Highways England

Programme Development Specialist Full Time Location: Guildford Salary: £33,940 - £37,334 Closing date: 07/09/2020   Your new role We currently have a new opportunity for a Programme Development Specialist to join our Programme Development Team in Guildford.  Within this role you will be managing and coordinating a robust and systemic programme development and value management (VM) process for the region, ensuring investment proposals and emerging solutions meet intended outcomes and provide the best lifecycle value. What you’ll be leading on Manage and facilitate the development of the region’s 5-10 years forward programme of work, coordinating inputs and activities across multiple regional teams (e.g. Route Management and Asset Needs Management). Ensure all relevant activities required in the development of the forward programme are well planned, managed and delivered within expected timescales and quality standards also ensuring that all supporting information and documents are effectively stored and controlled.  Manage the development of project briefs and business cases, ensuring business outcomes are clearly articulated, and that all necessary stakeholders (e.g. engineering, design, delivery, supply chain teams etc.) are consulted on the development of the proposed solution. Manage the project brief and business case approval process, liaising with Route Managers and other stakeholders (e.g. Asset Needs teams) to manage timescales and impacts on the forward programme planning process. Project Manage and coordinate feasibility studies and activities involved in early solution development. Manage the existing Road Investment Strategy programme - extensive and regular liaison with Major Projects to ensure management of Client Scheme Requirements to ensure correct outcomes are achieved. Manage work from consultants and delivery partners to ensure it is being delivered to time and within budget.  Assist in the management of stakeholders expectations.   To be successful Strong understanding of relevant technical asset policies and strategies Knowledge of Scheme/Project identification and development of a forward programme Asset management decision making (capital investment, lifecycle costs, value optimisation, service availability optimisation, social & economic knowledge) Good commercial and financial acumen, including budget management Evidence of working successfully with internal and external stakeholders   A bit about us At Highways England, safety is our number one priority. It is one of our core values, as well as a behaviour we expect from our people. Our vision is that everyone who uses our roads, as well as those who work for us, get home, safe and well. Our  Home Safe and Well approach  sets out our commitments and how our employees can contribute. Working for us, you’ll recognise the behaviours required to achieve our vision, and help create a fair and just culture for us all. You should be able to fully understand the hazards and risks that are involved in your work, and follow our procedures safely. We want you to feel able to raise health, safety and wellbeing concerns with your colleagues, and to challenge unsafe conditions or behaviours   wherever you see them. We’re always seeking to improve our performance, and want you to be at the heart of that - helping us all get home safe and well.    Why you should join us At Highways England we believe in a connected country. We are passionate about creating a culture where colleagues feel connected, included and enjoy greater wellbeing to achieve this.  We’re proud that as an organisation we are continually striving to do better and actively encourage and support our colleagues to do the same with their careers.   So if you put safety first, take ownership of your work, show passion for what you do, work effectively in a team, and demonstrate integrity in how you do it – then you’ll be a great fit for our organisation And finally And finally we reserve the right to close before the advertised closing date, so we recommend completing your application as soon as possible. Want to know more? Take a look at the role profile below!   Job Purpose  To deliver a robust and systemic programme development and value management process for the Region, ensuring investment proposals and emerging solution designs meet intended outcomes and provide the best lifecycle value.    Key Accountabilities   To work with key stakeholder to develop the region’s 5-10 years forward programme of work, coordinating inputs and activities across multiple regional teams (e.g. Route Management and Asset Needs Management).  To develop scheme project briefs and business cases for the forward programme, ensuring business outcomes are clearly articulated, and that all necessary stakeholders (e.g. engineering, design, delivery, supply chain teams etc.) provide inputs and are consulted on the development of proposed solutions / designs.  To develop packages of work for scheme delivery suppliers (e.g. Design suppliers), ensuring that these accurately reflect the work required to address the asset need.  To project manage and coordinate feasibility studies and activities involved in early solution development.  To manage programme development related activities within expected timescales and quality standards, ensuring activities are well planned and coordinated and that all supporting information and documents are effectively stored and controlled.  To control the region’s project brief and business case approval process, liaising with Route Managers to manage timescales and impacts on the forward programme planning process.  To provide technical value management (VM) knowledge to assess proposed solutions / designs against overall costs and benefits; present proposals and recommendations to stakeholders (e.g. Route Managers, Asset Engineers) to agree sustainable solutions, with due regard to funding and delivery constraints.  To evaluate VM implications for in-flight projects with significant design and/or scope deviation, and provide recommendations to inform management decision making.  Recommend opportunities to improve programme development and VM processes and approaches; champion and share best practice, and promote compliance to recognised standards.  To ensure the health and safety needs and wellbeing of customers and employees are fully considered and accounted for throughout the planning and delivery of activities.  To carry out such other duties which are consistent with the nature and responsibilities of this role.  People management responsibilities  N/A  Budget management responsibilities  Facilitates the development of the region’s forward programme and overall budget  Key contacts/relationships/stakeholders managed  Regional Operations stakeholders – internal and external  Supply chain  Finance  Commercial & Procurement  Person Specification   Business Knowledge and Experience  Good understanding of relevant technical asset policies and strategies   Good understanding of VM processes and costs benefits analysis in a similar business environment   Good commercial and financial acumen   Good knowledge of project management disciplines  Functional / Technical Skills   Engineering qualifications / accreditation OR significant demonstrable experience in a comparable role  Identification and use of appropriate metrics for analysis and interpretation of information   Investment appraisal and optimisation techniques; value-for-money processes, criteria and financial evaluation methods   Knowledge of relevant legislative and regulatory frameworks  Knowledge of sustainability principles and the application of sustainable development  Stakeholder management  Values and Behaviours   Embrace the organisation’s values and model associated behaviours:   Safety:  Keep ourselves and others safe, above all else  Passion:  Deliver with energy and pace, care about what we do, continuously improve and innovate, provide great service in everything we do  Integrity:  Open, honest and professional, respect and value the contribution others make, do what we say, always do the right thing  Teamwork:  Work together effectively to achieve our goals, work efficiently and flexibly, listen to others and communicate clearly  Ownership:  Take accountability, learn from failure and celebrate success, agree stretching goals and delivering them, maintain focus on our imperatives      Health & Safety   Be responsible and accountable for the health and safety of yourself and those you work with. Maintain familiarity with all relevant safe working procedures and instructions. Be willing to raise health and safety issues with your line-manager and to challenge unsafe conditions or behaviour amongst your colleagues.