New Director of Project Delivery Profession joins the IPA
Infrastructure and Projects Authority appoints Fiona Spencer as new Director of Project Delivery Profession
Fiona Spencer, Director of Government Project Delivery Profession
The Government has taken the next step to build on its project delivery capability by appointing a new Director of Government Project Delivery Profession to the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA), which will be announced today (16th January 2019) at Government’s first Project Delivery Conference.
Fiona Spencer will start her role from early March, leading the team who are responsible for creating a world-class project delivery profession and building delivery capability in government.
Having been Chief Portfolio Officer in the Home Office since April 2015, Fiona has led a range of major government projects in technology, shared service development and business transformation.
Fiona will lead the IPA team who are responsible for developing career pathways for project delivery professionals, growing and managing talent and delivering world-renowned leadership programmes such as the Major Projects Leadership Academy (MPLA), of which Fiona herself was one of the early graduates.
The IPA is the government’s centre of expertise for infrastructure and major projects and home of the Project Delivery Function. Since 2016 the IPA has made great strides in developing the government’s capacity and capability in effective project delivery.
Significant achievements include publishing the UK government’s first Standard to help empower teams to deliver projects according to best practice, creating the Capability Framework (PCDF) which sets out the career pathways and job roles in the profession, and training more than a thousand senior project managers.
Minister for Implementation, Oliver Dowden, said
“The need for project management excellence at the heart of public policy delivery has never been more vital. This is an area the IPA is driving forward at pace. Fiona has been a champion of this work for a number of years and I am pleased she will be using her wealth of expertise to build project delivery capability across government.”
Matthew Vickerstaff, Interim IPA Chief Executive and Head of the Project Delivery Function, said
“Great project leaders deliver great projects, and I’m very pleased to welcome one of our most experienced project leaders, Fiona Spencer, into the IPA. Having been instrumental in the development of the profession to date, and having managed one of the most complex portfolios in government, I have no doubt that she will have a meaningful and lasting impact.”
Fiona Spencer, IPA Director of Project Delivery Profession, said
“We must ensure that our most demanding projects are run by our most experienced leaders. Having been a Head of Profession myself in the Home Office, I look forward to now being at the centre and working closely with all departments to make sure we have the right people on the right projects.”
Further information
- Fiona was appointed Director General, Capabilities and Resources (interim) in the Home Office in November 2017.
- As Chief Portfolio Officer in the Home Office Fiona’s responsibilities included leading work on strategic investment, overseeing delivery of the Home Office project portfolio and building skills and capability.
- As a member of the steering group for the government project delivery profession, she has also been closely involved in work to develop the new government functional standard for project delivery and the PCDF, and is also a theme lead within the Project X research programme.
- Fiona’s previous roles have included leading work on departmental transformation, identity strategy for foreign nationals, and, as Director of Shared Services, overseeing the development and delivery of IT, estates, knowledge and information management, and shared business services across the Home Office.