Strategic Design Director

### Posting ID
PIP11570

On behalf of Defra we are looking for a Strategic Design Director (Inside IR35) for an 18 month contract. Hybrid working based in Dartmoor, with travel involved to Cumbria and London.

In the Defra group, we deal with a vast range of issues that profoundly impact on people’s lives. We are responsible for England’s environment, our countryside and rural economy, the food and farming sectors and have lead responsibility for protection from a wide range of natural threats and hazards. We have developed a set of three strategic objectives covering our policy outcomes and corporate objectives . These objectives help us to deliver our ambitious vision to build our green and healthy future and provide a framework for all the important work we carry out.

Our objectives are:

- To pass on to the next generation a natural environment protected and enhanced for the future.
- To lead the world in food, farming, and fisheries with a sustainable model of food production.
- To be an outstanding organisation focused on making a difference, with world class delivery capability.

As a Strategic Design Director your main responsibilities will be to:

- Lead the systemic/strategic design approach for the Uplands project, ensuring interventions reflect whole system thinking and place based insight.
- Shape the overall design strategy, including the design of the project design methods, framing of problems, structure learning, and generate evidence for system change.
- Provide high quality task management to the ground teams according to Defra standards.
- Lead experiments, prototypes and co design activity, ensuring they are well designed, ethically delivered and capable of producing system transformation in practice
- Provide assurance that participatory design, research and systems methodologies are applied appropriately and to a high standard.
- Work closely with implementation and policy leads to translate local learning into operational decisions and longer term policy development.
- Synthesise complex qualitative, relational and behavioural evidence into clear strategic insight for senior leaders .
- Provide quality assurance for the work of place-based design teams alongside the Head of Implementation.
- Ensure the programme has the right skills, roles and capabilities to deliver prototypes that lead to action and facilitate system change locally.
- Coach, mentor and build capability across the team.
- Lead on design of facilitation and learning events that build trust and deepen shared understanding.
- Embed systems thinking, participatory practice and collaborative working across the project.

Essential:

- Deep experience in systems change leadership , strategic/service design, social innovation and/or public sector transformation.
- A track record of working in complex place-based systems involving communities, local government, regulators and national policy stakeholders.
- A track record of moving systems change work from concept to implementation at scale.
- Exceptional synthesis and sense making skills, with the ability to turn ambiguity into clear strategic direction.
- Experience using participatory or place based evidence to shape policy, strategy or system change.
- Confidence operating in politically sensitive, relational or contested environments.
- Strong coaching and capability building skills.

Desirable:

- Experience in social systems transformation.

Please be aware that this role can only be worked within the UK and not Overseas.

Disability Confident

As a Disability Confident employer, Defra encourage applications from disabled and neurodivergent candidates . Applications from candidates who identify as having a disability and meet the essential criteria for the role will be prioritised for review. Where application volumes are high, additional role-specific and desirable criteria may be applied as part of the shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.

In applying for this role, you acknowledge the following "this role falls in scope of the Off Payroll Working in the Public Sector legislation. Any rates of payment quoted will reflect the gross rate per day for the assignment and will be subject to appropriate taxes and statutory costs. As such the payment to the intermediary and your income resulting from this contract will be different".