Deputy Director Profession and Engagement

Job summary

About the Department

The Government Security Function (GSF) oversees the delivery of protective security across Government. Our Mission is to enable the Government to protect citizens and provide vital public services by understanding and managing security risks. We set the strategy and standards for Government Security, monitor departmental security performance, manage pan-government security incidents, support the delivery of key security capabilities and lead the Government Security Profession.

The Government Security Group (GSG) is the centre of the Function, based within the Cabinet Office. GSG is transforming the Government’s approach to protective security to ensure it is fit to meet the challenges of the digital age. This role offers an exciting opportunity to work in a fast-paced, dynamic team, with a breadth of stakeholders including in other Government departments, the National Technical Authorities and the Agencies, and to contribute to delivering improved security across Government.

Job description

The Role

This is an exciting and challenging role working in the Directorate of Security Capabilities within GSG. The Government Security Profession team facilitates the attraction, retention and development of a highly skilled robust and diverse security workforce across Government. We are building capability and driving change across Government for our c. 14,000 security professionals in the Government Security Function.

We are seeking an individual with the expertise and experience to drive and shape the direction of the Government Security Profession, transforming and building capability whilst developing a positive culture and a highly skilled and motivated workforce. As well as leading the Profession team you will also oversee the Engagement and Communications team for Government Security. This involves directing strategic engagement activities to ensure effective delivery of publications, events, campaigns, and projects.

Key responsibilities are broad and will include:

• Leading the development and delivery of a new Government Security People Plan, reflecting changes to the security and skills landscape and supporting more resilient protective and national security capabilities;
• Influencing stakeholders across Government and industry partners to improve Government Security capability and capacity to meet future priorities, working in partnership with relevant accreditation bodies;
• Building initiatives to strengthen and engage the leadership community and ensuring they have the right skills and development opportunities;
• Further developing and delivering an exceptional learning and development offer for security professionals creating a continuous development environment;
• Delivering cross-Government talent development initiatives to support retention including early talent interventions to build diverse pipelines;
• Managing workforce planning and Functional people data at scale across the Function and using this information to share and drive performance;
• Supporting the diversity and inclusion agenda for the Government Security Profession;
• Being a figurehead for the Profession across Government and at industry and Government events, all aimed at building the Government Security brand;
• Overseeing the Engagement and Communications team for Government Security. This involves directing strategic engagement activities to ensure effective delivery of publications, events, campaigns, and projects.
• Leading engagement with international partners, including the organisation of specialised events for protective security professionals across the Five Eyes nations.
• Managing a multi-million £ budget and driving Spending Review discussions to support future funding and wider Functional ambitions;
• Leading the Profession and Engagement team of around 20 team members.

You will play a key role in the leadership of GSG as a member of the GSG Senior Management Team, taking decisions that affect the breadth of the GSG team and driving forward improvement and change, for example in relation to feedback from the People Survey and our Diversity and Inclusion agenda. You will need to be a confident and self-sufficient leader, willing to bring new ideas and challenge the status quo, to drive forward our Vision and Mission and be a role model for our team members and the wider Function.

Person specification

As Deputy Director of the Government Security Profession within GSG, we are looking for people who have the following expertise and attributes:

Essential Criteria:

• Strong leadership skills with a demonstrable track record of leading and motivating diverse teams to deliver complex programmes of work or projects across organisational boundaries;
• Experience of both strategic oversight and delivery at pace across a varied portfolio that includes leading programmes aimed at bringing in and developing early talent in your organisation as well as programmes to develop leadership skills. This should be coupled with experience of strategic communications and large-scale event management (100s+);
• Excellent senior stakeholder management with experience of managing complex relationships across boundaries with confidence to influence senior leaders at Board level, such as Chief Executives or Permanent Secretaries and secure their commitment.
• A high degree of personal credibility and resilience along with the enthusiasm and commitment to deliver;
• Strong collaboration skills to build virtual teams and partnerships with internal and external partners to support consensus and test ideas;
• Demonstrable knowledge and experience of building professional skills and capabilities in a fast paced environment be that across government or industry sectors.

Please note that desirable skills will only be used to help the Panel shortlist candidates for interview in the event of candidates having tied scores against the essential criteria.

Desirable Criteria:

• Knowledge of the Government Security Profession and experience of working in or with the Government Security Function or an area of delivery relevant to government security.
• An ability to confidently navigate Whitehall and Arms Length Bodies, or other complex organisations, able to draw upon and establish networks.

Behaviours

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

• Changing and Improving
• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £81,000, Cabinet Office 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.

Whatever your role, we take your career and development seriously, and want to enable you to build a really successful career within the Department and wider Civil Service. It is crucial that our employees have the right skills to develop their careers and meet the challenges ahead, and you’ll benefit from regular performance and development reviews to ensure this development is ongoing.

