Portfolio Assurance & Planning Officer
| Posting date: | 19 September 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £41,669 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 05 October 2025 |
| Location: | Manchester, Greater Manchester |
| Remote working: | Hybrid - work remotely up to 3 days per week |
| Company: | The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: |
Summary
Make a difference, join our team.
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) is a modern, vibrant organisation full of passionate, committed people. We make final decisions on complaints that have not been resolved by UK Government departments and the NHS in England. We work closely with people to understand where, how and why public services sometimes fall short and fail to put people first. And we find ways to put it right.
Based in the centre of Manchester, we employ 600 individuals, collaboratively working together to make voices heard. We have created a diverse and inclusive culture, whilst offering flexibility to give you the autonomy to work in the best way suited to you. We are looking for someone to help improve how projects and change are planned and delivered across the organisation. This role will make sure that change initiatives are well organised, follow good practice, and support the organisation’s goals. It will also help senior management understand how things are going by collecting and analysing data and sharing decision-support dashboards and reports.
As the Portfolio Assurance and Planning Officer, you will help teams plan their work, check progress, and manage any problems or risks. You will be a key contact for senior management looking for insight into the status of the Portfolio of Change. You will also help improve how we work over time by reviewing how we execute strategic change and suggesting better ways of doing it.
The successful applicant will have:
Experience of managing processes to deliver projects and programmes, demand management, change intake, and change control
The ability to identify, share and promote good practices and lessons learned to create a culture of learning and good practice that supports continuous improvement to optimise the delivery of change initiatives, including programmes and projects
Awareness of how to systematically identify and monitor risks & issues, planning how to mitigate and respond to those risks and issues and implementing the responses.
We recognise the value of lived experience. If you have experience of complaining about any public body, we strongly encourage you to apply.
We know the value of having diverse, representative teams across our organisation. Which is why we particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented within the team. These include people who are:
Asian, Black, Mixed Ethnicity or another ethnic background
disabled
LGBTQ.
Benefits:
Civil Service Pension scheme
32.5 days annual leave
hybrid working, 40 percent office based
flexible working
access to a free, confidential Employee Assistance Programme offering 24/7 advice and support from professionals and counsellors
comprehensive learning and development programme
employee discount scheme across hundreds of retailers
bicycle loan scheme
season ticket loan
gym membership subsidy
paid for professional memberships
eye test reimbursement.
Inclusion & Wellbeing
Equality, diversity, inclusion, and wellbeing are vital to the way we work and our culture. We want our colleagues feel included, valued, and supported at work. It is essential that we are representative and accessible for the people who work here and those who use our service.
Actions we take to embed this include:
an anonymised shortlisting process to make sure it is fair and unbiased
monitoring the demographic trends in our workforce and making measured, sustained efforts to improve our diversity at all levels
providing wellbeing support and opportunities for personal and professional development for all colleagues
creating spaces for connection and engagement through our employee network groups and social clubs
part of the disability confident scheme
providing reasonable adjustments
engaging in regular inclusion learning to enhance the cultural competency of our organisation.
If you want to join a dedicated team that makes a real difference and helps raise standards in public services, then is the opportunity for you.
If you would like to learn more about the role, please contact Lain Burgos-Lovece, Head of Portfolio Management Office, Lain.Burgos-Lovece@ombudsman.org.uk
Interviews will be held onsite.
Please note that we don’t offer feedback at application stage.
PLEASE NOTE: We can only consider applications from candidates who have the right to work in the UK. We are unable to offer sponsorship as we do not have a licence.
We do not accept CV’s. To apply for the role, please complete the application form by clicking on the ‘apply now’ button.
No agencies. Applications from individuals only.
