Operations Service Manager

Business Area:
Omagh Bombing Inquiry Role

Title:

Operations Service Manager Terms of Appointment:
Loan/Fixed Term (2 years) Grade: SEO

Location:

Bradford Court, Belfast, BT8 6RB
or 1 Horse Guards, London, SW1A 2HQ
. Travel between Belfast and London will be required. Vacancy Manager:
Bethany Marriott Applications Invited From:
Existing Civil Servants on Level Transfer or Promotion New entrants to the Civil Service will be expected to join on the minimum of the pay range. Existing Civil Servants will have their salary calculated in accordance with the Departments pay on transfer / pay on promotion rules. The national starting salary is £42,914. The London starting salary is £49,325. Your salary will be dependent on your base location Background Please note, this role will be based at either Bradford Court, Belfast, BT8 6RB
or 1 Horse Guards, London, SW1A 2HQ
On 2 February 2023, the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland announced that he would establish an independent statutory inquiry into the Real IRA bombing of Omagh on 15 August 1998, in which 31 lives were lost. The Inquiry was formally established on publication of its Terms of Reference in February 2024. Since then, it has conducted a number of procedural hearings and commemorative public hearings in Omagh and Belfast.

The Chairman of the Inquiry is supported by a small secretariat, led by the Secretary to the Inquiry. The secretariat provides administrative and policy support to the Chairman and other office holders. The post holder will join a small innovative team and will contribute to the Inquirys work as it progresses towards holding evidential hearings. Its an exciting time to be part of an energetic growing team with lots of potential for development and growth.

About the Role:

Working to the Head of Operations, the Operations Service Manager is a key role and will support the Inquirys Secretariat to build and provide robust services to support the Chairman and Inquiry Legal Team in the delivery of the Inquiry. The post holder will work flexibly across the small Secretariat team to lead on and provide support across various work strands and will have the opportunity to have oversight of projects and processes from start to finish.

The role provides a number of opportunities for the post holder to see the tangible impact they will have across the Inquiry. The role will act as a project manager and lead on a number of varied projects and processes including; finance management and contract management. The post holder will be responsible for putting processes and structure in place and support the Inquiry in its delivery.

Duties and Responsibilities:

The main responsibilities of the role include but are not limited to:

Essential Criteria :
Forecasts and budgeting working with the Head of Operations to develop the Inquirys forecast and budgets. This involves working with numerous internal and external stakeholders including the NIO to build and have ownership over the Inquirys spend. Reporting schedule working with the sponsorship team within the NIO to consolidate monthly accounts and provide accurate reporting figures to the Inquiry Secretary and Chairman for review.

The post holder will also be responsible for consolidating the quarterly accounts and working with the colleagues across the Secretariat to arrange publication. Section 40 - this role will act as the link from the Secretariat to the Inquiry Legal Team (ILT) to provide oversight for Section 40 awards and spend. This will involve tracking spend, working with the ILT to determine awards and escalate issues where appropriate.

Contract Management this will involve leading on and acting as contract manager including working with the Secretariat and Inquiry Legal Team to consider team capacity and scaling support where required. The post holder will work with suppliers to onboard contractors and allocate resource to meet requirements. Project management the post holder will provide project management support across the secretariat to allow the Secretary to the Inquiry to have increased oversight.

Reporting and Governance providing support to the Head of Operations in their role at the Governance Board including deputising where needed. Hearings the post holder may also need to provide support to the Inquiry during hearings. The post holder will need to demonstrate the following in their application and at interview:
The role can be based in Belfast or London but the post holder must be willing to regularly travel to either location. Strong organisational skills Strong prioritisation, communication and influencing skills

Experience of working with a range of stakeholders

Experience of working to tight deadlines and ability to quickly resolve problems Experience building robust systems and providing service delivery in a fast-paced and dynamic environment Strong attention to detail particularly in written communication Desirable:
We will assess you against the following Success Profiles…