For employers
Salary: £53,000, plus a concessionary payment of £2,758.
Following successful completion of probation, you may also be eligible for a skills retention payment of approximately £5,000, subject to achieving a skills assessment aligned to the Project Delivery Capability Framework (PDCF).
Flexible working: We support a range of flexible working arrangements, including part-time working (minimum of 30 hours per week), compressed hours, and flexible start and finish times. While all roles require on-site working, we’re happy to discuss flexible working options where possible.
Please note that requests for compressed hours will be considered after probation, subject to business requirements.
About us
GCHQ is an intelligence, cyber and security agency with a mission to keep the UK safe. We use cutting-edge technology, ingenuity, and partnerships to identify, analyse and disrupt threats. Working with our intelligence partners MI5 and MI6 we protect the UK from terrorism, cyber-attacks and espionage. At GCHQ, you’ll do varied and fascinating work in a supportive and inclusive environment that places the emphasis on teamwork.
The role
As a Principal Project Manager, you’ll be responsible for delivering a variety of complex, high-impact projects. The projects you lead will be broad and varied, spanning everything from business change to the delivery of technical capability. Across every project, you’ll be trusted to shape the delivery approach, set expectations, guide multi-disciplinary teams and keep projects moving forward in environments where priorities shift and challenges emerge.
Alongside this day-to-day delivery leadership, you’ll also operate at a strategic level, leading whole projects or major elements of larger programmes, driving governance and assurance activity, and writing and managing business cases to support investment and delivery decisions.
The projects you lead will directly enable major organisational outcomes. Your leadership will span the full project lifecycle from initial idea to project closure, planning, scheduling and coordination; managing time, cost, quality and benefits; and proactively controlling risks, issues, dependencies and change. This will require you to bring structure to uncertainty, create momentum during periods of change, and offer clarity when key decisions are required.
You’ll engage and influence stakeholders at all levels, including senior leaders, partners, suppliers and customers, helping agree requirements, and producing clear reports, briefings and recommendations that provide stakeholders with the information they need to act. Delivery methods will be tailored to each project to suit the context and unlock progress and value.
Some projects will be run independently; others will place you within larger, multi-disciplinary delivery groups. In every case, you’ll be supported by a well-established project management community, and the outcomes you deliver will have real-world impact. The role also includes line management responsibilities, with opportunities to take on mentoring as part of your continued development.
UK travel may be required to meet teams and engage with stakeholders; the frequency and locations will be project or programme dependent.
About you
You have a recognised project management qualification, such as one of the following: the Project Management Qualification (PMQ) from the Association for Project Management (APM), PMI Project Management Professional (PMP), or PRINCE2. You also have at least four GCSEs at Grade 4/C or above (including English and Mathematics), or equivalent Level 2 qualifications, or relevant experience demonstrating solid numeracy and communication skills. You’re able to demonstrate the skills at the levels defined in the Government Projects Academy Project Delivery Capability Framework (PDCF) for a Project Manager at the SEO grade.
You have experience delivering projects across varied environments and are ready to take on more complex and impactful work. You’ve led significant workstreams, engaged with senior stakeholders, and maintained momentum when challenges arise. You understand the fundamentals of project management including planning, reporting, financial tracking, risk, issue and change management, and can apply these confidently where sound judgement, attention to detail and clear communication are essential.
You know how to influence, negotiate and collaborate with a wide range of colleagues, from technical specialists to business generalists. You adapt your communication style to suit different audiences, presenting information clearly to support informed decision-making. Your credibility, consistency and reliability help you build trust quickly across teams.
Experience delivering projects in environments such as agile delivery, digital or engineering settings, Government Digital Service (GDS) frameworks, cyber security, or emerging technologies (including artificial intelligence) would be beneficial, though not essential.
You bring qualities that define successful project managers at this level: flexibility in shifting environments, calmness under pressure, a proactive approach to problem-solving, and curiosity about how to deliver the best possible results. You value collaboration and shared learning, and you’re committed to your own development, ready to further develop your leadership skills and continue progressing your career.
Training and development
A structured induction will help you understand our mission, ways of working, and the delivery community you’ll be joining. From day one, you’ll be supported by your line manager and a dedicated buddy, helping you settle in, build your confidence, and navigate the organisation.
Development continues through a blend of internal and external training, practical experience, and community support. As a corporate member of the Association for Project Management (APM), we encourage you to explore relevant courses, frameworks, and accreditation pathways. Access to mentoring, coaching and project management forums will provide opportunities to share learning and strengthen your professional network.
Ongoing development is integral to the role. Support is available to deepen expertise across planning, risk management, financial management, reporting and benefits, as well as to build the leadership capabilities needed for increasingly complex delivery. Whether the aim is to broaden experience, specialise in a particular area or progress into more senior project roles, guidance and opportunities are in place to help you grow with confidence. Throughout your journey, you’ll be part of a supportive project management community that encourages shared learning and professional growth.
Rewards and Benefits
You’ll receive a starting salary £53,000, plus other benefits including:
Equal Opportunities
At GCHQ, diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission. To protect the UK, we need a workforce that truly reflects the society we serve. This includes diversity in every sense of the word: people of different backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ways of thinking and those with disabilities or neurodivergent conditions. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including individuals from groups that are currently under-represented in our workforce, such as women, people from ethnic minority backgrounds, people with disabilities and those from low socio-economic backgrounds.
Visit our website to find out more about our culture, working environment and diversity.
We’re Disability Confident
GCHQ is proud to have achieved Leader status within the Department for Work and Pensions’ Disability Confident scheme. The scheme encourages employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled people. As a Disability Confident organisation, we aim to ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants who best meet the essential criteria for this position, assessed at sift, are offered an interview, if it is practical for us to do so. This is known as the Offer of Interview. To secure an interview for this role, the minimum criteria (in order of application process) are:
What to expect
Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order:
Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process to progress to the next. Your application may take around 6 to 9 months to process including vetting, so we advise you continue any current employment until you have received your final job offer.
Before you apply
To work at GCHQ, you must be a British citizen or hold dual British nationality. Read about our eligibility criteria.
This role requires the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). It’s something everyone in the UK Intelligence Community undertakes. Find out more about the vetting process.
Please note we have a strict drugs policy, so once you start your application, you can’t take any recreational drugs, and you’ll need to declare your previous drug usage at the relevant stage.
Before applying, we recommend setting up a separate email address for your contact with us to ensure your personal and application correspondence remain separate. Try to avoid including identifying features in your email address, such as your first and/or surname and date of birth. This is good practice and will help you manage your application with us more securely.
The role is based in Cheltenham, so you’ll need to live within a commutable distance. Please consider any financial implications and practicalities before submitting an application, as we do not offer relocation costs.
We offer reasonable reimbursement of travel costs for candidates attending in-person appointments during the recruitment and vetting process. Full details will be provided with your interview or assessment invitation. Reimbursement is discretionary and will only be made in line with the Candidate Expenses Policy, as amended from time to time. Candidates must book their own travel, using the most economical option, and provide original hard copy receipts for reimbursement.
Please note, you should only launch your application from within the UK. If you are based overseas, you should wait until you visit the UK to begin your application. Applying from outside the UK will affect our ability to progress your application. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member.
Right to withdraw statement:
Please be aware that we reserve the right to close applications once a certain number have been received. To avoid missing out, we encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible. If you have a disability (as defined under the Equality Act 2010) and need additional time to complete your application, please submit your initial application and then contact us using the email address provided as soon as possible, please use the subject line “Reasonable Adjustments Extension” and briefly outline the support you require.
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