As a Civil Service employee, you’ll be entitled to a large range of benefits. This includes:

• 25 days annual leave on entry, increasing on a sliding scale to 30 days after 5 years’ service. This is in addition to 8 public holidays.
• This will be complimented by one further day paid privilege entitlement to mark the King’s Birthday;
• A competitive contributory pension scheme that you can enter as soon as you join where we will make a significant contribution to the cost of your pension; where
your contributions come out of your salary before any tax is taken; and where your pension will continue to provide valuable benefits for you and your family if you are too ill to continue to work or die before you retire;
• Generous paid maternity and paternity leave which is notably more than the statutory minimum offered by many other employers;
• Childcare benefits (policy for new employees as of 5 April 2018): The government has introduced the Tax- Free Childcare (TFC) scheme. Working parents can open an online childcare account and for every £8 they pay in, the government adds £2, up to a maximum of £2000 a year for each child or £4000 for a disabled child. Parents then use the funds to pay for registered childcare. Existing employees may be able to continue to claim childcare vouchers, so please check how the policy would work for you here;
• Interest-free loans allowing you to spread the cost of an annual travel season ticket or a new bicycle;
• The opportunity to use onsite facilities including fitness centres and staff canteens (where applicable); and occupational sick pay.

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.

Application process

To apply for this post, you will need to complete the online application process, outlined below. This should be completed no later than 23:55pm, 10th March 2026.

1. An online 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 Statement of Suitability (no longer than 1250 words) 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 complete both sections of the online application form (CV and Statement of Suitability) 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’. See the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy for more information.

Should you encounter any issues with your online application please get in touch with us via: scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Shortlist

Your application will be acknowledged when it is received.

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. Failure to address any or all of these may affect your application.

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

Assessment

If you are successful at the application stage, you 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. We will be assessing against the success profile Behaviours and Experience at interview.

You may also have the opportunity to speak to Michael Brennan, the Panel Chair, prior to the final interview to learn more about the role and organisation. Please note this is not part of the formal assessment process.

Full details of the assessment process will be made available to shortlisted candidates. If you are required to prepare a presentation for the final interview you will be given the subject in advance.

If we receive applications from more suitable candidates than we have vacancies for at this time, we may hold suitable applicants on a reserve list for 12 months, and future vacancies in the Civil Service requiring the same skills and experience could be offered to candidates on the reserve list without the need for a new competition.

Expected timeline (subject to change)

Advert Closing Date: 23:55, 10th March 2026

Shortlist: Week commencing 16th and 23rd March 2026

Interview: Week commencing 30th March 2026

Security Clearance

You must hold SC Security Clearance level to take up post. If you don't already hold Security Clearance but are successful at interview you will be put through SC as part of your onboarding. Also, if successful you must be prepared to undergo the process of obtaining Developed Vetting DV clearance once in post.

Reasonable adjustments

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you feel that you may need a reasonable adjustment to be made, or you would like to discuss your requirements in more detail, please contact: scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk in the first instance.

Further information
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'contact point for applicants' section.

Please note that this role requires SC clearance, which would normally need 5 years’ UK residency in the past 5 years. This is not an absolute requirement, but supplementary checks may be needed where individuals have not lived in the UK for that period. This may mean your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible.

Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.

Any move to Cabinet Office from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk.

A reserve list will be held for a period of 12 months, from which further appointments can be made.

Equality and Diversity

GSG’s culture embraces a diverse workforce: we come from all walks of life. GSG values the fact that our different backgrounds, cultures, genders, experiences and ways of working ultimately bring us together as a more effective team. We strive for a collegiate and inclusive working culture that means our voice at every level is heard. Each one of us has a part to play in helping the Government to keep the UK secure.

GSG also wants to do better at recognising that we have responsibilities outside of work – so that we not only work hard, but we work smart – whether that’s full time, part-time or job sharing, we work flexibly. We promote hybrid working with a combination of time spent in the office and at home, where appropriate.

GSG is committed to being an equal opportunities employer. We value and welcome diversity. We aim to develop all our staff to enable them to make a full contribution to meeting the Department’s objectives, and to fulfil their own potential on merit. We will not tolerate harassment or other unfair discrimination on grounds of sex, marital status, race, colour, nationality, ethnic origin, disability, age, religion or sexual orientation. We promote and support the diversity of our workforce, promote learning and development, and celebrate our successes.

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 : scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles.
If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and wish to make a complaint, then in the first instance you should contact Government Recruitment Service at: scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.
If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission at: info@csc.gov.uk.
For further information on the Recruitment Principles, and bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission, please visit their website at: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk.

Attachments

DD Profession and Engagement - Cabinet Office CIP Final Opens in new window (pdf, 689kB)Cabinet Office Accessibility Pack - 446562 Opens in new window (docx, 429kB)