Geospatial Lead

Job summary

The Geospatial Lead will play a key role in Defra’s Geospatial Enabling Programme.

Defra is the UK government department responsible for protecting the environment, supporting food and farming, and sustaining rural economies. The Geospatial (Land) Programme seeks an experienced strategic leader to develop geospatial data products and engage stakeholders. Its purpose is to develop and implement a Defra wide geospatial data product which brings together all Defra geospatial data in an accessible and standard product, for use across Defra and its ALBs, covering role areas, such as policy, analytical, enforcement and delivery teams to improve decision-making and avoid conflicting interventions.

The Geospatial Lead will work closely with the Delivery Partner on prioritisation, decision-making, design consultation, backlog reviews, and providing geospatial guidance. They will connect key stakeholders across Defra agencies, including RPA, Core Defra, APHA, EA, Natural England, Forestry Commission, and Forestry Research. A critical part of the role is translating technical terms for non-technical stakeholders to ensure alignment and readiness for change. The lead will also run working and advisory groups to support programme delivery.

The Geospatial Programme team sits within the Change Directorate and manages programme controls, business cases, funding bids, and the programme board. The Geospatial Lead will contribute expertise, present to senior stakeholders, and help drive delivery forward. The role combines geospatial product ownership with stakeholder management.

Job description

Key Responsibilities

• Create a common geospatial land base map to support Defra outcomes.
• Lead integration of foundational land datasets from ALBs and third parties into a single Defra Land Model, preventing duplication and maximizing investment.
• Ensure accurate, high-quality geospatial data that can be exploited to streamline grants, improve spatial targeting, reduce fraud and increase efficiencies.
• Develop and implement a common geospatial data standard framework in collaboration with DDTS and the Chief Data Office to enable data sharing across Defra and externally.
• Establish a Centre of Excellence to build capability and equip teams to use geospatial tools for all Defra and ALBs users.
• Provide product ownership suppliers and stakeholders including translating user needs into deliverables.
• Work closely with suppliers and delivery partners to define standards, quality expectations, and service levels, ensuring products meet vision and user/business needs.
• Lead stakeholder engagement, presenting updates, running benefit and solution workshops, and ensuring alignment across technical and non-technical audiences.
• Collaborate with commercial teams on statements of work and contract performance measures.
• Monitor and track business benefits, ensuring they are created, managed, and achieved.
• Analyse impacts of change, keeping stakeholders informed and involved throughout implementation.
• Champion user-focused design, listening to concerns and ensuring products deliver efficiency and accuracy.

Person specification

Essential Skills & Experience

• Proven experience in a geospatial leadership role, ensuring data quality and delivering geospatial projects, programmes, or data services.
• Extensive knowledge of geospatial data standards, governance, and product development to meet user needs.
• Strong ability to manage competing stakeholder priorities in a complex environment.
• Outstanding communication and facilitation skills, with the ability to clearly explain technical concepts to non-technical audiences and inspire culture change across senior leaders and cross-functional teams.
• Experience of chairing meetings and workshops with large, diverse audiences of varying technical expertise.
• Demonstrated ability to work with delivery partners and suppliers, ensuring quality deliverables and effective collaboration.
• Experience engaging with users to understand needs and translate them into geospatial data products.
• Confident in leading stakeholder engagement, influencing decisions, and aligning diverse views to a common goal.
• Proactive, adaptable, and innovative thinker, able to develop and deliver against strategic outcomes and critical paths.
• Passion for continuous improvement and business transformation.

Behaviours

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

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Leadership
• Changing and Improving
• Communicating and Influencing

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Leadership

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £67,730, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs contributes £19,621 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

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

Application Process

As part of the application process you will be asked to provide a CV and complete a 750-word Personal Statement detailing your suitability for the role based on the 'Essential Experience' bullet points within the Person Specification section of the advertisement above.

You will also be asked to provide a 250-word statement demonstrating how you meet the following Behaviour: Leadership.

Further details around what this will entail can be found on the application form.

Sift

Should a large number of applications be received, there will be an initial sift assessing the Personal Statement and CV. Those who pass the initial sift will be progressed either to a full sift or straight to interview.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

Interview

If successful at application stage, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed on Behaviour and Experience questions. The Behaviours are as follows:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Leadership
• Changing & Improving
• Communicating & Influencing

During the interview, you will be required to make a presentation where the Behaviour, Seeing the Big Picture will be assessed. Details of the presentation will be sent to you 48 hours before your interview. Experience will be assessed through questions.

Your interview will be virtual via MS Teams.

Location

The post can be based in any Core Defra site however the postholder must be able to travel to Crewe 2-3 times per month.

As part of the pre-employment process for this post, successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. The agreed contractual workplace is then the substantive and permanent place of work for the successful candidate(s).

Where the location is ‘National’ the successful appointee should discuss and agree an appropriate contractual location in line with both Defra’s location policy and site capacity, prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.

Successful applicants currently employed by the hiring Defra organisation for this post may choose to remain in their current contractual location or may choose to change contractual location to one of those listed above. This should be discussed and agreed prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.

The agreed amount of time spent at a workplace for this post will reflect the requirement for Civil Servants to spend at least 60% of their working time in an organisation workplace with the option to work the remaining time flexibly from home. Working time spent at a workplace may include time spent at other organisational locations including field-based operational locations, together with supplier, customer or partner locations. This is a non-contractual agreement which is consistent with common Civil Service expectations.

Travel costs to non-contractual workplaces will be subject to departmental travel and subsistence policies. Travel costs to contractual workplaces are the responsibility of the employee.

The successful candidate is required to carry out all their duties from a UK location, and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time.

Defra includes the core department, APHA, RPA, Cefas and VMD.

Salary

New entrants to the Civil Service are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band. The internal roles rules apply to existing Civil Servants, i.e. level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive 10% increase. Either case is determined by whichever is the highest.

Reserve List

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

Childcare Vouchers

Any move to DEFRA 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; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

Reasonable Adjustment

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 need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

Contact Government Recruitment Service via defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Accessibility

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

Visa Sponsorship Statement

Please take note that Defra does not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker License sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship.

Merit Lists

Where more than one location is advertised, candidates will be appointed in merit order for each location. You will be asked to state your location preference on your application.

Criminal Record Check

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

Higher Security Clearance

All of these posts require the successful candidate to hold basic security clearance. Candidates posted to London may be subject to a higher level of clearance because of the security requirements for that location. Job offers to these posts are made on the basis of merit. Security vetting will only take place after the receipt of a job offer.

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website.

Please be aware the levels of national security clearance are changing which may impact on the level needed for this role by the time of appointment. All efforts will be made to keep candidates informed of any changes and what that will mean in terms of vetting criteria. For more information please See our vetting charter

Internal Fraud Database Check

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.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.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).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 : HR Resourcing Delivery
• Email : HRResourcingDelivery@defra.gov.uk

Recruitment team

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

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact Government Recruitment Services via email: defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: here

Attachments

Defra 2022 Core Candidate Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 1518kB)