Director for Scale Ups and Access to Finance

Job summary

Candidate Information Call

The hiring manager for this position, Jo Crellin, Director General, DIME, DBT, 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 Thursday 9th April at 12:00 – 12:45pm (UK time).

Please click here for the meeting link.

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

This role is at the heart of the Secretary of State’s vision for an ambition to build a trillion-pound company in the UK and the government believes this is crucial for economic growth. You will be shaping and delivering this new approach to medium/mid-tier business growth and will lead on one of the Ministers' main priorities, empowering your teams to deliver a better operating environment for mid-sized businesses – focusing on high growth scale ups, access to finance, sponsorship of the British Business Bank and late payments legislation.

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Job description

As Director for Scale Ups and Access to Finance you will work alongside the Director for Small Business Growth focusing on driving the growth of the UK's highest potential businesses as they start, scale and grow in the UK. You will be responsible for improving the overall environment for high growth businesses; supporting the large number of mid-sized businesses that form the backbone of the UK economy and working cross-government to remove barriers and encourage founders to keep their businesses in the UK. You will manage four main areas:​

• ​Scale up agenda: The UK is already 3rd in the world for innovation, starts ups and emerging technology, but we risk losing our best talent and growth potential if those businesses choose not to stay in the UK. This role will lead work, working with colleagues across Government to focus on how we can build a stronger ecosystem for high growth companies, including addressing the barriers that they face.
• Sponsorship of the British Business Bank: This role is the key sponsorship and policy lead in the Department for BBB – which is in turn a key lever in supporting growth ( SR 2025 BBB were awarded permanent capital of over £25 bn including a £4 bn Industrial Strategy pot). You will need to work with UKGI, the BBB executive and board to ensure that BBB are delivering on Ministers' priorities, which will include overseeing performance.
• Access to finance: this is one of the highest cited barriers put forward by businesses which wish to grow across the SME community. Whilst the UK has a well developed ecosystem, we need it to keep improving to ensure that the right levels of finance are available at the right stages to help businesses grow. The Department leads a range of initiatives to unlock access to capital, drive confidence to invest and remove barriers which prevent businesses achieving their potential.
• Enterprise and Late Payments: you will be responsible for the legislation to enact the proposals set out in the Plan for Small Business published Summer 2025 to tackle late payments which disproportionately affect small and medium sized businesses. You will also be responsible for the King's Fund Award team.

The Director for Scale Ups and Access to Finance will hold line management responsibility for 3 Deputy Directors for those areas. The role will require significant agility, with the capacity to flex to emerging priorities and adapt to organisational change as well as a determination to drive delivery and embed culture change. ​

This role is a fantastic opportunity to enhance your senior leadership experience within a complex change environment, whilst working and leading brilliant colleagues dedicated to driving innovation and making a meaningful impact to the UK economy.

Person specification

• Essential Criteria

  • An inspirational, ambitious and innovative senior leader with a proven track record of shaping ideas into a compelling strategic vision, motivating teams, and driving delivery that achieves meaningful real‑world impact.
  • Strong knowledge of the commercial drivers that influence business investment decisions, and a deep understanding of how capital is mobilised and unlocked through financial markets to support growth and innovation.
  • A high‑impact leader with the ability to build, sustain and leverage credible, collaborative relationships across government, the private sector, and the founder and investment community, enabling alignment, influence and delivery at pace.
  • Deep understanding of the scale‑up, venture capital and medium‑sized business landscape, with the ability to analyse the key challenges faced by high‑growth firms and translate this insight into effective, evidence‑based policy solutions that support business growth and competitiveness.
  • Able to work at pace in real-world environments, navigating government systems effectively to make things happen, solving problems with clarity and determination. Brings genuine enthusiasm and commitment to the mission, driving progress across organisational boundaries.
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Benefits

Alongside your salary of £100,000, Department for Business and Trade contributes £28,970 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 19/04/2026. ​

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

1. A CV, maximum two pages of A4 (font size 11) setting out your career history, highlighting specific responsibilities and achievements that are relevant for this role. Please provide reasons for any gaps within the last two years.​​​
2. A Supporting Statement, maximum two pages of A4 (font size 11), providing examples of how your experience meets the essential criteria.​​​

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. ​​​

The supporting statement is your opportunity to give examples and show how your skills and experience fit the job requirements.​

When writing a supporting statement, it is important that you:​

• Read the job specification so you are clear about the job requirements. Structure your personal statement to reflect the essential criteria listed in the advert.​
• Make sure you provide evidence against each of the listed criteria - i.e. ‘experienced in leading high performing and diverse teams and promoting inclusivity.’ When have you led a team, how large, what did you do to promote inclusivity, how did you handle diversity?​
• Ensure any evidence you provide demonstrates the impact of your actions in that situation, provide statistical evidence where relevant.

Shortlist​

Shortlisting for interview is made on the basis of merit. The selection panel will assess the evidence presented by all applicants against the advertised essential criteria and the highest rated applicants will be invited to interview.

*Please note – Shortlisted candidates may be subjected to due diligence checks*

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

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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

Candidate Pack - Director for Scale Ups and Access to Finance Opens in new window (pdf, 6808kB)Director for Scale Ups and Access to Finance - Accessible Candidate Pack Template Opens in new window (docx, 152kB)