Director for Growth, Investment and Engagement

This role may be based in one of the following locations London, Cardiff, Darlington, Birmingham, Edinburgh or Salford. Occasional Travel . Semi-regular to London if based elsewhere

Working pattern Flexible working, Full-time, Job share

Job summary

As senior leaders in DSIT, Directors play a pivotal role in delivering the Department’s mission to build brilliant digital services, drive growth through science and innovation, and prepare the UK for transformative technologies. They are accountable for delivering their directorate’s priorities, making evidence-based decisions and aligning outcomes with ministerial goals.

Directors maintain robust governance and risk controls, manage budgets and resources to ensure efficiency and value for money. In their role, they also represent DSIT across government and with external partners – contributing to crosscutting initiatives and senior leadership forums. Directors ensure timely, accurate reporting to ministers and the executive committee, anticipate emerging technologies and policy challenges, and position DSIT for future success.

Directors should role-model behaviours that foster trust, openness and collaboration. They guide staff through change with clarity and empathy, champion equality, diversity and wellbeing, and build capability and resilience across their teams. Directors empower colleagues at all levels and support the development of deputy directors. They are expected to exemplify the Department’s core values – Expert Together, Inventive, and Impact Driven – by encouraging collaboration, championing innovation and focusing on outcomes that benefit citizens and the country.

Through their leadership, Directors help create an empowered, inclusive and high performing culture that is unique to DSIT.

• Champion collaborative working by investing in learning, supporting colleagues, and harnessing expertise from diverse backgrounds and disciplines.
• Empower teams to experiment, take thoughtful risks, and lead from any level, sharing lessons learned and promoting the use of cutting-edge technologies.
• Focus on delivering visible impact for citizens and the UK, making clear choices and communicating outcomes and decisions transparently.
• Operate at scale, prioritising national security and ensuring that work is informed by user insights, evidence, and data.
• Promote openness by regularly sharing progress, celebrating successes, and inviting feedback to drive continuous improvement.

As Director (SCS2) for the Growth, Investment and Engagement Directorate you will line manage multiple Deputy Director teams working from DSIT offices across the UK. You will report to the Growth, Science and International Director General and play a key part in DSIT’s senior leadership team.

Job description

Key challenges for the role

• Set DSIT’s growth strategy and deliver it in partnership with teams across the department, leading DSIT’s work on industrial strategy
• Lead DSIT’s investment and engagement work to create a central DSIT hub for priority investments, working closely with partners
• Strengthen the UK tech ecosystem and access to finance, and ensure the UK remains attractive for both challenger firms and major tech investors.
• Lead the Regulatory Innovation Office as a core growth lever, setting strategy and delivering reform that enables innovation
• Deploy regulatory, commercial and public sector levers to unlock growth, including coordinating DSIT’s regulatory agenda, driving innovative procurement
• Leading the work of the Government Office for Tech Transfer on public sector knowledge assets to maximise economic impact.

Responsibilities

• Lead on growth strategy for DSIT, building on the Industrial Strategy. Working with teams across DSIT, agree and implement a plan for how we use DSIT’s levers to drive economic growth around the UK in the short, medium and longer term. This should be based on the modern Industrial Strategy and include leading on the cross-cutting strands of that work across HMG, working closely with lead technology and sector teams in DSIT.
• Lead on coordination of investment and engagement for DSIT. Be the ‘hub’ for investment across DSIT, coordinating our approach to high priority investments and how we deploy ministers. Working closely with DSIT sector teams, the Office for Investment and other teams across government, pull in experts to support use of appropriate financial mechanisms and work with tech and sector teams to engage with industry to understand barriers to investment and secure high priority investments.
• Drive inclusive and long-term growth in the tech ecosystem across the UK, helping create an enabling business environment and championing the wider digital and tech sector’s interests in government. Work closely with the tech and sector teams, NSSIF and Sovereign AI to support startup and challenger companies to compete and thrive and remove the specific barriers to tech companies scaling.
• Lead the work of the Regulatory Innovation Office. Develop and implement policy and strategy for agreed priority areas, working with cross government teams and ensuring the Regulatory Horizons Council delivers on government objectives. Lead engagement with regulators, businesses, investors and other government departments to identify challenges, secure opportunities, accelerate innovation and build consensus around RIO’s approach and operating model. Champion international best practice.
• Deliver on the Government Office for Technology Transfer vision and priorities. Deliver the objectives of the Knowledge Assets programme, working closely with the public sector client base, senior leaders across government, investors and industry to develop a pipeline of knowledge asset opportunities and support the delivery of commercialisation outcomes. Champion an entrepreneurial culture and innovative approach to knowledge asset management, fostering an environment that supports KA commercialisation.

Person specification

Essential criteria

• Strategic vision and analytical capability: Take a strategic approach to identify growth opportunities and anticipate future challenges, juggling short-term pressures with long-term goals, with a proven ability to lead in a complex environment.
• Experience working on economic policies. Experience and understanding of economic growth policy, demonstrated through delivery of policies or programmes to boost industry innovation, investment or competitiveness. An understanding of economic policy levers (regulatory reform, funding incentives, skills programmes) and how they can stimulate R&D and business growth and comfort working in an environment that spans economic growth, national security, science and technology.
• Delivery of complex cross-sector programmes: Evidence of effectively delivering complex programmes or initiatives that span multiple sectors or departments. You must be able to adjust priorities swiftly as situations change, enabling the organisation to remain focused on core priorities. You must have a record of developing evidence-based approaches.
• Collaboration and stakeholder management: Excellent ability to engage, influence, and partner with a broad range of senior stakeholders in the private sector, academia, and across government, from CEOs of tech companies and venture capitalists to university vice-chancellors and civic leaders. You need to be adept at convening and chairing roundtables, brokering collaborations and addressing stakeholder concerns. Strong negotiation and relationship skills are essential.
• Inclusive leadership: Track record of building a teamthat prizes inclusion, values diversity, and promotes a positive culture both within and outside the organisation. You must ensure the wellbeing of all individuals is valued, with evidence of confronting issues and challenging assumptions at the highest levels in an assertive yet constructive way. You will be a role model for Civil Service values.

Desirable criteria

• Experience in the private sector or investment community: Time spent in industry or in an investment role could be useful
• Knowledge of international innovation systems: An understanding of how other leading nations support innovation and attract investment could be beneficial.
• Public profile and communication: Given the engagement aspect of the role, strong public speaking and advocacy skills are helpful