Important notice: fraudulent job postings
We have been made aware that some websites are falsely advertising job vacancies for the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO). We only advertise job vacancies through these official channels:
- our website
- LinkedIn
- Civil Service Jobs
- GOV.uk
- Indeed
Do not share personal details with any other websites claiming to represent PHSO. Contact our recruitment team to report any concerns at recruitment@ombudsman.org.uk
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) is a modern, vibrant organisation full of passionate, committed people. We make final decisions on complaints that have not been resolved by UK Government departments and the NHS in England. We work closely with people to understand where, how and why public services sometimes fall short and fail to put people first. And we find ways to put it right.
Based in the centre of Manchester, we employ 600 individuals, collaboratively working together to make voices heard. We have created a diverse and inclusive culture, whilst offering flexibility to give you the autonomy to work in the best way suited to you. We are looking for someone to help improve how projects and change are planned and delivered across the organisation. This role will make sure that change initiatives are well organised, follow good practice, and support the organisation’s goals. It will also help senior management understand how things are going by collecting and analysing data and sharing decision-support dashboards and reports.
As the Portfolio Assurance and Planning Officer, you will help teams plan their work, check progress, and manage any problems or risks. You will be a key contact for senior management looking for insight into the status of the Portfolio of Change. You will also help improve how we work over time by reviewing how we execute strategic change and suggesting better ways of doing it.
The successful applicant will have:
Experience of managing processes to deliver projects and programmes, demand management, change intake, and change control
The ability to identify, share and promote good practices and lessons learned to create a culture of learning and good practice that supports continuous improvement to optimise the delivery of change initiatives, including programmes and projects
Awareness of how to systematically identify and monitor risks & issues, planning how to mitigate and respond to those risks and issues and implementing the responses.
We recognise the value of lived experience. If you have experience of complaining about any public body, we strongly encourage you to apply.
We know the value of having diverse, representative teams across our organisation. Which is why we particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented within the team. These include people who are:
Asian, Black, Mixed Ethnicity or another ethnic background
disabled
LGBTQ.
Benefits:
Civil Service Pension scheme
32.5 days annual leave
hybrid working, 40 percent office based
flexible working
access to a free, confidential Employee Assistance Programme offering 24/7 advice and support from professionals and counsellors
comprehensive learning and development programme
employee discount scheme across hundreds of retailers
bicycle loan scheme
season ticket loan
gym membership subsidy
paid for professional memberships
eye test reimbursement.
Inclusion & Wellbeing
Equality, diversity, inclusion, and wellbeing are vital to the way we work and our culture. We want our colleagues feel included, valued, and supported at work. It is essential that we are representative and accessible for the people who work here and those who use our service.
Actions we take to embed this include:
an anonymised shortlisting process to make sure it is fair and unbiased
monitoring the demographic trends in our workforce and making measured, sustained efforts to improve our diversity at all levels
providing wellbeing support and opportunities for personal and professional development for all colleagues
creating spaces for connection and engagement through our employee network groups and social clubs
part of the disability confident scheme
providing reasonable adjustments
engaging in regular inclusion learning to enhance the cultural competency of our organisation.
If you want to join a dedicated team that makes a real difference and helps raise standards in public services, then is the opportunity for you.
If you would like to learn more about the role, please contact Lain Burgos-Lovece, Head of Portfolio Management Office, Lain.Burgos-Lovece@ombudsman.org.uk
Interviews will be held onsite.
Please note that we don’t offer feedback at application stage.
PLEASE NOTE: We can only consider applications from candidates who have the right to work in the UK. We are unable to offer sponsorship as we do not have a licence.
We do not accept CV’s. To apply for the role, please complete the application form by clicking on the ‘apply now’ button.
No agencies. Applications from individuals only.
Important notice: fraudulent job postings
We have been made aware that some websites are falsely advertising job vacancies for the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO). We only advertise job vacancies through these official channels:
- our website
- Civil Service Jobs
- GOV.uk
- Indeed
Do not share personal details with any other websites claiming to represent PHSO. Contact our recruitment team to report any concerns at recruitment@ombudsman.org.uk
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme
Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.