DVSA, Project Delivery, Naila Begum

Naila Begum, Project Support Officer (PSO)

I used to be a driving examiner with the agency and after two years within that role, I decided to look for a different opportunity within the agency. The Project support officer role has been the perfect introduction to Project management.

I am currently assigned to the Commercial vehicle Services project and provide PSO support. My role involves from providing secretarial duties, supporting delivery and support project reporting.  

I really enjoy my work due to the variation of the work; today I am working on preparing the project board pack for the upcoming board meeting whereas last week I assisted in carrying out the Quality review process.  

I enjoy working for Dft as the department is dedicated towards employee development. I work within a team that even though we are not based in the same office, there is no hindrance in supporting each other.

The department is very supportive of its staff and actively encourages people to take on any learning / development opportunities.  Whilst working as a driving examiner, I had the opportunity to go on a career development opportunity and work as a PSO. This opportunity made me realise that this is the path of direction that I would like to follow for my career.  I was successful in gaining a fulltime position as a PSO and have enjoyed adapting to my new role.  

Whilst working as a PSO, I have been presented with several opportunities to gain qualifications that would assist me being more successful in my role i.e. Prince 2, Agile PM which helped me gain a better understanding of project management. I was able to apply what I had learned to my work and gain the confidence to put myself forward for new challenges.

I am currently undertaking the L4 Associate Project Manager apprenticeship for which I was actively encouraged for by my manager and as soon as I started the apprenticeship, the Head of Profession arranged for existing Project managers to act as my mentor. This is just an example of how the agency supports its staff career development.