Programme Director, Geospatial Enabling Programme
| Posting date: | 11 September 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £81,000 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 24 September 2025 |
| Location: | London |
| Company: | Government Recruitment Service |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 421998/2 |
Summary
The programme works across Defra group to deliver cross-organisational change designed in partnership with business and with users’ needs and operational requirements at its heart. You will lead work with senior stakeholders from across Defra group (including a range of arms-length-bodies) to understand the business needs and opportunities, design & deliver the system, and work with partners to embed the solution.
You will have experience of delivering complex geospatial or data programmes and of working with stakeholders on innovative solutions and new ways of working to drive out improved front line operational efficiencies and improved policy development through the use of more sophisticated data and insight.
Building on a discovery phase conducted to understand the data needs and issues faced by users from policy, operational and data teams, you will identify the opportunities for wider and new uses of the data provision ensuring that land data is exploited to maximum effect.
You will be responsible for the programme delivering:
- an authoritative source of land use and boundary map for England (master data reference layer) generated from Defra’s insights and the development of defined data management processes. This will facilitate collaboration and improve efficiencies across Defra group.
- Integration of existing foundational land datasets for England derived from ALBs and 3rd parties into one data repository (Defra Land Model) to support reducing data debt to support policy decision making and operational delivery.
- The development and delivery of a common data standard framework for geospatial in collaboration with DDTS, Chief Data Office to enable sharing of data across Defra Group and externally.
- The establishment of a Centre of Excellence to equip teams with the skills to exploit the land model and support the use of geospatial capability to solve operational needs and policy development. This will be done in collaboration with the Government Geography Profession.
You will lead the delivery of a complex geospatial data programme for Defra and its ALBs, working in collaboration with other core shared services including the Chief Data Office and Digital Data Technology and Security business area and will have experience of working with and through a wider range of delivery partners.
As Programme Director you will be accountable for the programme delivering quality geospatial data products alongside design and implementation of data management processes which is critical to the success of the programme. You will ensure that the programme follows a user centred approach and identify further geospatial data opportunities to improve efficiencies and data exploitation within Defra group.
You will foster collaboration with key stakeholders from across Defra group in the development of the geospatial data products and working with them to understand the business change required within their own organisations for the delivery and implementation. You will work with these stakeholders to mature benefits identified and to establish and agree benefits ownership and realisation.
You will work with OGDs and geospatial suppliers to understand areas for collaboration and opportunities. Geospatial expertise is critical in this role to ensure the programme delivers within scope and adheres to geospatial data standards and that data management is implemented and further opportunities are fully understood.
Key role Responsibilities:
- Lead delivery of the Geospatial Enabling programme ensuring that it delivers its outputs against scope, time, cost, and quality.
- Provide technical geospatial leadership and direction of the programme to the programme team and suppliers to ensure delivery.
- Work collaboratively across the organisations with technical and non-technical teams to lead effective business change and development of a collaborative culture across the organisation in the geospatial capability.
- Ensuring that the programme operates within Defra group financial controls – operating within budget and managing financial pressures and underspends effectively.
- Lead and direct large multidisciplinary teams including delivery, geospatial and data SMEs and technical teams .
- Ensure delivery of the data products and services meet data quality requirements, adhere to data standards, and ensure effective data management in collaboration with colleagues in other functions across the organisation.
- Provide strategic leadership to establish and agree benefit ownership and realisation and identify opportunities to maximise programme benefits.
- Reporting to senior leadership on a regular basis from across Defra group including Chief Executives, Director Generals and Directors.
- Development of the business case (OBC etc), ensuring alignment with senior stakeholder and obtaining agreement through the Programme Board, Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) and Investment Committee.
- Ensure stakeholder engagement at a senior level across the geospatial data domain, policy and operational areas are aligned with outcomes of the programme and their needs are identified and addressed.
- Manage multiple stakeholders across the organisation which comprises of a complex environment and build consensus across the diverse stakeholder group. Work closely with the SRO to manage senior stakeholders internally.
- Build and maintain key senior stakeholder relationships with OGDs and geospatial service suppliers.
- Manage commercial aspects of the delivery of the programme with commercial colleagues and suppliers.
- Develop strategic relationships with other government departments and with suppliers from data and geospatial capabilities
- Ensure strategic and operational risks and issues are identified, prioritise, assessed, and mitigated. Brief senior stakeholders a in managing key risks.
- Dependency management ensure quality assurance of the dependency management process, work with senior stakeholders to resolve issues and act as link between the programme and business governance .
- Represent as a geospatial on Defra’s Data governance board and other senior level boards within Defra and externally.
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