Deputy Director, Business Engagement Unit?
| Posting date: | 08 July 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £76,000 to £86,000 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 27 July 2025 |
| Location: | Salford |
| Company: | Government Recruitment Service |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 411608/7 |
Summary
The BEU works across the department and holds strong relationships with private offices, Special Advisors, sector teams, policy teams, regions and key stakeholder contacts to deliver on DBT’s objectives and priorities. The team also has strong links to other government departments, particularly HMT and No10, to ensure that engagement with business is coordinated across Government.
The Deputy Director is responsible for the whole of the Business Engagement Unit, providing strategic advice and support not only to the Secretary of State on engagement with business but also to the wider ministerial team and the Permanent Secretary. You will play a key role in advising Ministers and be responsible for ensuring DBT priorities are landed with business.
You will need to demonstrate strong leadership of four Grade 6 direct reports, fostering a proactive and collaborative culture across the whole of the BEU. This should enable the BEU to continue to drive business engagement across DBT and Whitehall.
This position provides a great opportunity to combine strategic thinking, delivery and leadership in a role at the heart of ministerial engagement.
You will lead a team of circa 25 staff and will be responsible for leading and supporting the four Grade 6 led teams with:
- Strategic Forward Look – Responsibility working across the department and cross-Whitehall to deliver a strategic programme of engagement on a termly basis for the Secretary of State, DBT Ministers and the Permanent Secretary aligned to their priorities and preference.
- Business Engagement Delivery – In collaboration with the relevant teams across DBT, deliver a programme of engagement which combines sectoral and thematic roundtables and attendance at key events with bilateral engagement with senior business leaders.
- Cross-Government Business and Growth Group – Providing oversight of DBT secretariat function that supports the Permanent Secretary’s B&G group which he co-chairs with HMT Permanent Secretary James Bowler. Developing the forward look of discussion topics to ensure aligned with most pressing business and growth issues, supporting the delivery of the meetings themselves and identifying opportunities for cross departmental Permanent Secretary level engagement with specific companies.
- Monitoring and Reporting – Supporting the team to establish efficient processes to accurately track and monitor all Ministerial and engagement, presenting this data to ministers and senior officials on a regular basis and considering continual improvement, including use of more novel software, to deliver this most effectively.
- Business Feedback – Establishing DBT as a ‘Single Front Door’ for business so that DBT is considered the first point of contact in HMG for business, ensuring issues raised in ministerial meetings are followed up on and wherever possible resolved and reported back to business.
- PMO – Effective oversight of the BEU’s PMO function including ultimate responsibility for the team risk register, HR and finance data, information management processes, central reporting, contact lists and other key documents.
- Business Connect Events – Leading the design and implementation of future DBT led Business Connect events and leading the DBT input into those Business Connect events led by other government departments.
- And finally, leadership – the effectiveness of the BEU relies on the various teams working together, creating networks and sharing knowledge. You will play a strong leadership role in fostering the proactive and collaborative culture of the team, as well as ensuring a friendly and inclusive work environment.
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