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Government Recruitment Service; Belfast City District; On-site; GBP 86,000 - 118,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Disability Confident employer scheme

Job summary

Government Recruitment Service in Belfast is seeking a Deputy Director, Priority Events to lead a high-profile, multidisciplinary team within the Business Intelligence and Engagement Directorate (BIE). You will drive planning, delivery and evaluation of ministerial events, ensuring audiences are well-briefed and outcomes clear.

The role emphasizes strategic judgement, political awareness, and external relationship building with Ministers, senior officials, and industry partners to showcase the

Responsibilities

• Lead an award-winning, multidisciplinary team of 16, directly managing two Grade 6 leaders responsible for distinct workstreams.
• Set strategic direction for BIST and No.10 ministerial events, overseeing their planning, delivery and evaluation in a fast-paced, complex environment, grounded in a strong understanding of audiences.
• Provide visible, senior leadership across the Department - engaging at the highest levels, inspiring teams, and ensuring resources are prioritised to deliver organisational objectives.
• Lead with strong strategic judgement and political awareness, quickly assessing the landscape, maintaining clear long-term direction, and enabling the team to respond effectively to emerging priorities at pace.
• Build and sustain trusted relationships with Ministers, Special Advisers, senior officials and industry partners, influencing at the highest levels to deliver impact.
• Oversee event delivery through the Department’s events management company, managing contracts, engaging at board level, and acting as Senior Responsible Officer for key events as required.
• Contribute as an active member of the Business Intelligence and Engagement Leadership Team, sharing responsibility for directorate performance, culture and the development of people.
• Shape the Department’s Events Engagement Strategy, ensuring coordination across BIST, including the use of AI and digital technologies.
• Lead financial oversight of the events portfolio, developing robust business cases, ensuring value for money, and identifying opportunities for sponsorship and partnership.
• Champion professional standards in event delivery, invest in capability across the directorate, and represent BIST in cross‑government forums to advance strategic priorities and external relationships.

Job description

Business Intelligence and Engagement (BIE) Directorate sits within BIST's Business Group and plays a central role in the government’s efforts to drive business growth and investment. We are a dynamic, multidisciplined team working across the breadth of DBT’s priorities to ensure good business engagement, share intelligence, and co-create policy. This includes:

• Driving a high-quality approach to business engagement across government
• Providing business intelligence and business sentiment data to inform policy-making and make government more responsive, including through our Strategic Companies Insights Tool (SCIT)
• Responding to special situations and economic shocks to support companies in distress
• Delivering high-profile reputationally important events for No.10, Ministers and across government
• LeadingBIST's Emergency Response function to respond to crises
• Ensuring strategic coherence across Business Group, ensuring the DG area operates with clarity and consistency, and through the Sectors Briefing Hub, responding to over 50% of BIST’s correspondence

This role leads delivery of BIST's highest profile reputationallyimportant events. You will work closely with BIST Ministers, No.10, the Office forInvestment and colleagues across the Department, toshowcasethe UK’s world-leading innovators and entrepreneurs and support the PrimeMinister’s growth agenda.Working across government, you will deliver a highly professional event experience for UK and global businesses –from the International Investment Summit to Davos - developing clear themes and narratives for each event, and demonstrating how thegovernment is partnering with business to create jobs, drive investment, and improve living standards across the UK.

The role is expected to commence 31/03/2027.

The hiring manager for this position; Tim Stern, will be hosting a virtual call for any interested applicants to discuss the role and answer any questions. Please note this is not part of the formal assessment process.

This will be held via Microsoft Teams on 21/09/2026at 10:00-11:00(UK time).

Please click here for the meeting link.

