Deputy Director Business Strategy

Job summary

Could you be the next leader within DWP Finance Group?

The Deputy Director for Business Strategy is a critical leadership role within DWP Finance Group. The postholder will play a central role in supporting and enabling transformation across the Department, ensuring that the 2030 Strategy and Plan is embedded, understood and consistently applied across the organisation.​

This role sits at the heart of departmental transformation. It requires a strategic thinker who can operate confidently at pace within a complex Whitehall environment, influencing senior leaders and navigating departmental governance to drive long‑term change.​

Virtual Engagement Session ​

Date: 14th May 2026 Time: 14:00
This virtual session is an opportunity for you to find out more about the role and what it's like leading the Finance Directorate. You'll get the opportunity to hear directly from the vacancy holder, Alex Skinner and a HR representative who will provide an overview of the role and hold a Q&A session. Join the Virtual Engagement Session Here

Job description

Key Responsibilities: ​

Leadership & People Development ​
Empower and inspire your division to deliver excellent service and grow individual and team capability. Foster a positive, inclusive, and collegiate working environment that supports continuous improvement and professional growth. ​

Transformation Delivery Support​
Work closely with the Transformation Office (TO) and senior colleagues to establish an enterprise‑wide strategy and design authority. Develop products, frameworks and ways of working that embed the 2030 Strategy and Plan. Support colleagues across DWP in applying the strategy consistently.​

Transformation Mobilisation – Assurance​
Design and embed a process (as part of the virtual TO) to track and assure progress against the 2030 Strategy. Identify risks, gaps and opportunities to accelerate delivery. Provide clear evidence and insight to senior leaders to support decision‑making.​

Transformation Mobilisation – Strategic Projects​
Lead priority strategic-thinking and mobilisation projects to support implementation of the 2030 Strategy. Enable service groups and delivery teams to prepare for and deliver major transformational change.​

Business Strategy Design & Development​
Work across the Department to agree updates to the business strategy in line with emerging skills and capabilities. Design and embed an annual process (agreed with Executive Team) to ensure the strategy remains aligned to departmental priorities. Maintain the strategy as a live, evolving product that guides operational and transformational decision‑making.​

Stakeholder Engagement ​
Build trusted relationships with senior leaders across DWP, managing expectations and influencing outcomes. ​
Act as the finance focal point for Policy Group in interactions with HM Treasury and Ministers. ​

Person specification

The successful candidate must be able to demonstrate their knowledge,
experience and skills against the following essential criteria:

Strategic leadership and delivery at scale.

Sets clear strategic direction and leads large, multidisciplinary teams to deliver complex programmes and transformation at pace through others. Balances short term delivery with long term outcomes, maintaining high professional standards under pressure.

System level thinking and strategic problem solving

Demonstrates strong analytical capability to assess organisational readiness, understand complex system wide challenges, and translate strategic ambition into practical, prioritised frameworks and solutions that deliver sustained impact.

Senior stakeholder influence and decision support

Builds trusted relationships with senior leaders and key stakeholders, manages competing interests, and provides clear, confident advice that enables difficult prioritisation and influences decisions to align organisations behind shared strategic objectives.

Operating effectively in complex and ambiguous environments

Delivers results within large, complex organisations or partnerships, with a strong grasp of governance, financial constraints, cultural dynamics and decision-making processes, and the ability to work effectively across organisational boundaries.

Clear communication and evidence led decision making

Translates complex strategic, financial, and operational issues into clear, decisive advice that drives action. Uses data, insight and horizon scanning to inform trade-offs, manage risk and ensure organisations readiness for future demands.

Success Profiles

The Civil Service recruits using Success Profiles. This means for each role we advertise; we consider what you will need to demonstrate in order to be successful.

This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, drives up performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.

