Job description

Locations: Bristol, London, York

Advertised working pattern: Full-time, Job share

Job summary

This role is about continuing to increase the global impact of Defra’s development portfolio, maximising the impact of the UK aid budget that is managed by Defra, integrating it with other programming and leveraging it to deepen partnerships globally that will both tackle the global biodiversity crisis, and also reduce poverty and tackle inequality.

Job description

The postholder will continue to mature Defra’s systems, processes and programming and steward and oversee Defra’s ODA portfolio – of approximately £345m over the SR period. They will ensure that programmes align with government priorities and deliver environmental outcomes and that Defra maximises the learning and the technical partnerships between international and domestic teams. They will also ensure effective financial management, risk management, assurance, accountability and results reporting is in place, drawing on their previous fraud and safeguarding knowledge and understanding.

The Deputy Director will guide the teams that oversee flagship biodiversity programmes, including the Darwin Initiative, Legacy Landscapes Fund and the Biodiverse Landscapes Fund, ensuring effective delivery and continuous improvement to support local communities and locally-led conservation.

The role will also require a strong communicator with the ability to build strong partnerships across government and lead on ODA Spending Review negotiations. The Deputy Director will be confident to represent Defra externally, and to build partnerships with international organisations, donors, foundations and the private sector to leverage additional finance and scale impact.

The leadership challenge will be to both lead a multidisciplinary team of approximately 28 FTE and also provide professional oversight, learning and development and standard setting for the wider community of approximately 100 staff working on ODA programming and promoting an inclusive, high-performing culture.

Key responsibilities
– Strategic Leadership: Provide strategic leadership and oversight of Defra’s international development portfolio. Ensure portfolio is aligned with government priorities, international commitments and environmental outcomes. Support collective leadership across Defra and Whitehall. Shape and influence cross-government approaches to international climate and nature finance
– Portfolio Governance and Assurance: Responsibility for stewardship and oversight of £345m ODA portfolio over the SR period. Ensure effective financial management, risk management, assurance and accountability arrangements in place. Lead engagement with Defra’s Investment Committee. Drive continuous improvement, lesson learning, impact measurement and value-for-money across the portfolio. Oversee implementation of published results reporting.
– Programme Management: Accountable for flagship international biodiversity programmes: Darwin Initiative; Biodiverse Landscapes Fund; and Legacy Landscapes Fund. Ensure programmes deliver measurable environmental outcomes. Oversee programme adaptation, reform and responsible exit strategies if required. Promote innovation and evidence-based decision making.
– Cross-Government Influencing: Build strong partnerships and lead on ODA Spending Review negotiations. Shape the design and delivery of the UK’s international climate finance portfolio to ensure that the nature portfolio remains visible and transparent.
– Partnership Development: Develop and maintain impactful relationships with delivery partners, multilateral organisations, philanthropic foundations, donors and the private sector to leverage additional finance and scale impact; ensure implementation of principles of inclusive nature action.
– Team Leadership: Lead a multidisciplinary team of approximately 28 FTE and provide professional oversight, learning and development and standard setting for the wider community of staff working on ODA programming (approximately 100 FTE). Build an inclusive, high-performing and psychologically safe culture, foster innovation, collaboration and continuous improvement. Champion equality, diversity and inclusion and ensure fair and effective people management.
– Budget and Resource Responsibility: Oversight of £125m annual ODA expenditure. Accountability for £28.9m of live programmes. Oversight of £20m of legacy investments.

Person specification

Essential Criteria
– Strategic leadership: Exceptional positive and inclusive leadership and management skills, including evidence of inspiring and developing the long-term capability and performance of teams, promoting an inclusive, diverse and supportive environment. Experience leading multidisciplinary teams through change and uncertainty
– Strong collaboration and team working – able to form strong alliances and partnerships to deliver ambitious change and innovative solutions even in the context of blurred boundaries and complexity. Excellent communication skills – an ability to hold delivery partners to account, navigate through the complexities of change and build strong senior and load-bearing relationships with colleagues from a range of different countries and organisations
– Strong programme management experience – ideally of ODA programmes but I would be equally interested in applications from candidates with a range of transferable experience managing similar portfolios of programmes, budgets and delivery partners. Sufficient experience to help align programming and wider policy and strategy. Experience of public finance, governance, risk management (including safeguarding and fraud) and assurance. Delivery of complex programmes involving multiple partners and significant budgets
– Strategic thinking: The ability to design and deliver effective strategies, based on excellent analytical and scientific insight, in collaboration with a range of other partners. You will need to be able to demonstrate how you can look ahead, anticipate issues and risks, and develop innovative and creative solutions in addition to monitoring progress and delivery against agreed strategies already in place
– Strong understanding of the international context – to have sound judgement about the places where Defra programming is taking places, the operational, political and governance risks. How to deploy ministers and build political capital to build bilateral relationships, deliver meaningful and impact change, and influence international policy development across government.