Director General, DCMS

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Hybrid

Expires: Expiring in less than 3 weeks

Policy

Full time

£160,000 per year

Job summary

Welcome from our Permanent Secretary, Susannah Storey

Thank you for your interest in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

The DCMS agenda celebrates what makes life in the UK unique, recognising the vital role culture, arts, media, sport, tourism and civil society play in supporting the economy and shaping our image on the world stage. Our sectors are a powerful force for economic growth and opportunity, contributing £170 billion to the economy, supporting 4 million jobs and acting as a source of soft power and national pride. From the Premier League to film and TV, our sectors are in huge demand and makes DCMS so integral to delivering the government’s agenda.

Our work for this Government is guided by three priority outcomes: growth and good jobs in every place, a more socially cohesive country with an inclusive national story, and richer lives with choices and opportunities for all. In recent months we have delivered on some of the Government’s biggest priorities to do this, including the the BBC Charter Review Green Paper, the review of Arts Council England and new 10-year National Youth Strategy as well as setting up the new Independent Football Regulator.

As a department, we support initiatives that enrich everyday life: museums, galleries, cinemas and theatres; and backing charities that make an incredible impact. All of which bring pride to local communities and provide substantial health and wellbeing benefits for the people we serve. We are supporting our sectors to thrive, empowering local partners to shape their communities and ensuring young people everywhere have the choices and opportunities to succeed.

As an employer, DCMS consistently ranks among the highest in the Civil Service for staff engagement. Our people are proud of what we do and inspired by the difference we make – and we think you will be too.

Job description

I am looking for an outstanding individual to become the new Director General for Society, Media & Culture at DCMS. This is a varied and challenging leadership role which directly supports the Secretary of State’s agenda.

This role has policy responsibility for a very broad portfolio, ranging from the UK’s media landscape and public service broadcasting, including the BBC and Channel 4, the creative industries including music, gaming, fashion, film and high end TV and how tech is shaping this landscape. The DG group includes policy for a huge range of important parts of our society including arts and libraries, tourism, culture and youth, civil society and our international agenda. It also has oversight of more than half of DCMS’ 41 arm’s length bodies, including Arts Council England and 15 national museums & galleries which had more than 40 million visitors in the last year.

The role will report directly to me and will be a key member of the Executive Board, which is responsible for setting the strategic direction for the Department and providing governance and oversight of all of our work. Like all Whitehall departments we are transforming our organisation, ensuring we are innovative and ideas driven as we deliver for this Government and I want a committed leader who can help deliver this. The Group has a delegated budget of c.£2 billion and has a busy forward plan including driving the Creative Industries as part of the Modern Industrial Strategy, delivering the Charter Review for the BBC and implementing Baroness Hodge’s Review of Arts Council England. As part of our transformation, we are continuing to review the balance of our DG portfolios and, once the post is filled, there may be further group change in due course. An indicative organisation chart is provided on the following slide.

Together with our DG for Strategy, Sport and Events and our Chief Operating Officer, this role will be vital to delivering our agenda, working with our Arms Length Bodies, engaging with local government, civil society and our sectors, and will also represent the Department across Whitehall and beyond.

Person specification

The ideal candidate would have the following key skills and experience, please note that desirable skills will only be used in the event of tied candidates.

Essential requirements:

A track record of providing highly visible leadership within a complex organisation, delivering programmes with multiple stakeholders and across a range of different areas. This should include experience of leading strategy, policy and of setting direction in a complex organisation or context across the public and or private sectors;
Highly developed interpersonal and influencing skills, with the ability to establish credibility quickly with a diverse network of stakeholders up to Board and Ministerial (or equivalent) level and to present complex issues simply and effectively, driving forward to a mutually beneficial outcome;
Excellent judgement and political acumen with the ability to understand the changing context, to manage risk and to reach sound judgements and decisions on a range of strategic and reputational issues;
Experience of leading high performing teams and a proven ability to build mutually supportive teams, to manage transformation and efficiency programmes, as well as a demonstrable commitment to diversity and nurturing a culture of inclusivity;
Proven financial and commercial stewardship, including experience managing significant budgets and complex investment frameworks to deliver value for money and the ability to provide corporate leadership that contributes to the collective governance of the department and the wider Civil Service.

Desirable skills:

Private sector, third sector, local government experience and networks, or prior uniformed service could be helpful in this role given the portfolio.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £160,000, Department for Culture, Media and Sport contributes £46,352 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

25 days annual leave - rising to 30 after 5 years service
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

If you have any issues submitting your application please contact kerrie.bryce@cabinetoffice.gov.uk. All applications should be received by no later than 23:55 on Monday 18th May and should include:

A short CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you provide employment history that relates to the essential and desirable criteria, and that any gaps in employment history within the last 2 years are explained;
A Statement of SuitabilityA short covering statement of no more than two A4 sized pages explaining why this appointment interests you and how you can evidence your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the criteria in the ‘what are we looking for’ section;
A Declaration of Interest form

Civil Service recruitment processes at Director General level are regulated by the Civil Service Commission, and we follow clear guidelines to ensure that our recruitment is fair and open. We also design our recruitment processes to reflect our values-based approach to HR and to ensure that shortlisted candidates have the opportunity to meet key stakeholders for the role, before they join us. We expect the process for this role to be as follows:

The closing date for applications will be 23:55, Monday 18th May

A shortlist of the applications will take place during w/c 25th May
From 1st June, shortlisted candidates will then:
- Participate in a staff engagement panel with a selection of people from across the department
- Participate in a stakeholder panel with a selection of key members of our ALBs
- Undergo an Individual Leadership Assessment (ILA)
- Meet with key stakeholders, including the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, the Rt Hon Lisa Nandy MP
Inputs from all of those steps will then form the basis of a panel interview, chaired by Tony Poulter from the Civil Service Commission during the WC 22nd June. Other panel members at the interview will include but may not be limited to Susannah Storey Permanent Secretary, DCMS; Dame Sarah Healey, Permanent Secretary, MHCLG, and a DCMS non-executive Director.

Please note that references and open-source due diligence checks (including into social media accounts) may be undertaken for all short-listed candidates.

Full details about the assessment process will be provided to shortlisted candidates and recognising that there are a number of steps in the process, we will do our best to arrange the sessions in a way that works for you. This process will be conducted in face-to-face sessions, but if you need any adjustments do let us know.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is developed vetting (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

£160,000 per year