Transformation Programme Support Officer

About the Borough

Found in zone 6 with good transport links in and out of London, Kingston is a vibrant and diverse university town which creates the rich sense of community shared across the borough and its Residents. Kingston boasts an idyllic riverside location, good shopping and great restaurants, as well as a mix of modern and historic town centre. Kingston has lots of open parklands and cycle routes that help connect the district town centres into an enjoyable place to live and work.

We are passionate about working closely with our residents and vulnerable groups to help them maintain their independence and create a balance between support and independent living.

About the Service and Team

About Kingston

At Kingston, we’re passionate about our Royal Borough and committed to involving our communities in shaping the future. Our Transformation Programme focuses on building on our strengths, challenging how we work, and delivering positive, sustainable outcomes. We aim to think differently about how services are delivered, working closely with our residents to meet their needs.

About the Service

This role will sit within the Corporate Transformation and PMO team, which is the engine room responsible for driving the Change & Transformation Programme across the organisation. Kingston has developed a very ambitious transformation agenda, which includes a number of large strategic programmes that will transform the way services are delivered, empowering staff and improving outcomes for residents. We’re a dynamic, innovative and supportive team with a broad skill set, working collaboratively and at pace. No two days are the same, and you’ll have the opportunity to work on a wide variety of tasks with multiple stakeholders. It’s an exciting time to join us if you thrive in a fast-moving environment.

About the Role and Our Ideal Candidate

About the role

This role will support the Corporate PMO Partner in managing and overseeing the reporting and assurance activities for the Transformation Programme. Working closely with the PMO Partner and other delivery specialists, the post holder will be responsible for coordinating and preparing programme board meeting packs, supporting the smooth running of meetings by tracking actions and ensuring follow-up, supporting stakeholder engagement, and contributing to corporate reporting, all while championing strong governance practices. The role will also include providing dedicated support to specific Transformation Programmes and senior stakeholders, including Programme Managers and Senior Responsible Officers, helping to maintain pace and drive delivery.

Above all, you’ll need to be an extremely driven, proactive and super organised self-starter who thrives on achieving change. We’re looking to build sector leaders, people who really want to transform the way we do things.

This role is suitable for a graduate with a relevant degree who is looking to play a pivotal role in delivering Kingston’s Transformation Programme. There are lots of opportunities to gain exposure and build meaningful professional relationships with internal and external networks. This role reports to the Corporate PMO Partner and will work closely with the wider transformation team.

In this role you will:

• Provide high-quality programme and project support to Transformation Programme Managers, SRO’s and workstream leads. This could include coordinating workstream activities, maintaining programme plans, analysing data, ensuring documentation is up to date, supporting delivery of milestones, organising workshops and engagement sessions, and acting as a key contact point to keep programme activity moving at pace.
• Maintain and update programme documentation, logs and registers, including risks, issues, decisions and dependencies.
• Assist with the preparation of corporate reports and dashboards
• Provide administrative support to the PMO Partner and the Head of Service, including diary management of the team diary.
• Support with the ongoing maintenance of the Councils project management framework, including updating and creating new processes, templates, guidance and developing training packages.
• Continue to build and develop your project management understanding
• Support the Head of Service in building the profile of the Transformation Programme with the development of communication materials, presentations, and internal announcements.
• Work with colleagues and other stakeholders across the Council in a networked way to drive the transformation and continuous improvement agenda across all services and outcomes.
• Work with our PMO Partner to lead and promote our Project and Programme Management Community of Practice, including coordinating events, working with internal networks, drafting communications and proposing ideas for future events.

About you

To be successful in this role, you will bring a blend of flexibility and curiosity. You will be someone who thrives in a dynamic environment and can confidently manage multiple pieces of work at once, even when information is evolving or unclear. You will have:

• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to juggle competing priorities, manage multiple deadlines simultaneously and maintain accuracy under pressure.
• Understanding and relevant practical experience of project management and delivery
• Understanding of local authorities and the services within including challenges within a local government context
• A positive, forward-thinking mindset, acting as an advocate for change and innovation and demonstrating flexibility when priorities shift.
• A proactive, solution-focused approach, with the ability to anticipate needs and take initiative.
• Good analytical skills, with the ability to interpret information and support reporting.
• Excellent communication skills, with the confidence to engage effectively with stakeholders at all levels.

Our Offer to You

As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across however big or small; will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.

Employees have access to a wide range of benefits to enable staff to achieve a work life balance, some of which include:

• A generous annual leave entitlement of 25-32 days, plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply) depending on service and grade.
• Enhanced Maternity, Paternity, shared parental, adoption and dependents leave
• Three volunteering days per year in Kingston
• Hybrid working (dependent on the role)
• Flexible and agile working arrangements using Google Chromebooks
• Learning and development portal offering a range of courses
• Discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
• Zip car scheme
• Confidential health & wellbeing and counselling support

Application Process

Apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application and check your CV details have been uploaded correctly in the relevant sections.

We understand and recognise the benefits of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the workplace and are embracing AI where appropriate, to boost our productivity and streamline how we deliver our Council services efficiently; to provide the best possible outcomes for our residents and communities.
However, we reserve the right to reject applications where it is apparent that AI-generated content has been used in isolation and without personalised responses. At Kingston we value authenticity and are looking for individuals who can clearly demonstrate their own skills, experience and motivation for the role that they are applying for and embrace and demonstrate our STAR values.
Here at Kingston we have core values of Transparency and this is to be demonstrated during the application process and completion of the supporting statement and will be further tested at interview and selection stage for those who progress forward.

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

As part of our award winning Diversity Programme we anonymise all applications received to reduce conscious and unconscious bias enabling every application to be reviewed on the knowledge, skills and experience shown in your application. We encourage our interview panels to be as diverse as possible (age, cultural, neurodiverse etc.) to reduce bias where possible. We are fully committed to removing barriers and enhancing the diversity of our workforce.

Additional Information

We are proud to be a diverse and welcoming Borough and we strive to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve, and instil a sense of belonging in our staff. We celebrate and respect differences and appreciate the value of having a diverse workforce, therefore we welcome applications from under represented groups.

To support our workers and their families we offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.

We are also proud to be a disability confident employer and guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum essential criteria for a role. As an accredited London Living Wage Employer all our employees are guaranteed the London Living Wage regardless of their length or type of contract.

The UK has a points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance. Sponsorship availability varies and is subject to eligibility requirements and budget limitations. As a result, we cannot guarantee sponsorship for all roles and will evaluate sponsorship requests on a case-by-case basis.