Head of International Trade, Heritage and Security
| Posting date: | 24 February 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £62,203 to £72,686 per year |
| Additional salary information: | National £62,203 - £72,686 + benefits. |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 10 March 2026 |
| Location: | M2 3AW |
| Company: | Government Recruitment Service |
| Job type: | Temporary |
| Job reference: | 437086/1 |
Summary
DCMS’s International Team consists of around 23 people working across a range of issues. There are two Grade 6 slots in this team. While some restructuring can be expected, one G6 leads our work on soft power; bilateral relations on culture; multilateral policy work / engagement (e.g. G7, G20, UNESCO, Council of Europe) and heritage (UNESCO World Heritage Sites, implementing our living heritage commitments and ODA programme work). The other half of the team (to be led by the successful candidate in this recruitment exercise) covers our EU work (including touring artists and audiovisual policy); our trade policy interests; sanctions, crisis preparedness and our interests in the National Security Council; Ukraine; and China.
We are passionate about working internationally; passionate about the positive role our sectors play in international relations; and passionate about building and maintaining an international cadre of officials in DCMS. We sit in the Media and International Directorate and work with our media colleagues on all things corporate. Team members are all expected to play a role in the life of the directorate.
The role holder will:
- Oversee work on European institutional relations (in particular the manifesto commitment on supporting touring artists, efforts to support the UK maintaining “European Works” status and representation of UK interests on AV at the Council of Europe)
- Oversee DCMS interests in trade negotiations;
- Be the senior lead on international security matters relating to DCMS sectors and associated countries;
- Be the DCMS lead on cross-Whitehall policy work in relation to sanctions in DCMS sectors and oversee operational delivery of the licence regime in DCMS sectors;
- Be the senior lead on DCMS’s support for Ukraine, including the delivery of a UK-Ukraine Cultural Commission;
- Deputise for the DD in cross-Whitehall engagement in the above areas and work with the DD and other Grade 6 to ensure we have sufficient resilience across the International Team;
- Ensure the wider international team is efficient and effective in handling correspondence, FOIs and Parliamentary business (primarily PQs); and
- Share corporate responsibilities for the maintenance of a motivated and engaged team with the Deputy Director and other Grade 6 (head of soft power and cultural diplomacy) and be an active member of the directorate’s SLT.
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