Programme Support Officer – UK Civil Service

Programme Support Officer – Department for Science, Innovation & Technology

Employer: Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT)
Department: Government Digital Service (GDS) – Digital Identity & GOV.UK One Login
Job Grade: Higher Executive Officer (HEO)
Reference: 478882
Salary: £36,735 – £43,020 per year
Contract: Permanent
Positions Available: 3
Locations: Bristol, London and Manchester
Working Pattern: Full-time, Part-time, Job Share and Flexible Working
Application Deadline: 11:55 pm, Sunday 6 September 2026

Important: DSIT has explicitly stated that visa sponsorship is not available for this campaign. Applicants must already have the right to work in the UK and meet the Civil Service nationality requirements.

About the Role

The Department for Science, Innovation & Technology is recruiting Programme Support Officers to join the Programme Management Office (PMO) supporting GOV.UK One Login.

GOV.UK One Login is a major government digital programme designed to provide a straightforward and secure way for people to access a range of government digital services.

The successful candidates will provide programme, business and operational support to help ensure the programme has the people, information, processes and governance arrangements required to deliver its priorities effectively.

This is an opportunity for an organised and proactive professional with experience in a PMO, project support office, programme delivery or business management environment.

About the Government Digital Service

The Government Digital Service (GDS) is the digital centre of the UK Government and is responsible for helping deliver a modern digital government.

GDS works across government to:

• Join up public sector services.
• Harness AI for the public good.
• Strengthen digital and data infrastructure.
• Develop leadership and digital talent.
• Support better funding and procurement outcomes.
• Promote transparency and accountability.

The Government Digital Service employs more than 1,000 people across the UK, with hubs including London, Manchester and Bristol.

Successful candidates will work alongside experienced digital professionals and contribute to programmes that affect millions of people across the UK.

About the Programme Management Office

The Programme Management Office supports the successful delivery of GOV.UK One Login by providing business support, governance and operational coordination.

The team works with programme managers, delivery teams, corporate functions and senior stakeholders across DSIT.

Its responsibilities include:

• Recruitment.
• Onboarding and offboarding.
• Finance.
• Governance.
• Business planning.
• Stakeholder engagement.
• Programme reporting.
• Operational coordination.
• Continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities

Programme and Project Support

You will:

• Provide day-to-day support to programme and project managers.
• Coordinate programme activities and monitor progress.
• Maintain programme trackers, action logs, risk and issue information.
• Coordinate information and actions across multiple teams.
• Follow up outstanding actions and deadlines.
• Support programme planning, workshops and meetings.
• Identify issues, dependencies and delays.
• Escalate issues appropriately.

Governance

Responsibilities include:

• Coordinating programme governance meetings.
• Scheduling meetings and managing attendance.
• Preparing agendas and coordinating papers.
• Quality-checking supporting information.
• Recording decisions and actions.
• Maintaining governance action and decision logs.
• Following up action owners.
• Tracking actions through to completion.
• Supporting programme boards and senior leadership meetings.
• Maintaining clear governance documentation.

Recruitment and Workforce Support

You will also support workforce activity by:

• Coordinating recruitment activity.
• Maintaining recruitment trackers.
• Monitoring vacancies and recruitment stages.
• Coordinating interviews and assessments.
• Supporting pre-employment activity.
• Coordinating onboarding.
• Supporting offboarding.
• Maintaining accurate workforce information.
• Providing workforce updates to programme managers.

Finance and Business Management

The role includes supporting financial and business management activities such as:

• Purchase orders.
• Invoices.
• Financial queries.
• Financial tracking.
• Monitoring expenditure and commitments.
• Working with budget holders and finance colleagues.
• Supporting financial reporting.
• Tracking financial actions and deadlines.
• Escalating financial issues that could affect delivery.

Management Information and Reporting

You will:

• Maintain programme management information.
• Maintain reporting trackers.
• Collect information from programme and delivery teams.
• Consolidate information for reporting.
• Support regular programme reports and updates.
• Quality-check information.
• Identify gaps and inconsistencies.
• Provide accurate information for programme planning and decision-making.
• Maintain appropriate audit trails.

Business Planning

The successful candidate will help the programme team coordinate delivery against business plans and programme priorities.

Duties include:

• Maintaining milestone and delivery trackers.
• Gathering updates from colleagues.
• Monitoring deadlines.
• Identifying delays and dependencies.
• Supporting business planning updates.
• Preparing information for programme leads and senior stakeholders.

Shared Inbox and Operational Support

You may be responsible for:

• Monitoring shared programme inboxes.
• Triaging incoming requests.
• Responding to routine enquiries.
• Directing complex requests to the appropriate team.
• Following up outstanding requests.
• Maintaining records of enquiries and actions.
• Identifying recurring issues and helping improve guidance and processes.

