International Strategic Engagement and Multilateral Deputy Director

The International Biodiversity and Climate Directorate plays a critical role in contributing to global and Defra priorities. We play a major role in strengthening national security and resilience, stewarding critical national infrastructure, and helping protect and restore critical global ecosystems. International work is embedded across Defra’s Outcomes Framework.

We use strategy, negotiations, international development programming, deep political engagement, legislation and science to halt and reverse global biodiversity loss. This post offers an exceptional opportunity to shape and maximise our impact and be at the heart of this important agenda, to be part of an engaged, dynamic and collaborative team, and to lead our work to creatively and energetically drive

global change.

As the Head of the International Strategic Engagement and Multilateral Division, you will lead a team of approximately 40 staff. Facing into strategy colleagues across government and externally, you will be SRO for the HMG International Nature Delivery Plan, and co-SRO for Growth and Multilateral Delivery plans, under the 2035 Climate, Nature and Energy Strategic Framework. You will develop and represent Defra’s collective environmental interests as part of the G7 and G20 and be responsible for ensuring that nature continues to be at heart of UNFCCC Climate COPs.

In 2027, the UK will have the G20 Presidency and in 2028 the G7 Presidency, providing a once in a generation opportunity for sustained leadership to drive UK priorities internationally, in an increasingly fractured and contested geopolitical space, but clear international environment priorities.

This is an important role to provide strategic leadership on international environment issues across Defra and government, with external partners and in key multilateral fora, and ensure a strong coherence and integration with our domestic narrative and strategies. You must have some international experience, and will lead and deepen strategic engagement with key bilateral partners on nature, to then leverage in the G7, G20, London and New York Climate weeks and at the UNFCCC.

Your team will ensure that Defra has a clear strategy underpinning our leadership in international fora, a clear set of priorities in our engagement across government and externally, and on behalf of the wider Directorate, will ensure that we have the governance and resources in place to underpin delivery.

You will need to work closely with ministers and deploy your own political capital to build bilateral relationships internally across the UK system and externally. As a member of the Directorate’s senior leadership team, you will play an active role in promoting and role modelling an inclusive, innovative and supportive culture. You will also be expected to be a team player on corporate and management activities.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategy. You will confidently own and communicate Defra’s overall international environment strategy and support government governance and decision making across government. You will help deliver our strategy and communicate our impact. You will need to develop and maintain networks with a wide range of contacts across government and externally. Defra’s international nature and climate work is captured within an integrated HMG climate, nature and energy strategic framework, and you will oversee Defra’s participation in formal governance across government and support the Special Representative for Nature. You will lead Defra’s overall strategy and delivery at the UNFCCC COPs on both the negotiations and action agenda. You will also work across the Directorate to effectively track progress against agreed outcomes.
• Group of 7 and Group of 20. The Deputy Director will lead the team to define the Environment priorities for the UK’s G7 and G20 Presidencies and priorities more broadly. You will develop and maintain strong relationships with G7 and G20 negotiators, Cabinet Office Sherpa and cross government SCS, to achieve successful G7 and G20 agreements that further Defra and government objectives. You will ensure effective Ministerial engagement, be able to effectively chair negotiations, and be able to effectively lead a UK delegation and shape policy objectives across government.
• In 2027 and 2028 the UK will have the G7 and G20 Presidencies which will create key strategic opportunities which you will be able to shape. You will join at a time when the agenda for the 2027 G20 presidency has been set, taking on the leadership of translating those intended outcomes into tangible real-world delivery that supports prosperity, increases resilience, and contributes towards the Global Biodiversity Framework’s goals. This will require you overseeing an expansion of your team’s policy capacity, as well as onboarding new stakeholder engagement and delivery teams to prepare for and deliver a series of virtual and in-person working groups and Ministerial meetings, as well as chairing negotiations for adoption by Ministers, then Leaders.
• Alongside engagement with the US’s G7 presidency in 2027, you will be responsible for developing the environment policy contribution to the UK’s G7 presidency in 2028, then adapting teams across in due course to its delivery.
• Business Management: You will be supported by a well-established and effective corporate, people and finance team for the wider Directorate, ensuring that we have the right processes in place to ensure we have the financial and human resources to deliver; that we are creating and maintaining an inclusive performance culture across the Directorate; and supporting the Director to ensure that the SLT is providing effective leadership to the Directorate.

