSBSA, lead and oversee the day-to-day performance of staff in line with NHSBSA HR processes ensuring the active adoption of the GROW appraisal system and compliance with all mandatory training as specified by the organisation.
17. Role model NHSBSA CARE values and behaviours, ensuring compliance with health and safety, financial stewardship, and equality standards.
Person Specification
Personal Qualities, Knowledge and Skills
- A high degree of political astuteness
- Highly developed people management skills
- Highly developed analytical and problem-solving skills, capable of interpreting and evaluating complex, mufti-faceted information, ability to summarise complex information
- An awareness of the NHSBSA's strategy, business plans and major programmes of work
Experience
- Extensive experience in leadership roles which have required development of a vision that drives forward the programmes work and its future
- Coaching and mentoring at management level
- SC Security Cleared
Qualifications
- Educated to UK Government Major Project Leadership Academy (MPLA) / Masters level in relevant subject or equivalent levels of experience of working at very senior programme leadership level
- APM Chartered Professional
- NISTA accredited assurance reviewer
- Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) - Advanced Practitioner
- Project Leadership Programme (PLP)
- PRINCE 2 - Practitioner
- Management of Risk (MoR) - Practitioner
Personal Qualities, Knowledge and Skills
- Can and does apply project delivery knowledge and techniques to set projects up for success, reduce ambiguity and ensure successful delivery
- Strong commercial awareness
- Able to understand the value of and exploit commercial advice
- The ability to manage change in a constructive manner
- Strong leadership skills, including an ability to motivate and inspire teams to be successful and become high performing
- The ability to manage multi-faceted project plans
- Managing complexity and changing priorities through creative problem-solving
- Ability to manage varied and complex relationships to facilitate change and improvement
Experience
- Extensive breadth and depth of major project delivery experience, having led multiple programmes across all project phases a number of times, and performed a variety of project leadership roles
- Proven evidence of successful delivery in terms of complexity of what has been delivered and the scale of challenge
- Significant experience of performing at high level over a sustained period of time, in a large organisation which has a complex operating environment, where there is uncertainty and continual change
- Extensive experience of leading organisational change and creating a legacy beyond a particular programme or project
- Extensive experience of building productive and collaborative working relationships with internal and external stakeholders in order to arrive at mutually acceptable solutions to business issues
Personal Qualities, Knowledge and Skills
- Ability to think strategically and respond quickly to complex changing circumstances and high-pressure situations, maintaining a clear view of overall project priorities
- Comfortable making decisions and setting direction without having the full picture and can refocus as details emerge
- Credible and persuasive, commanding the confidence of senior stakeholders
- Displays professional courage with the confidence and authority to articulate, challenge, explain and justify decisions to senior stakeholders
- Remaining resilient in the face of extraordinary pressure
- Sophisticated appreciation of how to work effectively at the public/private interface with strong commercial nous and understanding
- Ability to influence, persuade and motivate others
- Building and maintaining constructive working relationships with appropriate stakeholders/contacts
- Working collaboratively
Experience
- Experience of motivating, enabling and empowering teams to deliver
- First class experience of modelling exemplary leadership skills and behaviours, communicating an organisational purpose and leading highly engaged teams
Employer details
Employer name
NHS Business Services Authority
Address
Any NHSBSA Location
Blackpool
FY1 3AH
Employer's website
https://careers.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/