Are you a Programme Assurance Specialist looking for a new role?  Want to be part of a new team to develop and drive fit for purpose projects and programmes?

As a Programme Assurance Specialist you’ll be part of a team of specialists responsible for driving improvements to the development and delivery of investment projects in line with our Single Assurance Framework (SAF).

It’s an exciting time to join the team, you'll have the chance to be part of assurance activity across the whole lifecycle of WMCA investment projects; from Initiation through to Development, Delivery and Closure covering areas such as transport, infrastructure, regeneration, and productivity & skills, across the West Midlands region. You’ll have all the tools, guidance and processes to support you to drive service/project improvement.

You’ll form part of WMCA’s second line of defence, leading independent assurance reviews and working alongside directorates and external providers to ensure projects are fit for purpose, achieve value for money and spend publicly funded programmes responsibly. You will act as a critical friend and provide independent assurance to project leads and help drive improvements to business cases against HM Treasury’s Green Book guidance.

What will you be doing?

• Work with key internal and external stakeholders and SMEs to ensure effective assurance of WMCA projects and programmes is implemented in accordance with WMCA SAF
• Provide advice and assistance to key stakeholders regarding implementation of the WMCA SAF
• Keep abreast of and evaluate the effectiveness of new Programme Assurance, Programme and Project Management techniques and governance best practice
• Support the Programme Assurance Manager in the development of Programme Assurance Toolkits, ensuring they reflect best practice and latest Government guidance and ensure consistent delivery across all Programme Assurance Specialists
• Develop bespoke assurance arrangements, templates and reporting methodologies, to support the development and delivery of effective Projects and Programmes
• Support the Programme Assurance Manager with ongoing reporting of Assurance activity

Our Finance & Business Hub provides essential high-quality, responsive, and agile enabling services to the West Midlands Combined Authority and its directorates in areas such as human resources, procurement, commercial investments, assurance and appraisal, financial control and administration, and financial and business planning and performance reporting.

We are a cohesive team of forward thinking, insightful, innovative and high-performing professionals who, through our consultative and business partnering approach, influence, support and coach managers and senior leaders to help them achieve business objectives. By doing so, we help to ensure sound decisions are made and it is in this capacity that we are seen as a respected point of contact within the organisation.

About you

You’ll be able to demonstrate experience in programme assurance and knowledge and/or awareness of HM Treasury Green Book.

Being able to build relationships with senior managers, demonstrating specialist best practice and constructively challenging is key to drive service service/project improvement

You’ll be a confident and engaging communicator, both in writing and verbally and be comfortable working on your own initiative.

Additionally, we are looking for:

• Proactive approach to problem-solving
• Management of priorities and able to meet deadlines
• Excellent interpersonal skills and persuasive skills with the ability to build effective relationships with internal/external stakeholders
• Analysis and evaluation of complex data in order to translate into improvement/assurance reporting to senior managers
• Degree level or equivalent
• PRINCE 2 Practitioner or equivalent (Essential)

About us

Our role in the West Midlands has never been more important and in these extraordinary times we’ve shown we can step forward, speak up for our region and bring people together. Everything we do is focused on making life better for people in the West Midlands – that’s our reason for being here and it drives every move we make. We lead and support others to deliver our shared future vision for the region – a happier, healthier, better connected place to live and work.

We fully believe that we are only as great as the people who work for us and are committed to providing a positive, healthy and inclusive working environment where our people feel valued and respected. We’re ambitious, forward thinking and determined to find better ways of working, always leading the way in what we do. We trust and support each other to get the job done, and encourage creativity, originality and curiosity from those who work with us.

We are a “Leaders in Diversity” accredited organisation, are in the Inclusive Top 50 Employers List and are one of The Times Top 50 Employers for Women. As a Disability Confident Employer, we have made a positive commitment to interviewing all applicants with a disability who meet the essential role criteria. We are committed to building a team of people with varied backgrounds and experiences as we recognise that this will only benefit us as an employer, the more inclusive we are the better our work will be, and welcome applications from young people, Black, Asian and ethnic minority groups and women at senior levels.

We’re dedicated to providing a broad range of rewards and benefits and constantly benchmark our benefits packages to ensure they are attractive for all our people. As well as a competitive salary, employees also receive 27 days annual leave (plus public holidays) and access to a great pension scheme.

Furthermore, wherever possible we will offer flexible working options which assist work-life balance. We are very happy to discuss a flexible working pattern that suits your needs, so please do not let that be a barrier to applying. If your values align with ours and you’re committed to working towards creating a future we can all be proud of, we want to hear from you.

About your application

The online Application Form you'll be asked to complete plays a key part in our recruitment and selection process. We use the information you provide to decide whether to invite you for an interview. It is important that you complete the Application Form as fully and accurately as possible. You will be asked to upload a Supporting Statement (not a CV) and this should include specific examples which demonstrate how you meet the essential criteria for the role for which you are applying. 

If you would like to discuss alternative methods to the online application as a reasonable adjustment please contact the Resourcing Team by email (careers@wmca.org.uk).

Location

16 Summer Lane, Birmingham, B91 3SD. Hybrid working conditions are currently in place which means working remotely and coming to the office when required.

Supporting documents
Programme Assurance Specialist