• Lead an award-winning, multidisciplinary team of 16, directly managing two Grade 6 leaders responsible for distinct workstreams.
• Set strategic direction forBIST and No.10 ministerial events, overseeing their planning, delivery and evaluation in a fast-paced, complex environment, grounded in a strong understanding of audiences.
• Provide visible, senior leadership across the Department - engaging at the highest levels, inspiring teams, and ensuring resources are prioritised to deliver organisational objectives.
• Lead with strong strategic judgement and political awareness, quickly assessing the landscape, maintaining clear long-term direction, and enabling the team to respond effectively to emerging priorities at pace.
• Build and sustain trusted relationships with Ministers, Special Advisers, senior officials and industry partners, influencing at the highest levels to deliver impact.
• Oversee event delivery through the Department’s events management company, managing contracts, engaging at board level, and acting as Senior Responsible Officer for key events as required.
• Contribute as an active member of the Business Intelligence and Engagement Leadership Team, sharing responsibility for directorate performance, culture and the development of people.
• Shape the Department’s Events Engagement Strategy, ensuring coordination across BIST, including the use of AI and digital technologies.
• Lead financial oversight of the events portfolio, developing robust business cases, ensuring value for money, and identifying opportunities for sponsorship and partnership.
• Champion professional standards in event delivery, invest in capability across the directorate, and represent BIST in cross‑government forums to advance strategic priorities and external relationships.

Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme

Deputy Director, Priority Events?

Company: Government Recruitment Service Salary: £86,000 to £117,800 a year Hours: Full-time Location: Belfast Job type: Permanent Posting date: 8 Sept 2026 Closing date: 4 Oct 2026

Summary

Business Intelligence and Engagement (BIE) Directorate sits within BIST's Business Group and plays a central role in the government’s efforts to drive business growth and investment. We are a dynamic, multidisciplined team working across the breadth of DBT’s priorities to ensure good business engagement, share intelligence, and co-create policy. This includes:

• Driving a high-quality approach to business engagement across government
• Providing business intelligence and business sentiment data to inform policy-making and make government more responsive, including through our Strategic Companies Insights Tool (SCIT)
• Responding to special situations and economic shocks to support companies in distress
• Delivering high-profile reputationally important events for No.10, Ministers and across government
• LeadingBIST's Emergency Response function to respond to crises
• Ensuring strategic coherence across Business Group, ensuring the DG area operates with clarity and consistency, and through the Sectors Briefing Hub, responding to over 50% of BIST’s correspondence

This role leads delivery of BIST's highest profile reputationallyimportant events. You will work closely with BIST Ministers, No.10, the Office forInvestment and colleagues across the Department, toshowcasethe UK’s world-leading innovators and entrepreneurs and support the PrimeMinister’s growth agenda.Working across government, you will deliver a highly professional event experience for UK and global businesses –from the International Investment Summit to Davos - developing clear themes and narratives for each event, and demonstrating how thegovernment is partnering with business to create jobs, drive investment, and improve living standards across the UK.

The role is expected to commence 31/03/2027.

The hiring manager for this position; Tim Stern, will be hosting a virtual call for any interested applicants to discuss the role and answer any questions. Please note this is not part of the formal assessment process.

This will be held via Microsoft Teams on 21/09/2026at 10:00-11:00(UK time).

Please click here for the meeting link.

• Lead an award-winning, multidisciplinary team of 16, directly managing two Grade 6 leaders responsible for distinct workstreams.
• Set strategic direction forBIST and No.10 ministerial events, overseeing their planning, delivery and evaluation in a fast-paced, complex environment, grounded in a strong understanding of audiences.
• Provide visible, senior leadership across the Department - engaging at the highest levels, inspiring teams, and ensuring resources are prioritised to deliver organisational objectives.
• Lead with strong strategic judgement and political awareness, quickly assessing the landscape, maintaining clear long-term direction, and enabling the team to respond effectively to emerging priorities at pace.
• Build and sustain trusted relationships with Ministers, Special Advisers, senior officials and industry partners, influencing at the highest levels to deliver impact.
• Oversee event delivery through the Department’s events management company, managing contracts, engaging at board level, and acting as Senior Responsible Officer for key events as required.
• Contribute as an active member of the Business Intelligence and Engagement Leadership Team, sharing responsibility for directorate performance, culture and the development of people.
• Shape the Department’s Events Engagement Strategy, ensuring coordination across BIST, including the use of AI and digital technologies.
• Lead financial oversight of the events portfolio, developing robust business cases, ensuring value for money, and identifying opportunities for sponsorship and partnership.
• Champion professional standards in event delivery, invest in capability across the directorate, and represent BIST in cross‑government forums to advance strategic priorities and external relationships.

Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme

About Disability Confident Disability Confident is a government scheme. It encourages employers to recruit and retain disabled people and those with long term health conditions.