UK Ministry of Defence
Deputy Head Programme Manager
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London (SW1A 2HB), Lichfield (WS14 9PY), Andover (SP11 8HJ), RAF Wyton (PE28 2EA), Bristol (BS34 8JH).
Other locations may be considered.
Job Summary
Do you want to work on one or the most exciting transformation projects in the public sector?
The Defence Housing Service (DHS) is being created through the Armed Forces Bill to deliver a step-change in housing for the UK’s Armed Forces and their families following the publication of the Defence Housing Strategy on 3 November 2025, which marked the most significant change to Armed Forces housing in over 50 years. DHS will bring a dedicated focus to improving the homes, communities and lived experience of Service personnel, placing families firmly at the heart of everything it does.
This is one of the most ambitious housing transformation programmes in the UK today. Backed by a £9.2 billion investment, DHS will modernise tens of thousands of homes, introduce a more proactive and customer-focused approach to maintenance, and unlock new opportunities to develop housing on Defence land. DHS will have the focus and agility to deliver change at pace, combining public service values with greater flexibility to build the skills, systems and partnerships needed for the future.
This is a rare opportunity to be part of shaping its culture, influencing how it works, and helping deliver lasting improvements for Service families across the UK.
The Defence Housing team is currently part of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), who respond to the evolving needs of our military personnel, and the ways in which they live, work, train and deploy. We are proud to be the expert partner Defence needs for all their infrastructure requirements. From large scale infrastructure projects such as runways for the F35 fighter jets to net carbon-zero accommodation for our Service families, our activities focus relentlessly on our customers, and our outputs are unique in the UK and across the globe! DIO, What we deliver every day.
Job Description
As a Deputy Head Programme Manager in the Future Contracts Team, you will lead the development, procurement and implementation of future accommodation repair and maintenance contracts that will shape housing services for Service personnel and their families for years to come.
Providing strategic leadership across a complex portfolio of work, you will drive the delivery of innovative, sustainable and value-for-money solutions that meet evolving Defence and government priorities. Working with multidisciplinary teams spanning commercial, technical, mobilisation, transition and assurance functions, you will ensure the successful delivery of new operating models, enhance customer experience and secure lasting improvements across the Defence housing estate.
This is a unique opportunity to lead large-scale change, influence strategic decision-making and make a meaningful impact on the lives of thousands of Defence customers.
What you’ll be doing;
- Lead the programme which will implement future accommodation repair and maintenance contracts that will shape housing services for Service personnel and their families for years to come.
- Drive the replacement, enhancement and creation of major housing, maintenance, compliance and facilities management contracts.
- Provide strategic leadership across complex transformation and procurement activities.
- Shape future service delivery models that improve outcomes for Service personnel and their families.
- Oversee the development of business cases, programme governance and assurance arrangements.
- Ensure contracts deliver value for money, innovation, sustainability and legal compliance.
- Lead engagement with suppliers and support procurement, contract negotiation and mobilisation activities.
- Manage programme-wide risks, dependencies and delivery challenges to ensure successful outcomes.
- Provide senior-level advice, assurance and reporting to boards, investment committees and executive stakeholders.
- Ensure a smooth transition from existing contracts while maintaining service continuity.
- Champion customer needs, ensuring the user experience is central to future contract design.
- Build and maintain strong relationships across Defence, government, industry partners and wider stakeholders.
- Lead, develop and inspire a multidisciplinary team, fostering a collaborative and high-performing culture.
- Drive continuous improvement and innovation across the Defence housing estate.
- Play a key role in delivering long-term improvements to accommodation services for the Armed Forces community.
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Whilst this role is advertised as a full-time position of 37 hours per week, we recognise the benefits of flexible working and are open to discussing part-time hours, job share arrangements, or other flexible working patterns with suitable candidates. Regular in-person attendance is required (this is expected to be approximately 60% of your working week) to promote the benefits of face-to-face collaboration alongside flexibility of hours to support work-life balance and business need. Initially, you may be expected to attend more frequently to familiarise yourselves with the site, the team, and your role.
Pre agreed travel to London will be required as part of the role.
Person Specification
To be successful with your application, you'll need to show that you meet the following essential criteria:
- Significant experience leading complex programmes, delivering large-scale contracts or transformation initiatives within estates, housing, facilities management, infrastructure, or similarly complex environments.
- Excellent stakeholder engagement and influencing skills, with experience building relationships and providing advice or assurance to senior leaders, Boards, government stakeholders, or equivalent executive-level audiences.
- Proven experience managing service transitions, contract exits, supplier mobilisation, and the implementation of new operating models.
- Demonstrable expertise in programme governance, risk management, assurance, and reporting within a complex organisational setting.
- Strong leadership capability, with experience leading multidisciplinary teams and delivering successful outcomes through others.
- An understanding of working within organisations that operate robust governance and approval frameworks.
Qualifications
- Programme Management Practitioner qualification (MSP, APM, or equivalent)
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Leadership
- Making Effective Decisions
- Communicating and Influencing
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Managing a Quality Service
- Changing and Improving
Salary and Benefits
Alongside your salary of £72,840, Ministry of Defence contributes £21,101 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).
- 25 days’ annual leave plus one day a year up to 30 days after five years, and eight bank holidays
- An extra day off to honour the sovereign’s birthday
- Flexible and hybrid working wherever possible to support your work-life balance - attending site a few days each week will be required and encouraged, depending on your role and team.
- Market-leading employer pension contribution of around 28.97%
- Enhanced parental leave schemes
- Recognition awards
- Access to specialist training and funded professional qualifications
- Support for progression
- Huge range of discounts – plus more!
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Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.
Your application will go through the following stages of assessment:
At Sift Stage, Applicants Will Be Required To Provide
- A CV in the Job History section, ensuring it clearly demonstrates how you meet the essential criteria outlined in the person specification. We encourage you to use specific evidence from your experience to illustrate your suitability for the role.
- A personal statement (no more than 500 words) providing examples of how you meet the two most critical criteria for the role. Further guidance is given within the Personal Statement section of the application.
Applications will be assessed against the essential criteria, with each criterion scored on a scale of 1 to 7. An overall score will then be calculated using the average of all criterion scores. To progress beyond the sift stage, applicants must achieve a minimum score of 4 on every essential criterion. This means that even if your overall average score is 4 or higher, you will not progress if you score below 4 on any individual essential criterion.
Please note that, in the event of a high volume of applications, the selection panel reserves the right to increase the overall pass mark.
At interview, you will be assessed against the following behaviours:
- Behaviour 1: Leadership
- Behaviour 2: Making Effective Decisions
- Behaviour 3: Communicating and Influencing
- Behaviour 4: Seeing the Big Picture
- Behaviour 5: Managing a Quality Service
- Behaviour 6: Changing and Improving
In the event of a tie at interview, candidates will be ranked according to their scores in the assessed behaviours, in the order listed above.
The interview will be on Teams and dates are yet to be confirmed. We will try and offer as much flexibility as we can, but it may not be possible to offer alternative dates for interviews.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a standard (or equivalent) criminal record check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.
Nationality requirements
This Job Is Broadly Open To The Following Groups
- UK nationals
- nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
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