Director for Scale Ups and Access to Finance
| Posting date: | 30 March 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £100,000 to £162,500 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 19 April 2026 |
| Location: | Belfast |
| Company: | Government Recruitment Service |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 453921/1 |
Summary
The hiring manager for this position, Jo Crellin, Director General, DIME, DBT, will be hosting a virtual call for any interested applicants to discuss the role and answer any questions. Please note this is not part of the formal assessment process.
This will be held via Microsoft Teams on Thursday 9th April at 12:00 – 12:45pm (UK time).
Please click here for the meeting link.
The work we do in DBT helps businesses in all parts of the UK grow domestically and internationally, creating higher paying jobs and strengthening communities. The Domestic and International Markets and Export (DIME) Group, led by Jo Crellin and Isobel Stephen, plays a vital role in advising, supporting, and promoting UK businesses to grow and export, delivering through our network of colleagues across the UK and overseas.
This role is at the heart of the Secretary of State’s vision for an ambition to build a trillion-pound company in the UK and the government believes this is crucial for economic growth. You will be shaping and delivering this new approach to medium/mid-tier business growth and will lead on one of the Ministers' main priorities, empowering your teams to deliver a better operating environment for mid-sized businesses – focusing on high growth scale ups, access to finance, sponsorship of the British Business Bank and late payments legislation.
As Director for Scale Ups and Access to Finance you will work alongside the Director for Small Business Growth focusing on driving the growth of the UK's highest potential businesses as they start, scale and grow in the UK. You will be responsible for improving the overall environment for high growth businesses; supporting the large number of mid-sized businesses that form the backbone of the UK economy and working cross-government to remove barriers and encourage founders to keep their businesses in the UK. You will manage four main areas:
- Scale up agenda: The UK is already 3rd in the world for innovation, starts ups and emerging technology, but we risk losing our best talent and growth potential if those businesses choose not to stay in the UK. This role will lead work, working with colleagues across Government to focus on how we can build a stronger ecosystem for high growth companies, including addressing the barriers that they face.
- Sponsorship of the British Business Bank: This role is the key sponsorship and policy lead in the Department for BBB – which is in turn a key lever in supporting growth ( SR 2025 BBB were awarded permanent capital of over £25 bn including a £4 bn Industrial Strategy pot). You will need to work with UKGI, the BBB executive and board to ensure that BBB are delivering on Ministers' priorities, which will include overseeing performance.
- Access to finance: this is one of the highest cited barriers put forward by businesses which wish to grow across the SME community. Whilst the UK has a well developed ecosystem, we need it to keep improving to ensure that the right levels of finance are available at the right stages to help businesses grow. The Department leads a range of initiatives to unlock access to capital, drive confidence to invest and remove barriers which prevent businesses achieving their potential.
- Enterprise and Late Payments: you will be responsible for the legislation to enact the proposals set out in the Plan for Small Business published Summer 2025 to tackle late payments which disproportionately affect small and medium sized businesses. You will also be responsible for the King's Fund Award team.
The Director for Scale Ups and Access to Finance will hold line management responsibility for 3 Deputy Directors for those areas. The role will require significant agility, with the capacity to flex to emerging priorities and adapt to organisational change as well as a determination to drive delivery and embed culture change.
This role is a fantastic opportunity to enhance your senior leadership experience within a complex change environment, whilst working and leading brilliant colleagues dedicated to driving innovation and making a meaningful impact to the UK economy.
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme