View all project delivery career pathways
Understand a role profile by selecting a role
Develop your career plan by comparing two roles
The Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) ensures the project achieves its intended benefits and outcomes as outlined in the business case. The SRO is accountable for the project’s success and provides strategic direction to the Project Director or Manager. Typically, the SRO comes from a leadership position in the business area where the project’s benefits and outcomes are delivered.
| Responsibility | Detail |
|---|---|
| Leadership | Owns the overall business change and acts as the project's champion. Guides and directs the project executive throughout the project's lifecycle. Delegates responsibilities, and sets clear expectations and performance criteria with the project manager or director. |
| Stakeholder management | Ensures effective communication with key project stakeholders and senior sponsors. Builds and maintains relationships with stakeholders both within and outside the project. Understands the broader business and project-related dependencies and manages these interactions effectively. |
| Benefits management | Ensures that benefits are owned, delivered, and measured during and after the project. |
| Governance | Ensures that appropriate governance is established, aligning with departmental guidance, and that the project maintains its focus on business objectives. |
| Business case | The SRO owns the business case. |
| Reviewes and assurance | Delivers a comprehensive, risk-based assurance approach that instils confidence in stakeholders. Monitors and oversees the project's progress strategically, ensuring the project executive receives full support. |
| Business change and implementation | Ensures that the project's objectives remain aligned with the department's business priorities and highlights significant issues to senior sponsors. |
| Risk and issue management | Identifies and manages strategic risks and may contribute to the team's broader risk management efforts. |
| Resource management | The SRO may appoint the project manager or director and support the project executive in securing the necessary resources. |
| Digital and data | Accountable for project data. Uses data insights for high level decision making ensuring risks, issues and opportunities are identified early and addressed strategically. Fosters a culture of data sharing and ensures that project teams utilise data and digital tools to track project progress and outcomes. |
| Sustainability | Demonstrates sustainability leadership by ensuring that environmental and social considerations are embedded in programme design, procurement and monitoring processes. |
None: No knowledge and no experience.
Awareness: Basic knowledge and limited or no experience. You understand how it can be applied. You can describe the benefits and importance. You may have applied it in a low complexity project under supervision or assisted others in delivering it.
Working: Working knowledge and practical experience. You have a good understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in low complexity projects and/or under supervision in more complex projects.
Practitioner: Detailed knowledge and significant experience. You have a deep understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in medium and/or highly complex projects. You advise and may supervise others in the delivery of this competence. You can adapt your approach to meet the requirements of the project.
Expert: Expert knowledge and experience. You are considered an expert within government and in the wider profession. You have applied this competence in multiple complex projects. You have been responsible for developing unique variations to suit specific situations. You champion capability development in this area.
| Competency area | Level |
|---|---|
Resource management
The ability to identify, profile, secure and manage the resources required to deliver the work.
|
Working |
Budgeting and cost management
The ability to estimate costs, produce a budget and control forecasts and actual spend against budget.
|
Working |
Risk and issue management
The ability to systematically identify and monitor risks and issues, planning how to mitigate or respond to those risks and issues and implementing the responses.
|
Working |
Business change and implementation
The ability to integrate the solution into operations ensuring that activities are planned and completed to enable the business to implement the change and realise the benefits.
|
Working |
Governance
The ability to clearly define roles, responsibilities and accountabilities and establish controls and approval routes appropriate to each stage of the work to monitor progress and compliance.
|
Practitioner |
Stakeholder engagement
The ability to systematically identify, analyse and communicate with stakeholders, using appropriate channels, to ensure all those impacted by the change are engaged, taking account of their levels of influence and particular interests.
|
Practitioner |
Assurance
The ability to establish, plan and manage reviews at appropriate points through the life cycle to provide confidence that the work can be delivered to the agreed outcomes and benefits within time, cost, quality, and other constraints.
|
Working |
Business case development
The ability to prepare, develop, commission and update business cases to justify the initiation and continuation of projects in terms of benefits, value for money and risk.
|
Working |
Benefits management
The ability to identify, value, plan and track benefits to justify investment and ensure the expected outcomes and social value are realised.
|
Working |
Digital and data
The ability to effectively leverage digital tools and data analytics for better project delivery outcomes. Combining an understanding of digital technologies with the ability to manage, interpret and utilise data to make informed decisions, improve efficiency and achieve outcomes and benefits.
|
Working |
Sustainability
The ability to incorporate environmental and social considerations into the strategic objectives of the work and to effectively identify, assess and manage these throughout the lifecycle, seeking to maximise benefits and mitigate negative impacts.
|
Practitioner |
None: No knowledge and no experience.
Awareness: Basic knowledge and limited or no experience. You understand how it can be applied. You can describe the benefits and importance. You may have applied it in a low complexity project under supervision or assisted others in delivering it.
Working: Working knowledge and practical experience. You have a good understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in low complexity projects and/or under supervision in more complex projects.
Practitioner: Detailed knowledge and significant experience. You have a deep understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in medium and/or highly complex projects. You advise and may supervise others in the delivery of this competence. You can adapt your approach to meet the requirements of the project.
Expert: Expert knowledge and experience. You are considered an expert within government and in the wider profession. You have applied this competence in multiple complex projects. You have been responsible for developing unique variations to suit specific situations. You champion capability development in this area.
| Competency area | Level |
|---|---|
Visible leadership
The ability to engage, motivate and coach others. To act as a role model and inspire and empower others. Aligned to the leadership Civil Service behaviour.
|
Working |
Credible action
The ability to promote the wider public good in all actions and to act in a morally, legally and socially appropriate manner at all times. Challenges unacceptable behaviour. Aligned to the leadership Civil Service behaviour.
|
Practitioner |
Working with ambiguity
The ability to work in an environment of uncertainty and continual change. Able to feel comfortable making decisions and setting direction without having the full picture and re-focus as details emerge. Can apply knowledge and techniques to reduce ambiguity. Aligned to the making effective decisions Civil Service behaviour.
|
Working |
Collaboration
The ability to establish and develop productive relationships with internal and external stakeholders, bringing people together to benefit the project. Aligned to the working together Civil Service behaviour.
|
Practitioner |
Influencing
The ability to influence, change and impact decisions with both internal and external stakeholders. Aligned to the communicating and influencing Civil Service behaviour.
|
Practitioner |
Conflict resolution
The ability to recognise, anticipate and effectively deal with existing or potential conflicts at an individual, team or strategic level. Aligned to the working together and leadership Civil Service behaviours.
|
Practitioner |
Inspiring others
The ability to create and present a compelling vision and set clear direction, that motivates others to work towards a common goal. Aligned to the leadership Civil Service behaviour.
|
Practitioner |
Resilience
The ability to adapt to changing circumstances and adverse situations whilst remaining calm, reassuring others and maintaining performance. Aligned to the delivering at pace Civil Service behaviour.
|
Practitioner |
Innovation
The ability to think of, research and apply new ideas and ways of doing things. Encourages and supports innovations from others, is willing to experiment and follow ideas through to implementation. Aligned to the changing and improving Civil Service behaviour.
|
Practitioner |
Culture change
The ability to plan, lead and effect positive cultural change, securing commitment and buy-in, and promoting a positive long term vision. Recognises when broader culture change is necessary to deliver a project. Aligned to the seeing the big picture, and changing and improving Civil Service behaviours.
|
Working |
This role profile is for a senior responsible owner at Grade 6. This is the typical job title for this role.
Hiring managers should refer to the standardised job titles framework for guidance on which titles to use for recruitment.