Deputy Director, Sport

We are running an information session where prospective applicants can find out more about the role. This will be hosted virtually by Emma Floyd, and will take place on:

• Wednesday 26th August at 1:30pm

The session will be an opportunity to hear more about the role, the team and wider directorate and the department.

It will also be an opportunity for you to ask any questions you may have about the application, and the interview and assessment process.

Please register your interest before 9am Wednesday 27th August by filling out this form and you will be sent an invitation.

Invites will only be sent after this deadline has passed.

This will take place virtually, via Microsoft Teams.

If you wish to attend the session anonymously please ensure that you have changed how your name appears before joining the call. Please note that the session will not be recorded.

As Deputy Director of Sport within DCMS you will lead a team an exceptional team navigating a fast-moving, high-profile brief that drives the Government’s

vision for sport and physical activity across the UK. We sit at the intersection of public health, economic growth, and national pride, using the unique power of sport to transform lives, strengthen communities, and project the UK’s soft power on the global stage.

The critical SCS1 role works with the sector, four Arm's Length Bodies and across government on:

● Participation Strategy: Formulating the long-term strategic blueprint to get more people active, specifically addressing stubborn demographic inequalities in physical activity.

● Sector Growth & Integrity: Partnering with the commercial and grassroots sport sector to accelerate the growth of women's sport, drive inward investment, and promote world-class governance.

● Elite Sport Delivery: Working alongside UK Sport to maintain our proud standing as a top-five Olympic and Paralympic superpower.

● Societal Value: Leveraging sporting investments to achieve cross-government objectives, from enhancing local community cohesion to projecting international soft power.

As Deputy Director, you will lead a high-performing, multi-disciplinary team of around 30 professionals dedicated to delivering high-impact policy across the high-profile sport sectors. This vibrant team brings together subject matter experts, specialist analysts, and policy professionals who thrive in a fast-paced, politically sensitive environment.

Leading through two team leaders you will set strategic direction on priorities ranging from improving the health of the nation through increasing levels of physical activity to maintaining a high performance sport system that retains the UK’s position as a global leader. You will hold oversight and sponsorship of three key delivery partners: UK Sport, Sport England, and the Sports Ground Safety Authority, working closely with them to ensure robust governance and alignment.

While we operate as a cohesive national unit, our geographic footprint is strategically evolving. Our Manchester hub is a key growth area, currently hosting approximately 30% of the wider directorate alongside our London hub (60%) and regional offices (10%). We are highly motivated to grow our senior leadership presence outside of London and actively encourage applications from candidates who wish to be based in our Manchester hub.

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)

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

To apply for this vacancy, you will need to submit the following, via the Civil Service Jobs portal, which will assessed against the essential criteria for the role:

➔ A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements.

◆ Please ensure you provide employment history that relates to the essential criteria, and that any gaps in employment history within the last 2 years are explained.

◆ The CV should not exceed more than 2 sides of A4 and you should copy and paste your CV into the "Job History" section on Civil Service Jobs on the Civil Service Jobs application form.➔ A Statement of Suitability explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role.

◆ You must make direct reference to the essential criteria and back-up your statement with evidence rather than relying on assertions.

◆ This should be 2 sides of A4 and no more than a maximum of 1000 words.

For the shortlist, we will select applicants who demonstrate the best fit for the role by considering the evidence provided in your application and how this meets the essential requirements. Following the shortlist there are no further pass/fail assessment stages and all candidates shortlisted will be invited to the final interview stage.

Should you encounter any issues with your online application please get in touch with: scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Shortlist

The panel will assess your application to select those demonstrating the best fit with the role by considering the evidence you have provided against the

criteria set out in the ‘essential requirements’ section of this pack. Failure to address any or all of these may affect your application.

Feedback

Following interview, all shortlisted candidates will receive their outcome along with some short written feedback on performance at interview.

Please note you will only receive feedback if you complete the interview stage.

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