Stakeholder Engagement

You will work with colleagues and stakeholders across the department.

This includes:

• Building effective working relationships.
• Coordinating activity across multiple teams.
• Communicating progress and deadlines.
• Providing regular updates.
• Managing sensitive or urgent requests.
• Resolving issues and removing delivery barriers.
• Communicating professionally with stakeholders at different levels.

Prioritisation and Delivery

The role requires the ability to:

• Manage multiple competing priorities.
• Work independently.
• Use sound judgement.
• Respond to changing priorities.
• Handle urgent requests.
• Meet tight deadlines.
• Maintain accuracy and quality.
• Identify potential delays.
• Take proactive action to keep work moving.

Continuous Improvement

You will also contribute to improving PMO processes and ways of working.

This includes:

• Identifying inefficient processes.
• Developing templates and guidance.
• Improving trackers and systems.
• Reviewing existing processes.
• Suggesting practical improvements.
• Supporting implementation of agreed improvements.
• Sharing good practice.
• Helping create consistent and efficient programme support services.

Essential Requirements

Applicants should be able to demonstrate relevant experience in the following areas.

1. Programme or Project Environment

Experience working within:

• A Programme Management Office.
• Project Support Office.
• Business Management Team.
• Programme delivery environment.
• Similar operational programme environment.

Experience should involve direct programme or project support rather than solely general administrative duties.

2. Governance Experience

Experience coordinating governance activities, including:

• Organising meetings.
• Preparing papers.
• Coordinating documentation.
• Maintaining action and decision logs.
• Tracking actions through completion.

3. Recruitment and Workforce Support

Experience supporting:

• Recruitment.
• Workforce planning.
• Onboarding.
• Offboarding.
• Corporate workforce activity.

Applicants should have experience coordinating activity between multiple teams or stakeholders.

4. Management Information and Financial Tracking

Experience maintaining:

• Management information.
• Programme reports.
• Delivery trackers.
• Financial information.
• Programme records.

This information should support programme delivery, monitoring, planning or decision-making.

5. Prioritisation and Delivery

You must be able to demonstrate experience managing competing priorities and delivering accurate, high-quality work to tight deadlines with minimal supervision.

6. Stakeholder Management

Experience building effective relationships with:

• Senior stakeholders.
• Programme colleagues.
• Corporate teams.
• Different business areas.

You should be able to coordinate activity, communicate progress and help resolve issues.

7. Continuous Improvement

Experience identifying and implementing improvements to:

• Business processes.
• Systems.
• Ways of working.
• Programme support arrangements.

You should be able to demonstrate how improvements increased efficiency, quality or effectiveness.

Desirable Experience

The following would be advantageous:

• Experience working in the Civil Service or a large public sector organisation.
• Experience supporting digital, technology or Agile programmes.
• Experience using programme or project management systems.
• Experience with purchase orders, invoices or budget monitoring.
• Understanding of programme governance, assurance and reporting.
• Experience producing management information for senior stakeholders.

The Ideal Candidate

DSIT is looking for someone who is:

• Organised and proactive.
• Comfortable working in complex programme environments.
• Able to take ownership of their work.
• Confident coordinating multiple teams.
• Comfortable working with senior stakeholders.
• Able to work independently.
• Able to use sound judgement.
• Highly accurate and detail-focused.
• Confident communicating at different levels.
• Able to manage competing deadlines.
• Interested in continuous improvement.
• Collaborative.
• Committed to delivering a high-quality service.

Salary and Pension

The salary is:

£36,735 – £43,020 per year

Salary ranges are:

• National: £36,735 – £39,670
• London: £39,850 – £43,020

The position also includes membership of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension Scheme, with an employer contribution of 28.97%.

New entrants are expected to join at the minimum of the applicable pay band.

Employee Benefits

Benefits include:

• Flexible working options.
• Job sharing.
• Homeworking where appropriate.
• Compressed hours.
• Civil Service Pension Scheme.
• Minimum of 25 days’ paid annual leave.
• Annual leave increasing by one day per year to a maximum of 30 days.
• Learning and professional development opportunities.
• Retail, travel and lifestyle employee discounts.
• Hybrid working arrangements.

Hybrid Working

DSIT operates a discretionary hybrid working policy.

The current expectation is for staff to attend an office or other non-home working location for approximately 40–60% of their time over the relevant accounting period.

The department does not normally offer full home working. Flexible working options may include occasional homeworking.

Visa Sponsorship – Important

Visa sponsorship is NOT available for this vacancy.

DSIT states that although it holds a visa sponsorship licence, the licence can only be used for certain roles and this particular campaign does not qualify.

Applicants should therefore ensure they already have the appropriate right to work in the UK before applying.

Application Process

This vacancy uses the Civil Service Success Profiles recruitment framework.

Candidates will be assessed on:

• Behaviours.
• Experience.

