About the job

Job summary

This is a newly created DD role to manage Defra’s £310m Blue Planet Fund resources and deliver good value for money, whilst continually learning and assessing the balance of risk across the programmes to ensure global outcomes are delivered. The postholder will ensure the continued maturity and delivery of the £500m Blue Planet Fund portfolio, working closely with the Defra ODA Hub, the Deputy Director for International Marine Environment and with FCDO counterparts to set the long-term strategy for the fund including into the next Spending Review Period. This will ensure the effective delivery of Fund outcomes, whilst maximising the leveraging potential of the fund’s portfolio and ensuring the Fund remains relevant to the delivery of global ocean priorities including Sustainable Development Goal 14 ‘Life Below Water’.

The Blue Planet Fund was launched in 2021 and Defra moved swiftly to commence global programming, including bilateral demand-led assistance to developing countries. This has allowed us to pilot, adapt and scale our interventions for early impact, to influence negotiations such as the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and COP26 and leverage much needed funding and assistance towards poverty alleviation and ocean environmental action. Defra has nine active BPF programmes and a further two in design under a portfolio that now runs out to 2029/30.

Job description

The team of 38 FTE is organised into three core teams which are geographically dispersed across Defra hubs. There a further 5 Blue Plant Fund regional coordinator posts in Ghana, Mozambique, Fiji, Indonesia and Ecuador. As a member of the Directorate’s senior leadership team, the postholder will play an active role in promoting and role modelling an inclusive, innovative and supportive culture. You will also oversee the newest element of the portfolio, a new ICAI improvement programme, led by a G6 on 12-month secondment. Following an ICAI Rapid Review of the Blue Planet Fund., it is now vital to establish and deliver work to respond to the four key recommendations covering oversight, governance, country engagement and poverty alleviation.  The Deputy Director will work to develop the new team, working across Defra and FCDO to determine the scale and focus for the work plane and then establish and deliver the programme to ensure significant improvements are made at pace to deliver ahead of the next ICAI review expected within 12 months.  You will need to prioritise developing further portfolio level MEL frameworks, ensuring that both programme level monitoring, evaluation and learning are in place, and ensure that the overarching portfolio framework and reporting procedures are in place to ensure the breadth of the portfolio’s impact is captured and reported through ODA and ICF reporting procedures.  You will ensure portfolio management and assurance procedures meet Defra and FCDO ODA operating rules and are kept under review to learn lessons and strengthen delivery oversight.

Person specification

• Delivering a quality service: You will have strong ODA, programme and portfolio management experience to ensure that robust frameworks are in place to manage this complex portfolio. You will lead the strong team to improve oversight and decision making across the Fund, including to respond to the ICAI recommendations, working with FCDO to ensure the multi-layered governance structures (including senior level Joint Management Board with FCDO) are optimised for effective management.
• Leadership: Exceptional inclusive leadership and management skills, including evidence of inspiring and developing the long-term capability and performance of teams, promoting an inclusive, diverse and supportive environment, and the ability to preserve both personal and team resilience to lead work under pressure over extended periods. You will help identify opportunities to promote UK ocean priorities across key Ocean events, and to drive wider systemic change such as reform of international finance  systems.
• Communicating and Influencing: Excellent communication skills – an ability to be communicate clearly and effectively the impact of the portfolio and vision for the programme with Ministers and a range of external partners. Strong interpersonal skills to build strong senior and load-bearing relationships with colleagues from a range of different countries and organisations – including holding delivery partners to account.
• Strong collaboration and team working – able to form strong alliances and partnerships to deliver ambitious change and innovative solutions. You must be able to demonstrate that you can work with difficult stakeholders from a range of cultural backgrounds. Team building and leadership experience to identify common goals and create a cohesive team spirit among teams that have previously worked in different Divisions.
• Making effective decisions: You will need the confidence and ability to identify delivery risks, escalate and then actively manage them. You will have sound political judgement about deployment of ministers and political capital to build bilateral relationship and to influence the wider international policy development across government events, and to drive changes that are important to the UK in respect of wider HMG priorities such as reform of international finance systems.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £75,000, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs contributes £20,250 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

Candidates are asked to complete a CV and personal statement (no more than 1250 words) on how your relevant skills and experience meet the essential criteria. Completed applications must be submitted no later than the closing date of Monday 29th January at 23:55.

Applications will be assessed by the selection panel and shortlisted candidates should be prepared to undertake Interviews face to face if asked and these will be held at a Defra Group office in London.

If you are shortlisted, you will be asked to take part in a virtual Staff Engagement Exercise.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.