Deputy Director for Group Strategic Resources and Plans and Remediation Programme Finance

Job summary

This is a senior leadership role within MHCLG’s Buildings, Fire and Resilience Group (BRF) as Deputy Director for Group Strategic Resources and Plans and Remediation Programme Finance. The role brings together Group-level finance, workforce planning, performance insight and efficiency, across a complex portfolio of building safety, fire remediation and resilience programmes.

You will be at the heart of how the Group plans, prioritises and delivers, working closely with the Director General and Directors to bring stronger strategic grip, clearer insight and better alignment between resources and outcomes. The work spans multi-billion-pound programmes delivered through Arm’s Length Bodies, regulators and delivery partners, where strong financial control and workforce planning are critical to both public value and public confidence.

This is a role for someone who enjoys operating in complexity, can join the dots across systems and is motivated by improving how government plans, spends and delivers at scale.

Job description

This role is about bringing coherence and control to how the BFR plans and uses its resources. It sits across finance, workforce, performance and efficiency, and is responsible for making sure these elements work together rather than in silos.

You will help shape BFR’s strategic direction through fiscal events, Spending Reviews and annual business planning, ensuring decisions are grounded in robust insight and a clear understanding of trade-offs, risks and opportunities. A key part of the role is developing and maintaining a credible, forward-looking financial strategy for BFR that improves value for money and supports better prioritisation.

Alongside this, you will strengthen how BFR understands its workforce and capability needs, ensuring people planning is fully aligned to financial and delivery priorities. You will also lead efforts to improve systems, data and insight so leaders can see clearly what is happening across the portfolio and act with confidence.

You will lead the Group’s relationship with the Corporate Centre and play a key role in driving efficiency, reform and continuous improvement across how the Group operates.

The role includes significant responsibility for the remediation portfolio, where you will oversee high-profile and high-risk programmes such as the Developer Debt Programme and Building Safety Fund. This includes assurance, counter fraud oversight, programme closure and engagement with HM Treasury, IPA, NAO and PAC on some of the most scrutinised areas of government delivery.

Key responsibilities

• Set the strategic direction, plan and manage financial, workforce and performance resources, ensuring a joined-up approach to resourcing and decision-making.
• Lead input to fiscal events, Spending Reviews and Estimates, working closely with HM Treasury and ensuring alignment between priorities, affordability and delivery.
• Develop and maintain a multi-year financial strategy that supports better prioritisation, clearer trade-offs and improved value for money.
• Commission and oversee a workforce plan that aligns capability and capacity with financial and delivery priorities.
• Lead efficiency and improvement agendas, driving better use of resources and strengthening financial, workforce and business processes.
• Improve data, systems and insight by integrating forecasting, performance, workforce and risk information to support better decisions.
• Act as Project Director for the £700m Developer Debt Programme and provide oversight of the wider remediation portfolio, including assurance, counter fraud, funding approvals, cost scrutiny and programme closure.
• The role also has important programme-level responsibilities for the financial aspects of the Building Safety Fund.
• Lead engagement with HM Treasury, IPA, PAC and NAO across remediation programmes, ensuring high-quality, transparent reporting and effective governance.
• Work closely with Finance, HR and Commercial colleagues in the Corporate Centre to ensure alignment and consistency across government frameworks.
• Lead, develop and support a team of around 30–35 colleagues, creating an inclusive, high-performing culture focused on impact, learning and improvement.

Person specification

This role suits a senior leader who is comfortable operating in complexity and who enjoys bringing structure, clarity and direction to large, fast-moving systems. You will have experience across finance, corporate planning, workforce strategy or resource management, ideally in a large organisation where delivery, scrutiny and accountability are closely linked.

You will be someone who can move easily between detail and strategy, turning complex information into clear insight that supports confident decision-making at senior levels. Strong judgement, political awareness and the ability to build trust with senior stakeholders will be essential.

This is also a role for someone who is motivated by improvement and who has experience of strengthening systems, building capability in teams and improving how organisations plan and deliver at scale.

Essential criteria:

• Experience of leading strategic finance, corporate planning, workforce planning or resource management functions in a large and complex organisation, with responsibility for budgets, forecasting and financial governance.
• Strong experience of operating in high-risk, high-scrutiny or complex delivery environments, ideally involving multiple delivery partners, Arm’s Length Bodies or regulated systems.
• Proven experience of leading successful delivery or improvement of services, including within public sector or equivalent environments.
• Experience of leading through innovation and improvement, identifying opportunities to enhance systems, processes or performance and translating these into measurable outcomes.
• Experience of creating and leading multidisciplinary teams, enabling empowered teams to deliver effectively, innovate and continuously improve.
• Strong experience of influencing senior stakeholders, including HM Treasury or equivalent bodies, providing clear financial or strategic advice to support decision-making.
• Qualified CCAB/CIMA accountant (or equivalent) with relevant post-qualification experience, or currently working towards qualification with a clear commitment and timeframe for completion.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £81,000, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government 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.At MHCLG we offer many benefits that range from tailored career pathways and flexible working to MyLifestyle Staff Benefits Scheme, Childcare Vouchers, and Cycle to Work Schemes. For more information, please click here.

