Strategy & Planning Lead

Job summary

The Cabinet Office and HM Treasury (COHMT) operate at the strategic centre of the UK Government, managing a portfolio of circa £5bn to deliver critical policy outcomes. The COHMT Commercial Team’s vision is to be a top-performing function that sets the standard for excellence across the Civil Service. The COHMT commercial team has recently undergone a strategic evolution, transitioning into a highly specialised Commercial Delivery and Operations model. The directorate comprises of two delivery clusters and a third cluster containing central strategy, performance and all enabling functions as well as non-category delivery and commercial portfolio management.

The COHMT Commercial team operates with our core values in mind which are: We are Curious, Collaborative and Kind, we act with Integrity and are Focused on value for money.

We’re looking for a talented professional to join the team and help to deliver strategic, operational and cultural change, transforming how commercial services are delivered across both departments. This will be a stretching and uniquely rewarding position. This role sits within the central Commercial Portfolio, Enablement & Operations cluster and will play a pivotal part in driving the strategic alignment, operational efficiency and robust governance across the directorate. As Strategy & Planning Lead, you will lead development of functional strategy, take responsibility for robust financial and workforce planning and ultimately ensure that our resource,
plans and directorate activity is well planned, strategically aligned and directly support wider departmental goals.

A core focus of the role is leading Business Operations, where you will champion effective recruitment and people management practices to build a resilient, high-performing team. You will hold responsibility for managing overall directorate governance as well as ensuring alignment and compliance with Cabinet Office’s central standards and assurance. Additionally, you will act as a key change agent, managing internal communications and leading on corporate change readiness to ensure the directorate is well-informed and equipped to adopt new ways of working smoothly.

In this role, you will be required to work closely with the Director, wider Commercial Leadership Team and the Chief of Staff to align operational delivery with strategic priorities. You will be expected to maintain strong relationships, act as a trusted adviser and provide strategic guidance and operational oversight across the directorate.

Job description

• Translate the Commercial Directors’ long-term vision into actionable workstreams, playing a leading role in the development and implementation of the directorate’s functional strategy.
• Lead day-to-day business operations across the directorate, ensuring the seamless delivery of central enabling functions and workplace services, including making best use of space and facilities to create the right environment for staff.
• Lead high-priority ad-hoc projects that fall outside the remit of specific functional teams but are critical to the Director’s goals.
• Secure, monitor and manage the directorate’s budget, collaborating closely with Finance colleagues to ensure spending remains on track and aligned with strategic priorities.
• Champion continuous process improvement to optimise our ways of working, ensuring robust compliance with CO central standards and assurance, while managing corporate reporting, the directorate Risk Register and business continuity planning.
• Lead on workforce planning, maintaining a forward-looking view of capacity and succession, and championing effective recruitment to build a resilient and high-performing team.
• Act as a key change agent across the directorate, leading on corporate change readiness and delivering clear, fit-for-purpose internal communications to ensure smooth transitions to new ways of working and informed teams.
• Oversee directorate governance, including setting agendas, tracking action items and unblocking internal bottlenecks.
• Design and deliver clear, fit-for-purpose internal communications to ensure the directorate is well-informed of strategic changes, policies, and operational updates.

Person specification

• Experience of delivering successful outcomes in a business operations and strategic business management environment.
• Strong strategic thinking and problem-solving skills to support the delivery of organisational goals, with the ability to identify opportunities for innovation.
• Ability to build strong relationships and influence at all levels, successfully collaborating across cross-functional teams such as Finance, HR, and Estates to drive operational excellence.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with a proven ability to lead on corporate change readiness, manage internal communications, and engage diverse teams.
• Strong analytical skills, with a personal drive to solve complex operational challenges, manage budgets, and ensure high standards of delivery.

Additional information:

Cabinet Office policy is that a minimum 60% of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace. For some roles, due to their nature and the business need, this may be up to 100%. Requirements to attend other locations for official business will also count towards this level of attendance.

Behaviours

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Making Effective Decisions

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £59,207, Cabinet Office contributes £17,152 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• Learning and development tailored to your role.
• An environment with flexible working options.
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity.
• A Civil Service Pension which provides an attractive pension, benefits for dependants and employer contributions of 28.97%.
• A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by one day per year up to a maximum of 30.

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 please submit a CV, no longer than two pages in length, a separate Statement of Suitability (max: 1000 words) and a number of behavioural statements (max: 250 words each) that outline your suitability for the role and evidence against the behaviours listed.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Please provide a Statement of Suitability (max: 1000 words) to demonstrate how you meet the essential criteria as listed in the 'Person specification' section of the job advert.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be undertaken using the lead Behaviour, Delivering at Pace.

Selection process

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service
• Seeing the Bigger Picture
• Making Effective Decisions

At interview you will will be assessed on your Behaviours and Experience.

Expected timeline (subject to change)

Expected sift date – w/c 2 November 2026

Expected interview date/s – w/c 9th November 2026

Interview location - Your interview will either be conducted face to face or by video. You will be notified of the location if you are selected for interview.

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

• Contact Government Recruitment Service at: cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
• Complete the ‘assistance required’ section in the ‘personal information’ page of your application form to provide information we should be aware of that will enable us to support you further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you're deaf, a Language Service Professional.

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 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.

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/Disclosure Scotland 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.

For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email Info@disclosurescotland.co.uk

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying.

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

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) 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 : COHMT Private Office
• Email : cohmtcommercial@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : cabinetofficerecruitment.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 by email at : cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
If you are not satisfied with the response 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

Cabinet Office Employee Offer Opens in new window (pdf, 302kB)Cabinet Office Terms and Conditions - External 2025-02-20 Opens in new window (docx, 83kB)