Deputy Director Digital Data and Technology (DDaT) Programme Delivery - NCA - SCS1

Location

The roles are expected to be based in Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Calder, Leicester, London*, Warrington
Please ensure you are only selecting locations you are willing to work in as you may be offered a post in any of your location preferences.

*For roles based in London, your contractual place of work will be Stratford. While the Stratford site is expected to become operational from November 2025 – March 2026, you will be required to carry out your contractual duties from Vauxhall or another reasonable location on a temporary basis during the interim period.


Please note that, as Stratford will be your contractual place of work, any subsequent move from a temporary location will not entitle you to payments for travel time or costs under the Relocation and Excess Travel Policy

About the job

Job summary

This is a senior leadership role within the National Crime Agency, responsible for the leadership and management of the DDaT Programme Delivery (DPD) department. The NCA has embarked upon a significant transformation programme across all aspects of its people, estates and ways of working. Digital, data and technology products and services are integral to this transformation journey, which requires DDaT to build, operate and sustain common IT services to support our operational ambitions.

We are modernising the DDaT Operating Model and have established a programme delivery function that can support Agency-wide demand for all IT related services through a Tower Delivery model. This approach groups activity and skills into delivery centres of excellence in End User Services, Networks, Data Centres & Hosting, Platforms (cloud and on-prem), Business Applications, and Supply Chain Transformation. This function provides the technical delivery skills to support all aspects of Agency work where there is an IT component.

You will be responsible for building, operating and sustaining the DDaT Programme Delivery (DPD) team that brings technical expertise to bear in support of all transformation and sustainment activities. You will work closely with multiple teams responsible for leading business change and transformation activities, being accountable for the timely delivery of IT projects and services to time, cost and scope to meet their delivery ambitions, transitioning new capabilities and services into live IT operations executed by the Enterprise Services team within DDaT.

DDaT Programme Delivery oversees the planning, resourcing and execution of all IT delivery. This currently includes ~£60m+ per annum of IT delivery with a workforce of ~100 staff including civil servants and professional services, drawing upon a wider supply base to achieve delivery outcomes. 

You will be responsible for the recruitment, deployment and continuous professional development of a highly skilled workforce to support the NCA’s transformation plans. 

You will have a proven track record in programme delivery and be able to work together with colleagues across all areas of the NCA to deliver a coherent and balanced portfolio of activities, using governance and benefits methodologies to support prioritisation in what is a resource-constrained environment. You will lead assurance activities to build confidence in delivery performance, taking mitigating actions as necessary to manage IT delivery dependencies. 

Job description

Duties and Responsibilities

Corporate Leadership:

• Deliver effective business management to support the delivery of DDaT Programme Delivery.
• Lead and develop Agency process and procedure to drive operational outcomes.
• Act as a role model who leads, inspires, motivates, empowers and develops Officers within own team and across the Agency, and achieves high standards for both self and others.
• Inspire confidence at the highest level. Regularly step outside own team and actively influences peers, senior leaders and key stakeholders to further NCA aims.
• Create and build constructive and positive partnerships, actively seeking to build collaborative working arrangements within the Agency, Home Office, wider Government and the Law Enforcement community in the UK and abroad.

Professional / Functional Leadership:

• Champion delivery and implementation of the Digital, Data and Technology Strategy and DDaT Programme Delivery across the NCA, and provide overall lead and direction.
• Promote an energised culture focussed on collaborative working and strategic change aligned to the NCA Strategy and performance ambitions.
• Lead the delivery towers to provide the technical delivery skills to support all aspects of NCA work where there is an IT component that contributes to the delivery of NCA objectives, driving delivery at pace through agile and waterfall methodologies.
• Prioritise effective allocation of resources across DDaT DPD to ensure optimal delivery of benefits.
• Chair governance boards for taking decisions on DDaT DPD development in response to escalated risks or opportunities.
• Oversee assurance of Business Case decision points and overall DDaT DPD governance and progress.
• Ensure DDaT DPD evolves to reflect changes in strategic directives and business priorities.
• Manage the integration of DDaT DPD outputs and dependencies across the Agency and with external partners.
• Cultivate and manage a range of relationships and key strategic alliances with internal and external stakeholders, including driving high performance from key suppliers
• Regularly review the performance and continuing relevance of projects within DDaT DPD with senior stakeholders based on a clear understanding of cost, risk and contribution to NCA strategic objectives.
• Oversee benefit tracking and realisation over multiple years.
• Ensure alignment of NCA with HMG strategies, policies and standards.
• Ensure DDaT DPD conforms to systems engineering processes, tools and standards as defined by NCA Chief Technology Officer.

Person specification

You will need to demonstrate the below essential criteria:

• Lead effectively across the Agency as part of a joined up senior team, role modelling the Agency’s ‘One NCA’ vision as well as collaborating with external partners to integrate, coordinate and amplify the UK national response to Serious and Organised Crime. You will lead your teams through being flexible and open in thought and action. You will communicate with transparency, involving your team members in the Agency’s transformation journey.
• Passionate about diversity and developing people inclusively, strengthening their ability to deliver and enable them to grow in their roles and careers. Actively coaching and engaging people, building their resilience through supporting them in their roles and enabling their wellbeing.
• Be threat led and data-driven in decision making, leading and navigating your team members through ambiguity by making evidence and/or values-based decisions to prioritise strategically. Be proactive and ambitious on efficiencies, finding opportunities to remove duplication, and standardise/simplify where possible. Balance financial and people resources to deliver against changing priorities.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills and experience of building effective partnerships, particularly with technical teams, across government, UK public and private sectors, Security partners and with international partners at a strategic level. 
• Proven experience of working at a senior strategic level leading major IT/Digital infrastructure programmes, using project and programme management disciplines, identifying and mitigating risk, to drive successful delivery of programme outcomes.

Qualification:

• APM Registered Project Professional and/or recognised Project delivery qualifications.

Any applications from candidates not meeting this eligibility criteria will not progress.

Desirable Criteria: 

• Completion of Major Projects Leadership Academy (MPLA) programme.