Director for Growth, Investment and Engagement in London

This role may be based in one of the following locations: London, Cardiff, Darlington, Birmingham, Edinburgh or Salford. Occasional travel is required, with semi-regular trips to London if based elsewhere.

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.

Key challenges for the role include:

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

Responsibilities include:

• Leading on growth strategy for DSIT, building on the Industrial Strategy.
• Agreeing and implementing a plan for how to use DSIT’s levers to drive economic growth around the UK in the short, medium and longer term.
• Coordinating investment and engagement for DSIT, being the ‘hub’ for investment across DSIT.
• Driving inclusive and long-term growth in the tech ecosystem across the UK.
• Leading the work of the Regulatory Innovation Office and developing policy and strategy for agreed priority areas.
• Delivering on the Government Office for Technology Transfer vision and priorities.

Person specification includes:

• Strategic vision and analytical capability: Take a strategic approach to identify growth opportunities and anticipate future challenges.
• Experience working on economic policies: Understanding of economic growth policy and delivery of policies or programmes to boost industry innovation.
• Delivery of complex cross-sector programmes: Evidence of effectively delivering complex programmes or initiatives that span multiple sectors or departments.
• Collaboration and stakeholder management: Excellent ability to engage, influence, and partner with a broad range of senior stakeholders.
• Inclusive leadership: Track record of building a team that prizes inclusion and promotes a positive culture.
• 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: Understanding of how other leading nations support innovation and attract investment.
• Public profile and communication: Strong public speaking and advocacy skills are helpful.