JOB SUMMARY

To deliver on our ambitious agenda, the Strategy and Communications Group plays a central role in shaping how the department operates, ensuring ministerial priorities are delivered with energy, focus, and impact.
We are looking for a dynamic and strategic leader to join the Group as Director of Departmental Strategy. This high-profile role is at the heart of departmental decision-making, ensuring MHCLG is focused on what matters most, and delivering on its priorities with pace and purpose.
As Director, you will lead a high-performing team responsible for setting the strategic direction of the department and ensuring that ministerial ambitions are translated into clear, deliverable actions. You will play a central role in aligning policy, people, and resources, working across teams to ensure delivery structures are in place and government objectives are met at pace.
You will oversee the department’s engagement in major cross-government processes such as the Legislative Programme and fiscal events, ensuring these are well-planned, effectively managed, and strategically aligned. You will champion the delivery of the DPM’s top priorities, including reporting on the progress of priorities from announcement to real-world outcomes. You will lead on strengthening the department’s governance and central operations, ensuring it is well-run, accountable, and equipped to respond to fast-moving priorities.
This is a highly visible and fast-paced role that involves working closely with Ministers, the Executive Team, and senior leaders across Whitehall. It requires outstanding leadership, excellent political judgement, and the ability to operate with confidence and credibility at the highest levels of government.
If you are a strategic thinker, an influential communicator, and passionate about shaping how government delivers for the public, we encourage you to apply. This is a rare opportunity to lead across some of the most important agendas in government and play a key role in driving national priorities forward.

JOB DESCRIPTION

As Director of Departmental Strategy, you will play a central role in ensuring the department operates effectively and remains focused on ministerial and executive priorities. While the role will evolve over time, your key responsibilities will include:

• Setting strategic direction – Shaping and driving the department’s strategy, ensuring ministerial priorities are clear, coherent, and resourced to deliver.
• Driving delivery – Strengthening the department’s delivery systems and architecture, improving grip and coordination on key government missions.
• Leading major processes – Overseeing the Legislative Programme and fiscal events, ensuring these are well planned, aligned, and delivered at pace.
• Advising senior leaders – Providing trusted insight and challenge to Ministers and the Executive Team to support effective decision-making.
• Strengthening governance – Ensuring the department is well-run and accountable, leading core governance functions and supporting senior civil servants.
• Overseeing operations – Leading central teams covering public appointments, propriety and ethics, departmental boards, and knowledge management.
• Supporting Ministers – Ensuring private office, correspondence, and parliamentary teams deliver high-quality advice and effective ministerial support.

NATIONALITY REQUIREMENTS

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements

TYPE OF ROLE

Operational Delivery
Policy
Project Delivery
Senior leadership
Strategy

As Director of Departmental Strategy, you will play a central role in ensuring the department operates effectively and remains focused on ministerial and executive priorities. While the role will evolve over time, your key responsibilities will include:

• Setting strategic direction – Shaping and driving the department’s strategy, ensuring ministerial priorities are clear, coherent, and resourced to deliver.
• Driving delivery – Strengthening the department’s delivery systems and architecture, improving grip and coordination on key government missions.
• Leading major processes – Overseeing the Legislative Programme and fiscal events, ensuring these are well planned, aligned, and delivered at pace.
• Advising senior leaders – Providing trusted insight and challenge to Ministers and the Executive Team to support effective decision-making.
• Strengthening governance – Ensuring the department is well-run and accountable, leading core governance functions and supporting senior civil servants.
• Overseeing operations – Leading central teams covering public appointments, propriety and ethics, departmental boards, and knowledge management.
• Supporting Ministers – Ensuring private office, correspondence, and parliamentary teams deliver high-quality advice and effective ministerial support