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.

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

You will be assessed on the following behaviours throughout the selection process: Communicating and Influencing, Seeing the Big Picture, Delivering at Pace and Working Together.

Application Process

As part of the application process, candidates are asked to complete a CV and Personal Statement (no more than 1000 words) on how your relevant skills and experience meet the essential criteria. Completed applications must be submitted no later than the closing date of 10:00, 7th September 2026.

Sift

A sift will be conducted against the key criteria in the essential criteria and will assess your experience. Applications will be assessed by the selection panel and shortlisted. (please note: feedback is not given at the shortlist stage)

Assessment - Staff Engagement Exercise

This assessment will not result in a pass or fail decision. Rather, it is designed to support the panel’s decision-making and highlight areas for the panel to explore further at interview.

Full details of the assessment process will be provided to shortlisted candidates at the earliest opportunity. For further information regarding the assessments please visit - https://scs-assessments.co.uk/

Interviews

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 essential criteria for the role. As part of the interview, we may ask you to prepare and present a short presentation or undertake a practical desktop exercise. This will be confirmed in the interview invitation. We will also ask some strengths-based questions.

Interviews will be held face to face in London in early October

Reserve lists

A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months, which the Civil Service may use to fill future suitable vacancies across government for candidates who are considered appointable following interview.

Other Information

Please let us know what adjustments we can put in place to help you through the recruitment process if you are disabled.

Candidates who pass the interview criteria but are not offered a post may be kept on a reserve list for 12 months and may be offered similar roles across the department.

Defra is committed to ‘name blind’ sifting. That means that identifying characteristics such as your name, gender, age, or address are removed from your application until after shortlisting for interview has taken place.

What are the Success Profiles?

The Success Profile Framework is being introduced to attract and retain people of talent and experience from a range of sectors and all walks of life, in line with the commitment in the Civil Service Workforce Plan.

For this role you will be assessed against Experience and Behaviours.

How we will assess experience:

We will be looking at your experience, career history and achievements that are relevant to the role.

Some of the assessment methods which will be used to understand your experience include:

• 1000 personal statement and CV (2 pages max)
• Staff Engagement Exercise
• Final Interview

How we will assess behaviours:

We will be assessing a number of behaviours throughout the application process.

The behaviours that we will assess are:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together

For more information about Success Profiles, please follow the link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles

Timeline

Please note that this timeline is indicative at this stage and could be subject to change. The anticipated timetable is as follows:

Application Closing Date: 10:00, 7th September 2026

Shortlisting Outcomes: W/C 21st September 2026

Assessments: W/C 28th September 2026

Interview: W/C 5th October 2026

Final Outcomes: W/C 19th October 2026

Candidates are asked to note the above timetable, exercising flexibility through the recruitment and selection process as it may

not be possible to offer any alternative dates for assessments or Interviews.

Security Clearance

The level of security clearance required for this role is Security Clearance SC with willingness to obtain DV clearance once in post.

Office Attendance

Successful applicants currently employed by the hiring Defra organisation for this post may choose to remain in their current contractual location or may choose to change contractual location to one of those listed above. This should be discussed and agreed prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.

The agreed amount of time spent at a workplace for this post will reflect the requirement for Civil Servants to spend at least 60% of their working time in an organisation workplace with the option to work the remaining time flexibly from home. Working time spent at a workplace may include time spent at other organisational locations including field-based operational locations, together with supplier, customer or partner locations. This is a non-contractual agreement which is consistent with common Civil Service expectations.

Defra includes the core department, APHA, RPA, Cefas and VMD.

This role will require regular national and international travel.

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 Government Recruitment Service at: scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
• Complete the ‘assistance required’ section in the ‘personal information’ page of your application form to provide information we should be aware of that will enable us to support you further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

What reasonable adjustments can be made if I have a disability?

Defra is a Disability Confident Leader and therefore part of the Disability Confident Scheme. For further information on the Disability confident scheme, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/disability-confident-campaign

If you have a disability defined by the Equality Act 2010, you are eligible to be considered for the Disability Confident Scheme. In order to qualify, you must have a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term negative effect on your ability to carry out normal day to day activities.

For further information regarding disabilities covered under the equality act please visit the website.

Further Information

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact: scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

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