Throughout the selection process we will be considering the following Behaviours:

• Leadership​
• Communicating and Influencing​
• Making effective decision​
• Delivering at pace​
• Managing a Quality Service

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions
• Delivering at Pace
• Managing a Quality Service

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £81,000, Department for Work and Pensions contributes £23,465 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

DWP have a broad benefits package built around your work-life balance which includes:

• Working patterns to support work/life balance such as job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours.
• Generous annual leave – at least 25 days on entry, increasing up to 30 days over time (pro–rata for part time employees), plus 9 days public and privilege leave.
• Support for financial wellbeing, including interest-free season ticket loans for travel, a cycle to work scheme and an employee discount scheme.
• Health and wellbeing support including our Employee Assistance Programme for specialist advice and counselling and the opportunity to join HASSRA a first-class programme of competitions, activities and benefits for its members (subscription payable monthly).
• Family friendly policies including enhanced maternity and shared parental leave pay after 1 year’s continuous service.
• Funded learning and development to support progress in your role and career. This includes industry recognised qualifications and accreditations, coaching, mentoring and talent development programmes.
• An inclusive and diverse environment with opportunities to join professional and interpersonal networks including Women’s Network, National Race Network, National Disability Network (THRIVE) and many more.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

1. Application Process

To apply for this post, you will need to complete the online application process outlined below no later than 23:55pm on Tuesday 27th May 2026.

1. A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years;​
2. A personal statement (maximum 1250) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities, and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the essential criteria in the person specification. ​

Failure to submit both documents will mean the panel only have limited information on which to assess your application against the criteria in the person specification.

As part of the online application process, you will be asked a number of diversity-related questions. If you do not wish to provide a declaration on any of the particular characteristics, you will have the option to select 'prefer not to say’. All monitoring data will be treated in the strictest confidence and will not be provided to the selection panel. The information you provide when submitting your application will help us monitor our progress towards the Civil Service becoming the most inclusive employer.

Indicative Timeline - If shortlisted you will need to be available for both dates.

• Assessments - 18th June
• Interviews - 2nd June

2. Shortlist

A panel, including the hiring manager, will assess your application to select those demonstrating the best fit with the role by considering the evidence you have provided against the criteria set out in the person specification section of this advert and attached Candidate Pack. Failure to address any or all of these may affect your application.

The timeline later in this pack indicates the date by which a decision is expected to be made, and all shortlisted candidates will be advised of the outcome as soon as possible thereafter.

3. Assessment

If you are shortlisted, you will be asked to take part in a Staff Engagement exercise in advance of the interview. This assessment will not result in a pass or fail decision. Rather, it is designed to support the panel’s decision making and highlight areas for the panel to explore further at interview. Shortlisted candidates may have the opportunity to speak to Alex Skinner prior to the final interview. This is an informal discussion to allow candidates to learn more about the role and is not part of the assessment process.

4. Interview

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend a panel interview in order to have a more in-depth discussion of your previous experience and professional competence in relation to the criteria set out in the person specification. You may be asked to prepare a 5-minute presentation. Full details will be provided prior to the interview.

Your interview will either be a face-to-face or via a video call, this will be confirmed nearer the time. The interview panel will be chaired by Alex Skinner who will be supported by additional panel members. The final panel interview will be a blended interview, covering Behaviours and Strengths. A blended interview aims to be more of a conversation exploring the candidate’s capability for the role.

5. Offer and Feedback

Regardless of the outcome, we will notify all candidates as soon as possible. We will offer the opportunity to discuss feedback for all candidates who reached interview.

A reserve list will be held for up to 12 months, which we may use to fill future similar vacancies for candidates who are considered appointable following interview.

Please see attached Candidate Pack for further information regarding the role and recruitment process.

Reasonable Adjustments

At DWP we value diversity and inclusion and actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, especially those that are underrepresented in our workforce. We consider visible and non-visible disabilities, neurodiversity or learning differences, chronic medical conditions, or mental ill health. Examples include dyslexia, epilepsy, autism, chronic fatigue, or schizophrenia.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should contact senior.recruitment@dwp.gov.uk as soon as possible, before the closing date to discuss your needs. Complete the “Reasonable Adjustments” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what additional support or adjustments you might need during the recruitment process.

For further information regarding reasonable adjustments, please see following link: Reasonable Adjustments , Civil Service Careers

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.This role has a minimum assignment duration of 3 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise.

As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

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) (opens in a new window)
• 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 (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : DWP SCS Resourcing Team
• Email : senior.recruitment@dwp.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : senior.recruitment@dwp.gov.uk

Further information

What do I do if I want to make a complaint?
The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles.
If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should in the first instance contact: senior.recruitment@dwp.gov.uk
If you are not satisfied with the response, you receive you can contact the Civil Service Commission.

Attachments

Deputy Director Business Strategy (FG) Candidate Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 532kB)