Director of Strategy, Change and Governance

As a member of the Executive and Management Boards, the Director of Strategy, Change and Governance is responsible for shaping the VCA’s future direction and leading the agency-wide transformation required to deliver it.

The postholder will lead the development and execution of the VCA’s strategy, ensure that the agency’s portfolio of change is prioritised and coordinated, and build the organisational capability, culture and ways of working needed to deliver sustainable improvement.

The role also provides Executive Board leadership for governance, quality management, communications, customer and stakeholder insight, and information and risk stewardship. It ensures that these functions work together to support clear decisions, effective organisational control, strong delivery and public confidence.

As a corporate leader, the Director will contribute to the collective leadership of the VCA, act as the principal Executive Board contact for the Department for Transport sponsorship team, and serve as the VCA’s Senior Information Risk Owner.

During the transition to our target organisation design, the postholder may provide time-limited leadership for additional agreed responsibilities, with scope and duration determined by the Chief Executive.

Please take the time to watch the short video here from our Chief Executive Pia Wilkes.

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategic Direction and Future Readiness- Lead the development of the VCA's strategic direction, ensuring the organisation is positioned to respond effectively to future opportunities, risks and external change.
• Change, Transformation and Organisational Improvement- Lead the agency's approach to change, transformation and organisational improvement, ensuring that strategic priorities are translated into coordinated action, sustainable change and measurable outcomes.
• Governance, Quality, Assurance and Information Stewardship- Provide Executive Board leadership for the systems and frameworks that give confidence in the VCA's decisions, controls, assurance and organisational integrity.
• Strategic Insight, Influence and Communications- Lead the VCA's approach to insight, influence and communications, ensuring that emerging issues, opportunities and stakeholder perspectives inform organisational decisions, priorities and future direction.
• Corporate Leadership- As a member of the Executive Board, contribute to the collective leadership and long-term success of the VCA.

Please refer to the full job description which you will find attached to the bottom of the advert.

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)

Please apply online via Civil Service Jobs, submitting a CV and a 1000 word personal statement.

Please use your CV and personal statement to demonstrate evidence of strategic leadership, organisational transformation, executive leadership, governance, risk management, and senior stakeholder engagement. Experience in government, regulation or the public sector, and using customer and stakeholder insight to shape strategy and improve services, would be beneficial.

Your personal statement should provide clear, evidence-based examples of how you meet the requirements in the person specification and why you are suitable for the role. We recommend using headings to structure your response and avoiding abbreviations and acronyms, ensuring all terms are written in full.

Failure to submit both documents will mean the panel only have limited information on which to assess your application against the criteria in the person specification.

As part of the online application process, you will be asked a number of diversity-related questions. If you do not wish to provide a declaration on any of the particular characteristics, you will have the option to select 'prefer not to say’.

All monitoring data will be treated in the strictest confidence and will not be provided to the selection panel.

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

Shortlist

Your application will be acknowledged when it is received.

The panel will select a shortlist of candidates whose applications best demonstrate suitability for the role, by considering the evidence provided against the essential criteria set out in the Person Specification.

Candidates applying under the Disability Confident Scheme who meet the minimum selection criteria in the job specification are guaranteed an interview.

Assessment

Shortlisted candidates may be asked to take part in a series of assessments which could include:

• Individual Leadership Assessment – a combination of psychometric assessments
• Staff Engagement Exercise - a presentation and Q&A with a representative staff group from across the DfT.

These assessments will not result in a pass or fail decision. Rather, they are designed to support the panel’s decision making and highlight areas for the panel to explore further at interview.

Interview

You will be asked to attend a panel interview in order to have a more in-depth discussion of your previous experience and professional competence in relation to the criteria set out in the Person Specification.

The Success Profile Framework will be used to assess and recruit the most suitable candidate. As well as Experience, we will also be using the following four behaviours at the interview stage:

• Leadership
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing

Further information about Success Profiles can be found here:

Interviews are expected to take place face to face in our Bristol office, all shortlisted candidates will be asked to prepare a 5-minute presentation.

Expected Timeline

We will try and offer as much flexibility as we can, but it may not be possible to offer alternative dates for assessments or interviews. You are therefore asked to note the below timetable, exercising flexibility through the recruitment and selection process, in order to meet the dates given. Please note that these dates may be subject to change.

The anticipated timetable is as follows:

Advert Closing Date – 23:55 on Sunday 29th November

Shortlist - w/c 7th December

Assessments - w/c 14th December

Panel Interviews - w/c 4th January

Further information

If you would like to discuss the role, please contact Pia Wilkes – pia.wilkes@vca.gov.uk

For more information about VCA, consult the Candidate Information Pack or follow the link below.

About Us , Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA)

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

• Contact scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
• Please provide any information we should be aware of that will enable us to support you further in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

If your application is successful but you have been dismissed from the Civil Service, your application could be removed at the pre-employment checking stage depending on the nature of the dismissal.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment. A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

All external applicants and current employees of accredited non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) will be required to undergo a Social Media Check. A Social Media Check is a review of your publicly available online activity, typically across platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and others. The purpose is to identify any public posts or content that could raise concerns for employers, such as:

• Hate speech or discriminatory behaviour
• Threats or acts of violence
• Illegal activity or substance misuse
• Sexually explicit material
• Extremist views or affiliations

Importantly, this check does not involve hacking into your accounts or accessing private messages. It only considers content you have chosen to make public. Employers use this kind of screening to help ensure their workplace remains safe, inclusive, and aligned with company values. It’s not about judging your personality or lifestyle - it’s about checking for potential red flags that might affect the role or company culture. If you have questions or concerns about the social media check, we would be happy to explain in more detail what’s being looked at and how your data is handled securely and fairly.

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