Deputy Director for Circular Economy Growth Plan Campaign

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Hybrid

Expires: Expiring in less than 3 weeks

Policy

Flexible

£81,000 per year

Job summary

This role is available Full and Part time (minimum 0.8 FTE)

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.

CoreResponsibilities:

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.

Job description

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

StrategicLeadershipandDelivery: 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,RegulatoryandSystemsChangeExpertise: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.
InfluencingandStakeholderLeadership: 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.
MinisterialandParliamentaryEngagement: 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.
CorporateandFinancialLeadership: 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.
CommunicationandPersonalImpact: 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.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £81,000, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 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.

Learning and development tailored to your role
An environment with flexible working options
A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

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

As part of the application process, candidates are asked to complete a CV and Personal Statement (no more than 1250 words) on how your relevant skills and experience meet the essential criteria. Completed applications must be submitted no later than the closing date of Monday 23rd March 2026 at 23:55pm

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 counter-terrorist 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

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Contact point for applicants

Salary range

£81,000 per year