Information Manager (Synergy Programme)

Government Recruitment Service; Leeds; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A public sector organization is seeking an Information Management Officer to manage and optimize information handling for the Synergy Programme. The ideal candidate will ensure compliance with information management policies and lead audits while providing support and training to colleagues. This role is crucial in impacting the procurement arrangements for Civil Servants across multiple departments, affecting over 230,000 individuals. Relevant qualifications in information management are essential, along with skills in stakeholder management and analytical thinking.

Qualifications

• Experience in managing programme information and records.
• Strong understanding of legal information rights, including Freedom of Information and Data Protection.
• Ability to design high-quality reports and conduct information handling audits.

Responsibilities

• Review and improve the Programme's information handling arrangements.
• Lead on information handling audits to ensure compliance.
• Act as a point of contact for information management queries.

Skills

Information management skills

Stakeholder management

Analytical thinking

Training and communication

Education

Relevant qualification in information management

Tools

SharePoint

Job description

Do you want to be part of an energetic, innovative team and bring your skills to one of the biggest changes to the administration of the Civil Service in decades? We are looking for people who are flexible, intuitive and are comfortable taking high levels of volume, speed, and complexity in their stride. A number of exciting new roles have come up in the newly formed Synergy Programme, a cross‑departmental group formed in response to Government Business Service’s request for individual departments to group together in ‘clusters’ to drive efficiencies, increase buying power and improve the quality of shared service to our end users – our people.

The Synergy Programme is the largest of five departmental clusters, comprising the Ministry of Justice, Department for Work and Pensions, Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Home Office. The Department for Work and Pensions hosts the Synergy Programme. Your work will impact the procurement arrangements for the next 15 years, impacting over 50% of all Civil Servants – that is 230,000 people across the four departments and arm‑s‑length bodies.

Success of the Programme is crucial as Civil Servants rely on shared services to provide business‑critical tools in human resources, finance, payroll, and procurement. It affects everything we do, from joining a department as a new starter, the way we claim for expenses, how we buy goods and services such as our laptops and canteen provisions, how we make a claim for our expenses, to the way we receive our pensions when we retire.

We are looking for applications from people who can demonstrate a passion for our core ambition - delivering a once in a generation, transformed service that Civil Servants will use as a result of the Synergy Programme.

The Programme Information Management Officer plays a critical role in ensuring the effective management, governance, and utilisation of programme information and records. Synergy is a major programme, generating documents and other material of significant and long‑term value. Synergy information includes contracts, decisions, design documents, planning material, budget records and strategic papers. All of this is covered by the terms of the Public Records, Freedom of Information and Data Protection Acts as well as Government audit and transparency standards.

Key tasks include but are not limited to:

• Review the Programme’s current information handling arrangements, implementing and delivering an improvement plan if required.
• Support Synergy colleagues with training and communications where required to improve information handling confidence across the Programme.
• Ensure alignment with DWP’s wider information management (IM) policies.
• Support lessons learned and knowledge management activities within the programme to capture tacit learning.

Reporting and insight on the Programme’s information handling audits

• Lead on implementing a regular cadence of information handling audits to ensure continued compliance with IM policies across programme workstreams.
• Design and produce high‑quality reports to support the Programme SLT.
• Manage and optimise programme information systems, most notably SharePoint to ensure continued compliance.

Stakeholder management

• Act as a key point of contact for programme information management queries, supporting Programme staff to ensure timely responses.
• Collaborate with PMO colleagues, delivery leads, and central functions to ensure alignment of information practices programme‑wide.

Legal responsibilities

• Lead on legal information rights work within the programme, ensuring alignment with DWP policies. This includes Freedom of Information and Data Protection.
• Steer any legal discovery work that arises during the lifecycle of the Programme.