PMO/Project Support Officer

Role overview

The Ministry of Justice is seeking a Project Support Officer to help deliver nationally important projects that support public safety, reduce reoffending, and improve access to justice across the UK. This position sits within the Project Delivery Function, where project professionals are centrally managed and deployed across the department and its agencies according to business need.

This is a nationally advertised role, with placements possible across multiple regions including the East Midlands, East of England, London, North East England, North West England, Scotland, South East England, South West England, Wales, West Midlands, and Yorkshire and the Humber. The post is based nationally and may involve assignment to a suitable role at the same grade if the exact vacancy cannot be matched.

Successful candidates will join a flexible resource pool and are expected to commit to the role for a minimum of 18 months. The Ministry of Justice values openness, honesty, commitment, and a strong focus on delivering outcomes.

What the role involves

• Supporting the Project Manager by running project management processes and coordinating business support activities.
• Setting up and maintaining effective planning and scheduling arrangements.
• Building and maintaining project controls, tracking progress, and keeping the Project Manager updated on status.
• Preparing performance updates, statistics, and research inputs for project reporting.
• Handling administrative work efficiently, including secretariat duties, minute taking, and support for project boards.
• Ensuring compliance with departmental requirements relating to security, health and safety, equality and diversity, business continuity, and business planning.
• Helping identify, develop, and deploy resources, including workforce planning and support for management decisions.
• Procurement of supplies and services within delegated financial authority limits.
• Managing relationships with internal and external stakeholders and acting as a lead contact for some external parties.
• Drafting correspondence and supporting stakeholder communication.
• Monitoring spend, supporting budget preparation and business case development, and maintaining an accurate asset register.
• Managing risks and issues, escalating concerns when needed, and working alongside risk managers.
• Collecting, analysing, and sharing data using digital tools and data standards to support monitoring and issue identification.
• Line managing Project Delivery Professional(s), including HR and wellbeing support, coaching, mentoring, and quality assurance for project management standards.

Experience and capability sought

• Experience supporting projects and working with multidisciplinary teams to deliver outcomes within tight deadlines and limited resources.
• Experience organising teams, putting processes in place, and working to deadlines.
• Comfortable using Microsoft Office tools.

Working pattern and location

This is a full-time role only. Alternative working patterns may be considered, but they may not be available. Job sharing and reduced hours can be reviewed case by case under the Ministry of Justice flexible working and equality policies.

No home-working contract is offered. The base office will be agreed if successful and may be at an MoJ HQ site, Justice Collaboration Centre, or Justice Satellite Office. Frequent travel will be required to locations where major projects are based. MoJ employees are normally expected to attend the office at least two days each week.

Pay and grade

The position is at Higher Executive Officer (HEO) grade. New joiners to the Civil Service will normally enter at the minimum of the pay range, and that starting point is not negotiable. Current Civil Servants will have pay determined under transfer or promotion rules.

Recruitment process

The selection process uses Success Profiles and will assess experience and technical skills. Applicants must provide an anonymised CV covering career history, key responsibilities, achievements, full employment history, and explanations for any gaps in the last two years. The CV must be no longer than two A4 pages. An application form is also required, showing evidence against the Project Delivery Competencies in the Project Delivery Capability Framework.

Shortlisted candidates will complete an in-tray exercise the day before interview, designed to assess administrative responsibilities and use of planning tools. Interviews will be held only at 5 Wellington Place, Leeds, LS1 4AP and 10 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London, E14 4PU. The interview will focus on Project Delivery technical competencies only.

Further information

Artificial intelligence may be used to support an application, but every example, statement, and CV submission must be truthful, factually accurate, and based on the applicant’s own experience. Applications may be withdrawn where plagiarism or misuse of AI is identified, and internal candidates may face disciplinary action.

Existing Civil Servants may apply only on a loan basis, and prior approval for release on loan must be obtained before starting the application process. The loan terms will be agreed between the home and host departments. Successful candidates should save a copy of the advert before it closes, as the posting will no longer be available once the vacancy ends.

Technical skills expected

The role calls for strong capability in knowledge management, collaboration, risk and issue management, credible action, and planning. These areas cover sharing lessons learned, building productive stakeholder relationships, identifying and responding to risks, acting appropriately in line with public service expectations, and defining scope, deliverables, timelines, resources, and budgets.

Additional terms

Successful candidates must commit to the role for at least 18 months. Excess fares may be considered in line with Ministry of Justice policy, but relocation allowances are not available. The advert is open nationally and may lead to placement in another suitable position at the same grade if required by business need.