Deputy Director for Circular Economy Growth Plan Campaign in Bristol

Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time (0.8)

Location

Bristol, London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, York

Job summary

This is a permanent appointment supporting the long-term operation and strategic direction of the organisation. The Deputy Director will report to the Director for Circular Economy and work closely with senior leaders across the directorate and the wider department.

Core Responsibilities

Leadership of G6-led teams spanning the following:

• Agrifood and Textile Circularity: This includes delivery of a series of interventions to minimise food waste, maximise the redistribution of unavoidable edible food waste and optimise investment in and the development of infrastructure capacity to process food waste (a key dependency for the Simpler Recycling reforms, part of the Government’s Major Projects Portfolio) and to drive forward work with industry to drive approaches to textiles circularity. This is a priority for Ministers.
• Transport, Electricals and Batteries Circularity: Stewardship of the existing regulatory regimes for batteries, electric vehicle, electrical waste and vapes; implementation of regulatory reforms in relation to batteries as required under the Windsor Framework; delivery of publicly announced commitments to the reform of the waste electrical regime (e.g. in relation to online market places); alignment with EU regulation on the restriction of hazardous substances (RoHs).
• Circular Economy Strategy: Publish and oversee delivery of England’s first Circular Economy Strategy for England, which will map out our delivery of the Government\’s manifesto commitment to reducing waste by moving to a circular economy. A circular economy is one in which we move away from linear resource use – extracting resources, making them into products, and discarding them at the end of their lives – and towards a reality where we reduce primary resource use and reuse, repurpose, refurbish, and repair our products. The Circular Economy Strategy for England will set out the interventions that government will make across the economy to deliver this transformation, all while driving economic growth, investment, and skills development. Develop the strategic approach to deliver the Net Zero commitments for the waste sector, statutory waste reduction targets and oversight of EU regulatory commitments under the Windsor Framework.
• Lead a multidisciplinary team, including externally seconded subject matter experts, operating as a senior leader at both directorate and departmental levels.
• Inspire and empower others through proven experience of building, leading, and transforming high-performing multidisciplinary teams, setting clear strategic direction aligned to business needs.
• Act as an open and inclusive leader and people manager, capable of leading through ambiguity and coaching and developing diverse teams.
• Provide strong policy-to-delivery leadership, including overseeing complex systems change and regulatory reform, co-designing solutions with regulators and complex supply chains.
• Lead major projects, with end-to-end responsibility for user-centred service design, including digital services, and stewardship of complex regulatory systems.
• Advise ministers and senior officials across a complex, high-profile, and often contentious policy portfolio.

Person specification

• Strategic Leadership and Delivery: Proven experience of providing strategic leadership on complex, high-profile programmes or policy portfolios, with accountability for delivery against ministerial priorities in a fast-paced and politically sensitive environment. Demonstrable ability to balance long-term strategic ambition with short-term delivery, making sound decisions where evidence is incomplete, contested, or rapidly evolving.
• Policy, Regulatory and Systems Change Expertise: Significant experience of leading policy development and/or regulatory reform that delivers large-scale systems change, ideally across multiple sectors or complex supply chains. Strong understanding of how policy design, regulation, funding, and delivery mechanisms interact to achieve environmental, economic, and societal outcomes. Experience of stewarding public or third-party funding, with clear accountability for value for money, risk management, and benefits realisation.
• Influencing and Stakeholder Leadership: Exceptional influencing and negotiation skills, with a proven ability to deliver outcomes through effective collaboration with senior stakeholders across government, public bodies, industry, and the wider system. Experience of working constructively with a wide range of partners, such as devolved administrations, regulators, arm’s-length bodies, enforcement organisations, and professional or sector representatives to deliver coherent UK-wide outcomes. Strong capability in building trusted relationships with industry leaders, trade bodies, and external organisations, including shaping sectors to adopt new regulatory frameworks, drive behavioural change, or support innovation and investment.
• Ministerial and Parliamentary Engagement: Extensive experience providing senior leaders such as ministers, boards, executives, or equivalent decision-makers with clear, evidence-based, and politically astute advice on high-risk or complex issues. Confidence in representing an organisation in senior governance forums and, where required, contributing to parliamentary or external scrutiny processes. Able to operate with sound judgement in high-profile environments, ensuring transparency, accountability, and effective communication with stakeholders inside and outside government.
• Corporate and Financial Leadership: Experience of operating with delegated financial and staffing authority, exercising judgement over prioritisation of resources to maximise impact within agreed budgets and headcount. Strong understanding of corporate governance, risk management, and assurance at senior level, including contribution to departmental and cross-directorate decision-making.
• Communication and Personal Impact: Outstanding communication skills, with the ability to convey complex and sensitive issues clearly and authoritatively to a wide range of audiences, from ministers and senior officials to industry and the public.