AMS PSR

On behalf of DEFRA, we are looking for a Project Support Officer (Inside IR35) for a 9 month contract. This is a hybrid working role (two days per week office based - Newcastle, York, Preston or Bristol).

In the Defra group, we deal with a vast range of issues that profoundly impact on people’s lives. We are responsible for England’s environment, our countryside and rural economy, the food and farming sectors and have lead responsibility for protection from a wide range of natural threats and hazards. We have developed a set of three strategic objectives covering our policy outcomes and corporate objectives. These objectives help us to deliver our ambitious vision to build our green and healthy future and provide a framework for all the important work we carry out.

Our objectives are:

• To pass on to the next generation a natural environment protected and enhanced for the future. 
• To lead the world in food, farming, and fisheries with a sustainable model of food production. 
• To be an outstanding organisation focused on making a difference, with world class delivery capability.

Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs www.gov.uk. 

25 Year Environment Plan - GOV.UK www.gov.uk.

Job Purpose:

The Project Support Officer provides essential coordination and administrative support to ensure effective delivery across projects and workstreams. They maintain key project documentation, track progress against plans, and update RAID logs to support proactive risk and issue management.

The role involves organising meetings, preparing papers, capturing actions, and ensuring information flows smoothly between stakeholders. Working closely with project managers and wider delivery teams, the Project Support Officer helps ensure governance, reporting, and assurance requirements are met, enabling the project to run efficiently and remain on track.

As a Project Support Officer, your main responsibilities will be to:

• Maintain and update essential project documentation, including plans, RAID logs, action logs, and dashboards.
• Support project governance by preparing meeting agendas, papers, minutes, and tracking actions to completion.
• Coordinate project activities, ensuring tasks and deadlines are monitored and escalated where appropriate.
• Assist with project reporting, producing regular updates for governance boards and senior stakeholders.
• Support risk and issue management by ensuring logs are updated and following up on mitigation actions.
• Organise and facilitate project meetings, workshops, and stakeholder sessions.
• Ensure effective information management, maintaining document repositories and ensuring compliance with standards.
• Work closely with project managers to support delivery planning, assurance requirements, and administrative tasks.
• Provide general support to the project team, including arranging logistics, updating trackers, and responding to queries.

Essential:

• Strong organisational and coordination skills with the ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines.
• Good written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present information clearly.
• Experience maintaining accurate documentation and supporting structured processes.
• Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues across different teams and levels.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office tools (e.g., Excel, Word, PowerPoint) and willingness to learn project‑specific tools.
• Attention to detail and commitment to maintaining high-quality, reliable project information.

Desirable:

• Experience working in a project, operational, or delivery environment.
• Awareness of project management methodologies such as Agile or Waterfall.
• Familiarity with project tools such as Planner, Jira, MS Project, or Project Online.
• Foundation-level project management training (e.g., APM PFQ, PRINCE2 Foundation) is beneficial but not essential.

Please be aware that this role can only be worked within the UK and not Overseas.

Disability Confident 

As a member of the Disability Confident Scheme, DEFRA guarantees to interview all candidates who have a disability and who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of candidates who have a disability who meet all the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group. This scheme encourages candidates with a disability and/or neurodivergence to apply. In exceptional circumstances, we may also need to apply the desirable criteria in our shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.

Armed Forces Commitment

DEFRA guarantees to interview veterans or spouses / partners of military personnel who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of ex-military candidates / military spouses or partners, who meet all of the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group. In exceptional circumstances, we may also need to apply the desirable criteria in our shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.

In applying for this role, you acknowledge the following "this role falls in scope of the Off Payroll Working in the Public Sector legislation. Any rates of payment quoted will reflect the gross rate per day for the assignment and will be subject to appropriate taxes and statutory costs. As such the payment to the intermediary and your income resulting from this contract will be different".