Deputy Director Digital Performance and Capability - Department for Transport - SCS1

Location

Birmingham, Leeds, Swansea, and Hastings. Frequent travel to other sites may be required.  
As a member of the SCS you will be leading teams working on a hybrid basis.  The expectation is that you will spend over the 60% workplace attendance requirement of your time in the workplace. Some travel to other DfT workplaces may be required

About the job

Job summary

This is an exciting time to join the Digital, Information, and Security Directorate within the Department for Transport as we embed a new Operating Model and restructure the directorate to meet future challenges. We are building a more sustainable, skilled, and predominantly in-house capability to respond effectively to the growing and evolving cyber security threat, while leading digital transformation to deliver the ambitions set out in the Blueprint for a Modern Digital Government.

The new Operating Model will require significant change in how we work, ensuring we deliver clear outcomes for customers while continuing to learn and improve. As part of the senior leadership team, this role will be pivotal in shaping and embedding the cultural change needed. Through strong leadership and role modelling, the postholder will reinforce the directorate’s cultural goals.

The directorate manages an annual budget of around £45m, with approximately 180 staff and 60 contracts valued at £124m. This role is critical in providing central oversight to ensure the directorate, and the wider digital function across DfTc, operates in a coordinated way to minimise duplication and maximise efficiencies. This will support delivery of the Government’s Productive and Agile State agenda.

The role is key to operationalising the new DfTc Digital Strategy, ensuring benefits are realised and progress is effectively monitored. Strategic priorities include supporting the department to close the digital and data skills gap across the workforce, embedding the capabilities required for transformation, and coordinating digital investment to maximise efficiency and security of spend.

In a challenging fiscal environment, the Deputy Director will play an important role in maintaining high performance and operational efficiency. This includes implementing effective performance monitoring systems to track delivery, workforce development, and compliance across functions.

In addition, we are establishing a shared view of digital delivery across the DfT Civil Service Group. This includes pooling capability development and increasing market leverage through joint procurement with external suppliers. The Deputy Director Digital Performance and Capability will act as the central hub for reporting and assurance to Government Digital Service (GDS), as well as coordinating cross-group procurement activity.

Job description

Responsibilities of the role include:

• Accountable for the performance of the Digital Performance and Capability team to enable the directorate and the digital function across DfTc to work effectively: finance and contracts, talent and workforce development, strategy, governance, secretariat, change management, and communications.
• Leading transformation for the directorate, including the implementation and embedding of the directorate’s new Operating Model. You will ensure that change is managed well and the directorate is fit for the future.
• Establishing a commercial framework and ways of working across the DfTc digital function and DfT Group to enable coordinated investment of digital investment and gain value for money.
• Strategic approach to resource allocation and delivery of in year demands with the development and implementation of future focused strategic financial and people plans.
• Liaison with DSIT and GDS to influence performance management frameworks for the Government’s Blueprint for a Modern Digital Government and ensuring the KPIs are met.
• Working closely with the senior leadership team to ensure the effective delivery of commissions and KPIs.
• Working closely with DIS senior leaders and stakeholders, lead on the development, design and operationalisation of the new DfTc Digital Strategy tracking benefits to bring about digital transformation for the department.
• Oversee work to improve the Department’s digital and data skills as part of work to enable DfTc to work smarter
• Identify and influence collaboration and joint working across the DfT Group digital function, leveraging efficiencies and best practice.
• Provide clear and strategic people capability building plans – including talent pipelines; succession plans; and ensuring all staff have clear and structured development plans.

Person specification

You will need to be able to show, through your application, that you have the professional skills, breadth of experience, and personal qualities for this post, as well as the leadership skills to succeed at Deputy Director level in the Senior Civil Service.

Person Specification

• Proven senior leadership experience delivering large, complex transformation programmes and designing and implementing organisational strategy.
• Strong track record of managing competing priorities, budgets, and performance frameworks, supported by robust systems and processes that ensure effective operational delivery and continuous improvement.
• Demonstrable success in transforming services, driving performance improvement, and enhancing the customer experience through the effective use of data and insight.
• Ability to operate confidently through ambiguity, finding creative solutions to resource challenges and balancing short‑ and long‑term efficiency and performance.
• Highly effective at engaging internal and external stakeholders and briefing senior leaders clearly on complex resourcing, performance and delivery issues.
• Experienced people leader, with a strong record of leading multidisciplinary teams and developing future‑focused workforce and financial plans, including talent development and succession planning.