Strategy Director, National Security Secretariat
| Posting date: | 24 November 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £100,000 per year |
| Additional salary information: | External candidates will be expected to start on the band minimum. Existing Civil Servants will be appointed in line with the normal Civil Service pay rules. |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 07 December 2025 |
| Location: | London |
| Company: | Government Recruitment Service |
| Job type: | Temporary |
| Job reference: | 436679/1 |
Summary
This is a unique opportunity to shape the UK’s strategic approach to national security at a time the 2025 National Security Strategy describes as a period of “radical uncertainty”. The role requires someone to identify gaps in our policy approach, and develop genuinely innovative thinking across the system. They would be required to ensure that policy on the international environment, national security and the economy are complimentary, as well as balancing short-term responses to events with the UK’s long-term strategic position.
The role requires credibility both within and outside the civil service and the ability to gather together multiple ideas from a range of sources and thinkers, and reconcile those with the most challenging, multi-faceted policy problems. They must be fully engaged in the academic discussion and bring challenge to existing ways of doing things and world-views. The post-holder will need to build strong relationships with external thinkers, foreign partners and senior Whitehall officials. As well as bringing ideas into government, the post-holder should also be able to project concepts and strategies outward, on the international stage, representing the apex of British policy planning.
The post-holder will lead a Strategy Team in NSS, which includes responsibility for running the secretariat for the National Security Council.
This is an opportunity to impact thinking at the heart of UK national security and international policy. You will be responsible for bringing in unique and fresh perspectives on many of the most complex challenges we face.
You will need to provide innovative insight on strategy and gaps in our policy approach to the National Security Adviser and Deputies. Your representation and presentation of external ideas should be brought together to form a coherent policy. You should be able to articulate both the diagnosis of the problem and the policy proscription aimed at solving it.
You will be required to build a network of external experts, academics, journalists and contacts in business and look to institutionalise those relationships.
The Director will be responsible for overseeing several teams within the National Security Secretariat, which are run by your Deputy. A small Strategy and Challenge Team which will support you in developing ideas and concepts; a Strategy Implementation Team, which is responsible for ensuring delivery of the National Security Strategy; and the National Security Council Secretariat.
You will need to work closely with the rest of the NSS leadership team, finding common ground between your and their priorities and working out common approaches to tackle challenges.
Key Responsibilities:
- Provide innovative thinking and challenge to UK policy development, working closely with the NSA and DNSAs especially to develop these;
- Develop the UK’s national security and international policy strategy, building out ideas and bringing those to the highest level of national security discussions;
- Identify gaps in our policy approach and pitch ideas for how to address those;
- Horizon scan for where emerging risks, opportunities and strengths lie and identify where those will intersect with UK interests;
- Engage systematically with the academic discussion, creating mechanisms for bringing those perspectives into government on a regular basis;
- Build and maintain relationships beyond government, championing external perspectives and integrating them into government policy development, unblocking any obstacles to the free flow of ideas;
- Maintain knowledge and coverage of all aspects of national security and international policy, and provide strategic advice across all these areas;
- Run exercises and simulations to unpick innovative solutions to the most complex national security challenges.
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