Applicants will be required to complete:

• A CV.
• A personal statement.

The CV included in the application form is for information purposes and will not be scored.

Personal Statement

Applicants must provide a personal statement of no more than 500 words.

The statement should provide an example demonstrating experience working within:

• A PMO.
• Project Support Office.
• Business Management Team.
• Similar programme delivery environment.

The example should explain:

• Your role.
• The programme or project you supported.
• Your responsibilities.
• Your contribution.
• The impact of your work.

Applications will be sifted on the personal statement.

Online Tests

After submitting the first stage of the application, candidates will be invited to complete:

• Civil Service Numerical Test.
• Civil Service Work Strengths Test.

Candidates must pass the required tests before submitting the full application.

Applicants are advised to complete the online tests as soon as possible, preferably within 24–48 hours of receiving the invitation.

The deadline for completing the tests is:

11:55 pm on 6 September 2026.

Failure to complete the required tests before the deadline may result in the application being withdrawn.

Online Assessment Maintenance

Civil Service online assessment services will have scheduled maintenance on:

Sunday 30 August 2026

During this period, online tests will be unavailable between:

4:00 pm and midnight BST

If you have already made progress, it will be saved and you can continue when the assessment service becomes available again.

Interview

The interview will consist of questions assessing the following behaviours:

Delivering at Pace

Changing and Improving

Managing a Quality Service

Sift and interview dates are to be confirmed.

Security Checks

Successful candidates must meet the required security standards before appointment.

This includes:

• Basic or equivalent criminal record checks.
• Security checks.
• Baseline Personnel Security Standard checks where applicable.
• Criminal Record Check through the Disclosure and Barring Service.
• Internal Fraud Database checks as part of pre-employment screening.

Candidates transferring from another government department may also be subject to a criminal record check.

Nationality Requirements

The vacancy is broadly open to eligible:

• UK nationals.
• Republic of Ireland nationals.
• Commonwealth nationals with the right to work in the UK.
• Eligible EU, Swiss, Norwegian, Icelandic and Liechtenstein nationals and qualifying family members with settled or pre-settled status.
• Certain individuals with limited or indefinite leave to remain who met the relevant EUSS eligibility requirements.
• Turkish nationals and certain qualifying family members who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service.

Applicants should check the official Civil Service nationality requirements before applying.

Civil Service Recruitment

Appointments are made according to the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles.

The Civil Service recruits on merit through fair and open competition and promotes diversity and equal opportunities.

The vacancy is also part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

Applications are welcomed from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction, subject to the relevant recruitment requirements.

Disability Confident Employer

DSIT is a Disability Confident Leader and welcomes applications from disabled candidates and candidates with long-term conditions.

Reasonable adjustments are available during the recruitment process.

Candidates who require adjustments are encouraged to discuss their requirements with the job contact.

Machinery of Government Changes

Candidates should be aware that following government announcements concerning changes to some Civil Service departments, roles may be subject to machinery of government changes and may ultimately sit within one of the new departments.

Further information will be provided to candidates if they progress through the recruitment process.

Reserve List

A location-based reserve list of successful candidates will be maintained for 12 months.

Candidates may also be placed on a reserve list for consideration for similar roles, including roles at a lower grade.

Job Details at a Glance

Job Detail	Information
Job Title	Programme Support Officer
Employer	Department for Science, Innovation & Technology
Team	Government Digital Service – GOV.UK One Login
Grade	Higher Executive Officer
Reference	478882
Salary	£36,735 – £43,020
Contract	Permanent
Vacancies	3
Locations	Bristol, London, Manchester
Working Pattern	Full-time, Part-time, Job Share, Flexible
Application Deadline	6 September 2026
Visa Sponsorship	Not available
Assessment	Success Profiles
Interview	Behaviour-based

How to Apply

Interested candidates should submit their application through the official Civil Service Jobs recruitment system before the deadline.

Application deadline: 11:55 pm, Sunday 6 September 2026.

Applicants should carefully review the full vacancy requirements, nationality rules, testing requirements and visa sponsorship position before submitting an application.

Apply Now

Official Civil Service Jobs vacancy:
https://www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/jobs.cgi?jcode=2011569

Important Application Reminder

Do not submit generic or copied examples in your personal statement.

The employer specifically states that application examples and statements must be truthful and based on the applicant’s own experience. Applicants should ensure their personal statement accurately reflects their professional background.

Only apply if you meet the eligibility, experience and right-to-work requirements.

Contact Information

Job Contact: Tilly Jones
Email: tilly.jones@dsit.gov.uk

Recruitment Team:
dsitresourcing.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

SEO Information

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Disclaimer

This job information has been arranged from the original vacancy advertisement for easier reading. Applicants should always check the official vacancy and application portal for the latest information, requirements and closing date before applying.