CS Interview Coach

Strategic Change Director

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Department
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
Location
Swansea
Openings
1 post
Grade
SCS
Salary
£90,000 to £110,000
Closing
14 days left
Profession
Project & Programme Delivery, Administration
Contract
Permanent
Security clearance
SC
Working pattern
Flexible working, Full-time, Part-time
Apply on Civil Service Jobs

Job summary

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is seeking an exceptional Strategic Change Director to join its Executive Team. Reporting directly to the Chief Executive, you will be accountable for delivery of the Agency portfolio and change objectives, ensuring programmes, projects and portfolios are prioritised, governed, resourced and successfully delivered in line with DVLA and wider government priorities.

This is a brand-new role within DVLA's Executive Team, created to give strategic change the dedicated leadership it needs as the Agency embarks on its next phase of transformation. You will have real scope to define how the function operates and to build the team, governance and culture around it from the ground up.

What they’re looking for

  • Essential Criteria
  • Strategic Change and Transformation Portfolio Leadership - Proven experience leading and owning a large-scale change or transformation portfolio within a complex organisation, and translating organisational strategy into a coherent, prioritised programme of work that delivers measurable outcomes and value for money. This experience may come from central government, wider public sector, regulated industries or private sector organisations of comparable scale and complexity.
  • Prioritisation, Governance and Assurance - Significant experience establishing and leading portfolio governance, assurance and decision-making frameworks, providing executive oversight of risks, dependencies, benefits, performance and resource allocation across complex change environments.
  • Leading Large-Scale Organisational and Service Transformation - A strong track record of leading complex organisational, operational and service transformation, ensuring change is successfully designed, delivered and embedded, with genuine attention to user and customer outcomes.
  • Executive Leadership and Organisational Influence - Demonstrable experience operating at or near executive level within a large and complex organisation, leading senior leaders and multi-disciplinary teams, building organisational capability and contributing to corporate decision-making and strategic outcomes.
  • Desirable Criteria
  • Experience applying recognised governance, assurance or professional standards to control and improve the quality of transformation programmes.
  • Experience building a change or transformation function from an early stage, including establishing new governance, ways of working or team structures.
  • Experience of Board-level governance and sector accountability structures, for example working with or reporting to a Board, Minister, non-executive body or equivalent senior governance structure in a large public or private sector organisation.

Job description

As Strategic Change Director, you will provide visible leadership across DVLA's transformation and strategic change agenda, acting as the architect of the organisation's change portfolio. You will translate strategic ambition into an integrated, prioritised and sequenced programme of change that improves customer outcomes, colleague experience and organisational resilience.

You will:

  • Lead and own DVLA's end-to-end strategic change and transformation portfolio, ensuring activity is prioritised, aligned to strategic objectives and delivers value for money.
  • Shape and deliver large-scale organisational, operational and service transformation, ensuring change is user-centered, effectively governed and successfully embedded across the Agency.
  • Lead and develop a diverse, multi-disciplinary workforce, building the leadership, capability and capacity required to deliver DVLA's long-term ambitions.
  • Foster an inclusive, high-performing culture that promotes accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement and a "One DVLA" approach to transformation and change.
  • Provide strategic advice and assurance to the Chief Executive, Board and Executive Team on portfolio performance, risks, dependencies, benefits and organisational readiness for change.
  • Act as a corporate leader of DVLA, contributing to enterprise-wide decision-making and collective accountability for organisational performance and outcomes.

Nationality requirements

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)

Selection process

Application

To express your interest in the role, you will need to email DVLA-SCD@global-resourcing.com you will then receive an email with further instructions of how to apply. This must be before Monday 14th September 2026.

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 Monday 14th September 2026

Longlist – Friday 18th September 2026

GR Interviews – 22nd – 30th September 2026

Shortlist – W/C 5th October 2026

Assessments - W/C 12th October 2026

Final Interviews – W/C 19th October 2026

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.

Practise before you apply

Civil Service panels score every answer against the Success Profiles behaviours at SCS level. Practise STAR answers and get them marked against the same framework.

Start practising free

3 free questions · No card needed

Similar vacancies

Interview articles for SCS roles

All articles

Browse more like this