Deputy Director, Workforce Development

The Deputy Director, Workforce Development is accountable for setting MOD’s system-wide skills priorities, leading strategic trade-offs and external engagement to align Defence capability with future need, and providing strategic leadership across Workforce Development. The role also leads Civil Service Workforce Development, bringing together learning and development, talent and employee insights, alongside end-to-end management of the Senior Civil Service. This includes shaping the SCS cadre, from attracting and recruiting senior leaders through to developing leadership capability.

Senior Leadership & Workforce Operations

• Provide strategic leadership for Defence’s Senior Civil Service, joining up recruitment, talent, succession, performance and leadership development and while ensuring Defence’s approach is aligned with and helps shape the Future Civil Service agenda.
• Ensure SCS workforce operations are effective, well governed and responsive to changing Defence priorities

Workforce Capability

• Lead Defence’s approach to Civil Service workforce capability, connecting learning, talent, development, professions and skills to current and future workforce demand.
• Work across Defence and government to strengthen workforce and leadership capability, building strategic partnerships and maximising the Defence Academy’s contribution to learning, skills and leadership development.
• Strengthen how Defence plans, commissions and evaluates learning and capability activity, using workforce evidence, skills data and insight to inform priorities and investment.
• Champion accessible and inclusive approaches to workforce development, harnessing innovation, digital, data and AI to build future capability.

Leading Change & Delivery

• Lead the transition to a smaller, integrated and agile Workforce Development function, maintaining effective delivery while creating capacity for transformation and focusing the central function on areas of greatest strategic value.
• Manage budgets, resources, governance and supplier relationships effectively, ensuring value for money and strong delivery standards.
• Build and lead a high-performing, multidisciplinary team with the capability and flexibility to work across portfolio and organisational boundaries.

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)

Application

To apply for this post, you will need to complete the online application process accessed via the Civil Service Jobs portal. This should be completed no later than 23:55 Wednesday 25 November 2026 and will involve providing the two documents which are weighted equally:

• A CV (no more than 2 pages) setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years.​
• A Personal Statement (no more than 2 pages) providing tangible examples that clearly evidence how you meet the essential criteria for the role.​

External candidates who join the MOD and are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a six-month probation period.​

For further information about the role and full application process, please refer to the candidate pack attached below. If you wish to receive any material in a different format for accessibility, then please contact People-CivHR-SCSCandidateSupport@mod.gov.uk.

Simon Gush, Workforce and Skills Director will be offering a Q&A session at 09:00-10:00 on Wednesday 18 November 2026 to provide an overview of the role and welcome any questions you may have. Candidates can access the meeting by clicking here. Please note this is not part of the formal assessment process. If you have any issues accessing the session, please contact: People-CivHR-SCSCandidateSupport@mod.gov.uk.

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