Job Description

Rate: £800 - £1,000 per day

Contract Length: Up to 3 months

Engagement Type: Outside IR35

Location: Birmingham (some on-site required)

Overview

An opportunity has arisen for a highly experienced independent consultant to undertake a strategic review of dependency management across a large and complex corporate transformation portfolio within a major public sector organisation.

Operating in a highly scrutinised and politically sensitive environment, this organisation is delivering a wide-ranging Improvement and Recovery Plan (IRP) aligned to its wider corporate strategy. With multiple programmes running concurrently at varying levels of maturity, effective dependency management is critical to ensure successful delivery, minimise risk, and drive sustainable transformation.

This engagement will provide an independent, strengths-based assessment of current approaches, alongside clear, actionable recommendations to improve the identification, management, and governance of dependencies across the portfolio and wider organisation.

Scope of the Assignment

You will conduct an independent review focusing on:

Evaluation of current dependency management processes, tools, templates, and adoption across the portfolio

Assessment of how programmes identify and manage inter- and intra-dependencies

Review of how dependencies are escalated, reported, and governed at portfolio level

Analysis of the Portfolio Management Office (PMO) approach, including future optimisation plans

Identification of best practice benchmarks and maturity gaps

Development of a scalable framework to support improved dependency management across the wider organisationThe review will primarily involve desktop analysis alongside stakeholder engagement at all levels, including senior leadership.

Key Deliverables

Regular progress updates to senior stakeholders (including PMO leadership and executive level)

Draft report outlining findings, insights, and initial recommendations

Final report covering:

Areas of good practice

Short-term and long-term improvement recommendations

Practical roadmap for implementation

Key enablers required to increase organisational maturity

Candidate Profile

We are seeking a senior consultant with:

Proven experience delivering and reviewing complex transformation programmes within local government

Strong expertise in portfolio and programme management, including dependency management best practice

Demonstrable experience conducting organisational or portfolio-level reviews and assessments

Ability to assess strategic impacts of dependencies across large-scale change initiatives

Excellent stakeholder engagement skills, with experience operating at Director and executive level

Strong track record of delivering actionable recommendations that drive measurable improvementEssential:

Extensive local authority experience

Prior delivery of major transformation/change programmes within councils

Independence (must not have previously worked with this organisation)

Additional Information

Full-time initially (approx. 4-6 weeks), with potential for part-time continuation up to 3 months

Relevant data, documentation, and stakeholder access will be provided

This role requires someone who can operate autonomously, quickly assess complex environments, and deliver high-impact outcomes

What you need to do now

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