Aberdeen, Birmingham, Cardiff, Darlington, Edinburgh and Salford with limited travel required within the UK.

This is an exciting time to join DESNZ and to play a leading role in transforming the British energy system. We are delighted to be able to offer this opportunity to join the Department's Energy Infrastructure Group senior leadership team as Deputy Director, Planning Policy and Devolution in the Energy Development Directorate. 

There are two key areas of focus in the role: reforming the approach that we take to energy infrastructure planning, supporting the delivery of the huge scale of infrastructure that is needed for Clean Power 2030 and Net Zero; and leading the Department's approach to devolution. Both of these areas offer significant opportunities and delivery challenges. 

This is a critical time as we transform our energy system and scale up energy infrastructure and work closely with Developed Governments and Territorial Offices.

The successful candidate will have excellent strategic thinking skills and will be a confident collaborative leader with the ability to develop and lead a diverse, high performing team and champion talent development. They will need to be highly articulate and credible at senior levels with the ability to communicate complex issues and successfully negotiate and influence both across Whitehall and with key stakeholders. 

They must be able to set direction and manage complex work programmes, communicating complex messages effectively and sensitively.  This is an exciting opportunity to shape an important, topical policy at the heart of the energy system and deliver transformational change, as part of a friendly, professional and inclusive team and we look forward to your application.

This role will be responsible for:

• Providing strategic leadership and coordination across DESNZ on planning reform, making sure that solutions are tailored to support the best outcomes for the deployment of a range of generation and transmission technologies across Great Britain, and working collaboratively across multiple policy and delivery teams including the Clean Power Unit.
• Advising Ministers on the best strategic approaches to speeding up and reforming energy infrastructure planning consenting. This is a top priority of the Secretary of State and is a key enabler for the Government's 2030 Clean Power Mission, and for Carbon Budget delivery.
• Aligning the Department's work with that of other Departments such as MHCLG and DEFRA and driving change in those departments through influence and facilitation.
• Leading a Programme Team to grip, drive and oversee this work to deliver high ambition reform, in parallel, on a number of fronts.
• Advising Ministers on trade-offs and opportunities, using data, evidence, and stakeholder positions to inform decision making.
• Briefing Ministers for stakeholder and Parliamentary and other engagement on this area of reform.
• Providing strategic leadership across the whole of DESNZ's policy portfolio on the interface between UK and devolved
  decision making and providing assurance and reporting structures to the Devolution SRO, briefing ministers on key policy issues, advising and supporting them in strategic engagement with the devolved governments, and advising the Department's ExCo on our overall strategic approach to devolution.
• Building capability and capacity across the organisation through tailored training programmes, advice to colleagues and using influence to ensure devolution considerations are prioritised in resourcing decisions.
• Maintaining and developing relationships with a range of civil service and non-government stakeholders in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Use influence to deepen working relationships to drive the energy security and net zero agenda in areas of mutual interest, and identify, surface and seek to resolve conflict.
• Providing overall SCS assurance and leadership on the corporate support the Directors and DDs in the Directorate receive. 

It is important through your CV and Statement of Suitability that you give evidence and examples of proven experience of each of the following to meet the essential criteria below for Deputy Director, Energy Infrastructure Planning Reform and Devolution

• Ability to think strategically and create a compelling vision of how the team's portfolio of work drives and supports the transition to a 2030 de-carbonised power system; anticipating and identifying future challenges to support a low carbon, resilient, secure and adaptable energy system.  
• Capability to develop and implement a diverse range of approaches for Government action across a broad portfolio using evidence effectively, and to making links across the wider infrastructure and energy policy and Government agenda.  
• Ability to confidently and inclusively lead a diverse, team with a range of backgrounds and professional expertise to deliver a common goal, championing talent development, creating an inclusive environment and support the team as they work in a high-profile policy area 
• Excellent communication and influencing skills, with the ability to proactively create, maintain and promote a strong network of connections both within the civil service and externally with key stakeholders, and to manage complex stakeholder relationships.  
• Weaving a delivery mindset through your work with the ability to take decisions and manage delivery at pace and prudently, including budget responsibility and managing external contracts. Able to deliver effectively through partners such as regulators and statutory consultees, other government departments and external bodies such as industry trade groups and businesses.  

Desirable Criteria 

• Knowledge / experience of the planning system and/or energy infrastructure policy
• Knowledge / experience of Devolution / working with the Devolved Governments or other similar partners  

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

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Making Effective Decisions
• Leadership
• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together

Alongside your salary of £76,000, Department for Energy Security & Net Zero contributes £22,017 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero offers a competitive mix of benefits including:

• A culture of flexible working, such as job sharing, homeworking and compressed hours.
• Automatic enrolment into the Civil Service Pension Scheme, with an employer contribution of 28.97%.
• A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by 1 day per year up to a maximum of 30.
• An extensive range of learning & professional development opportunities, which all staff are actively encouraged to pursue.
• Access to a range of retail, travel and lifestyle employee discounts.
• A hybrid office/home based working model where staff will spend a norm of 40-60% of their time in the office (minimum of 40%) over a month with flex dependent on balancing business and individual need.

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.

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

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).

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Job contact :

• Name : SCS Candidate
• Email : [email protected]

Recruitment team

• Email : [email protected]