Deputy Director - Strategic Change

Government Recruitment Service; Newcastle upon Tyne; On-site; GBP 86,000 - 118,000; Full time

Job summary

Government Recruitment Service is recruiting for a Deputy Director - Strategic Change in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The role leads Defra’s ambitious change agenda, providing strategic direction, change delivery capability and strong leadership to design and implement the department’s change programme.

The post holder will work with strategy, policy and delivery colleagues to ensure coherent change across the Defra group, align with the Future Civil Service Programme, and deliver efficiencies within

Qualifications

• Proven ability to lead the delivery of organisational change at scale.
• Experience working with senior stakeholders across government.
• Ability to establish governance and reporting to inform decision making.

Responsibilities

• Translate policy intent into strategic design to deliver change that is meaningful and impactful.
• Lead delivery of organisational change initiatives designed to modernise Defra and deliver outcomes.
• Oversee the efficiencies portfolio to meet targets and benefits.
• Establish and manage relationships with stakeholders and delivery partners to ensure coherent change.
• Develop, deliver and lead change governance and reporting for effective decision making.
• Assess and improve the delivery of change, setting ambitious yet feasible strategies.
• Advise on business design standards and guardrails for service policies and delivery.
• Communicate with Defra’s Executive Committee in clear, accessible language.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Change delivery

Strategic thinking

Governance

Job description

The post holder will lead an ambitious change agenda at the heart of the department. This is an exciting role for somebody to make a substantial impact on the development and delivery of strategic change at Defra. The role provides strategic direction, specialist change delivery capability and strong leadership, to drive the successful design and implementation of Defra’s change agenda.

The role works at the centre of the Department working closely with strategy, policy and delivery colleagues to ensure that change across the Defra group is coherent and supports delivery of Defra’s outcomes. The Deputy Director leads a team of people to enable delivery of a series of organisational shifts that will put Defra in the best possible position to successfully delivery its outcomes, ensuring change is aligned to the Future Civil Service Programme. The successful candidate also leads a portfolio of change projects and programmes to deliver Defra’s efficiency targets, identifying and implementing interventions that ensure the department operates within its spending envelope.

The Deputy Director will engage senior colleagues across Defra group to ensure change is impactful and delivers its intended outcomes. They will work closely with senior colleagues responsible for delivering specific projects and programmes, and functional directors and their teams delivering organisational change. They will build excellent relationships in order to enable and facilitate the delivery of others, whilst at the same time assuring and challenging the delivery of change to ensure it is both ambitious and feasible.

Key responsibilities of the role will include:

• Translate policy intent into strategic design to deliver change that is meaningful and impactful
• Work closely with colleagues across Defra to lead the delivery of a series of organisational change initiatives designed to make Defra more modern, agile and effective, and better placed to successfully deliver its outcomes
• Oversight of the efficiencies portfolio to ensure that projects are managed effectively to deliver the required outcomes, efficiencies and organisational benefits and that Defra is on-track to deliver its efficiencies targets
• Establish and manage a wide range of relationships and key strategic alliances with stakeholders including ALBs Change and Transformation Directors, functional colleagues and delivery partners to ensure change is effectively cohered and delivered
• Develop, deliver and lead change functional governance and reporting, ensuring governance and reporting informs effective decision making
• Lead work to understand the effectiveness of change delivery at Defra, providing insights to senior colleagues and making recommendations for improvement - be bold and able to set an ambitious strategy for change at Defra with the ability to oversee its successful delivery
• Lead work to consider the role of business design in Defra and take forward the preferred approach for business design standards and guardrails to inform the development of the policies and services we deliver
• Work closely with Defra’s Executive Committee - use simple language and cut through complex responsibilities to communicate with impact

Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme

Deputy Director - Strategic Change

Company: Government Recruitment Service Salary: £86,000 to £117,800 a year Hours: Full-time Location: Newcastle-upon-Tyne Job type: Permanent Posting date: 12 Oct 2026 Closing date: 1 Nov 2026

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