Deputy Director Exports, Pilots and Partnerships

Job summary

Candidate Information Call

The hiring manager for this position; Pauline Crellin, will be hosting a virtual call for any interested applicants to discuss the role and answer any questions. Please note this is not part of the formal assessment process.

This will be held via Microsoft Teams on Monday 23rd February at 15:30 (UK time).

Please click here for the meeting link.

If you would like to join without your full name being displayed in the meeting, please ensure you access the link on a personal device and select 'Join without signing in'.

The work we do in DBT helps businesses in all parts of the UK to grow domestically and internationally, creating higher paying jobs and strengthening communities. The Domestic and International Markets and Export (DIME) Group plays a vital role in advising, supporting, and promoting UK businesses to grow and export, delivering economic growth through our network of colleagues across the UK and overseas.

This is an exciting time to be part of DIME’s Exports Directorate, which supports SMEs to export across the globe. We work across DBT to support some of the highest value campaigns and business deals, and our export services offer support to all businesses, whether they are small, start-ups, medium or large, new or experienced exporters.

You will play a pivotal role in understanding how we work with partners within and outside of government and across the private and public sector to support businesses across the UK and identifying new, innovative and exciting opportunities to do so. You will collaborate on improving the reach and impact of export support, and using the insights from partners to test and pilot new ways of working and new partnerships, which may either inform the HMG support offer directly, or build out the delivery landscape beyond government and into our partners and their work and operations. This role is critical in helping us to understand where government can and should act, and where we can collaborate with partners to signpost to their own offers or test new joint offers which reach right across the spectrum of exporting, or potentially exporting businesses.

Job description

You will work in close collaboration with your colleagues in the Export Strategy, Export Events and Engagement, and Service Design and Delivery teams to amplify the reach, impact and results from export support, demonstrate tangible delivery, and be part of building confidence and courage in the strengths of the UK on the global stage.

You will have responsibility for the Board of Trade, including steering and supporting the Secretary of State-led meetings, and delivering on the activities and outcomes. You will also have responsibility for coordinating the activity of UK Trade Envoys, working in close collaboration with our extensive overseas network.

This is a fantastic major role, with the opportunity to showcase your own strengths and leverage existing relationships to deliver domestically and in our overseas networks.

• Planning and delivery of full strategic partnership engagement plans, working with colleagues across the department and beyond, continuously horizon scanning, exploring, and taking advantage of new possible partnerships in support of export objectives which benefit businesses.
• Delivery of proposals, business cases, and plans for new pilots which test joint working or partnership proposals, and see those through to fruition, whether that be expansion and rollout or wind-down, with full and clear rationale, evaluation, and demonstrable impact.
• Lead accountability for the activity and oversight of the UK Trade Envoy programme, including leading the team responsible for liaison, support, and strategic planning of their activities collaboratively with our Trade Commissioners and others in the Overseas Network.
• Lead accountability for the Board of Trade, including leading the team responsible for the secretariat, planning and delivery activity, developing the forward programme of impactful activity and holding accountability for overall engagement and relationships
• Lead accountability for a review of existing partnerships in the exports Directorate and identifying opportunities for more impact, more collaboration, and more targeted activity programmes
• You will work regularly with Ministers, informing, updating, and briefing across the range of your activities credibly and professionally and to the highest standards.
• You will be part of a senior exports team, which works horizontally and vertically across clear workstrands, with a vested interest in creating high performing teams, building strong pipelines of activity, and demonstrating clear impact with everything that we do in Exports directorate.
• You will be part of the senior leadership team across DBT more widely, andexpected to champion and deliver against Future DBT objectives, including supporting the uptake of AI and digital technologies, developing our people, and fostering a great place to work. If you are based in a non-London hub, you will also have a role in the local hub leadership, supporting staff from across DBT and delivering hub-based activities.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Clear experience of building high impact reciprocal relationships with very senior business and other stakeholders, recognising tensions and opportunities;
• Demonstrable experience of partnership delivery at levels appropriate for this role, and preferably in similar business-facing environments
• Demonstrable ability to think strategically, horizon scan, identify political and geographic opportunities and risks, build out a high impact pipeline of work, deliver what you say you will do when you say you will do it, and communicate that out credibly including through your teams.
• Ability to anticipate key ministerial (or senior business) priorities, and be able to lead teams in delivering those priorities, including pivoting to new activity and stopping lower priority work quickly and effectively
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to engage, inform, and persuade credibly, confidently and with passion and commitment across the range of your work, wider DBT’s responsibilities and on behalf of the UK, recognising your role as an ambassador for DBT at all times.
• Resilience under pressure and excellent judgement in your behaviour and communications, and a strong understanding of your own personal impact and that of your teams
• Exceptional leadership skills – driving high performance in a supportive and inclusive environment, building strong teams, developing people and supporting their broader careers, and tackling underperformance swiftly, fairly and decisively.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £81,000, Department for Business and Trade 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

Please follow the online instructions on the Civil Service Jobs website to apply for this role. Applications must be submitted no later than 23:55 on 01/03/25.

You will be asked to upload the two documents outlined below. It is essential you add your full name to both documents:

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. ​​

If you encounter any issues or are unable to apply online please contact SCSRecruitment@businessandtrade.gov.uk in the first instance​.

DBT now host Senior Civil Service (SCS) Candidate Support sessions for those wanting to learn more about the application and recruitment processes for SCS roles within DBT, if you are interested, please register for a session here - https://registration.crowdcomms.com/dbtscsrecruitment

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 : SCS Recruitment Team
• Email : SCSRecruitment@businessandtrade.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : SCSRecruitment@businessandtrade.gov.uk

Further information

Our recruitment process is underpinned by the principle of appointment on the basis of fair and open competition and appointment on merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should in the first instance contact DBT by email at SCSRecruitment@businessandtrade.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission, which regulates all Civil Service recruitment. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages: Civil Service Commission Complaints​​

Attachments

2026-02-05 Deputy Director, Export Pilots and Partnerships Opens in new window (pdf, 6583kB)2026 -02-13 - Deputy Director Exports Pilots and Partnerships Accessible document Opens in new window (docx, 147kB)