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

How to apply

To apply you will need to submit a CV and Statement of Suitability via the Be Applied link. Your CV (up to two pages) should set out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years. Your Statement of Suitability (up to two pages) should explain how your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential and desirable criteria for the role.

Equal opportunities

We encourage candidates to complete the Equal Opportunities Monitoring Data via Be Applied. The data will be treated in the strictest confidence and used for monitoring and statistical purposes only.

Interview schemes

MHCLG is a Disability Confident employer and is committed to protecting and promoting the physical and mental health of all colleagues and applicants. We also operate the Great Place to Work for Veterans and Redeployment schemes. Applicants applying under these schemes who meet the essential criteria, will be invited to interview.

The panel

Jenny Dibden (Director & line manager), Alice Lakeman (Director), Nico Heslop (Director), Zainab Agha (Director).

Additionally, the panel may be joined by one of our staff representatives from a pool of volunteers as part of our commitments to diversity and inclusion.

Informal discussions with the hiring manager (Jenny Dibden) may be requested via the SCS Recruitment team prior to the closing date.

Shortlist

Applications will be sifted after the closing date and shortlisted candidates will be invited to the next phase of assessment and interview. Your CV and Statement of Suitability will be assessed against the essential criteria, these will also be used to form the basis of the panel’s final interview questions. Desirable criteria will only be used to determine the merit order of candidates who rank evenly against the essential criteria.

Assessment

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend a Staff Engagement Panel, designed to provide insight into how you engage and interact with your team. Feedback from the session is passed to the panel for consideration alongside your final interview.

Shortlisted candidates may also be invited to give a short presentation at interview - further details will be provided when invited to interview.

Expected timeline

• Advert closes: 29th June 2026

• Shortlisting: W/C 6th July 2026

• Engagement Panels: W/C 13th July 2026

• Interviews: W/C 3rd August 2026

*Please note that we try to offer flexibility where possible, but it may not always be possible to offer alternative interview dates. Given August is peak holiday season, interviews may run beyond W/C 3rd August.

Salary​

For external appointments, remuneration for this role is advertised at £81,000 pa plus a bonus opportunity depending on performance (within the normal Civil Service pay arrangements) and attractive pension. ​

For existing civil servants, the usual policy on level transfer and promotion will apply and is non-negotiable. If appointed on promotion you would get the higher of 10% uplift or the new minimum for SCSPB1 – Deputy Director. Please also note that, if successful, any existing specialist allowances you currently receive will not automatically transfer or be retained upon moving to this role.​

Future pay awards will normally be made in line with current SCS performance-related pay arrangements.​

Eligibility​

This post is advertised on level transfer or promotion to existing civil servants, and externally.

Full information & benefits

Find out everything you need to know before applying here.

You must review the following information from the MHCLG Career's Site before submitting your application. This step is essential to ensure your eligibility for the role and that your application is completed correctly.

• Security Clearance Requirements

• Civil Service Nationality Requirements

• Right to Work

• Civil Service Code and Recruitment Principles

• CV Declaration

• Sponsorships

• Salary and Grade

• Existing Civil Servants

• Conflict of Interest

• Location and Flexible Working

• Fixed Term Contracts

• Internal Fraud Database

• Appeals and Complaints

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

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
• Email : scs.recruitment@communities.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : scs.recruitment@communities.gov.uk

Further information

If you are unsure about any part of the process or require additional information about the post to enable you to progress your application, you should speak to the Resourcing team - scs.recruitment@communities.gov.uk. Candidates can appeal at any stage of the recruitment process if they believe there has been:

a procedural irregularity

an infringement of the Civil Service equal opportunities policy

exceptional circumstances which were not notified to the interview panel which might have affected performance on the day.

It is important to note that these are appeals about the process not the decision. In the first instance, an appeal should be directed to the MHCLG SCS Recruitment Team at scs.recruitment@communities.gov.uk.

If the SCS Recruitment Team is unable to satisfactorily resolve your complaint, you may contact put your complaint in writing to the Civil Service Commission, Room G8,1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ or by email to: info@csc.gov.uk.