The Department for Business and Trade is the department for economic growth. We support businesses to invest, grow and export, creating jobs and opportunities across the country. The Domestic and International Markets and Export (DIME) Group, led by Jo Crellin and Isobel Stephen, plays a vital role in advising, supporting, and promoting UK businesses to grow and export, delivering through our network of colleagues across the UK and overseas.
This role is to shape and deliver an ambitious new approach to small business growth. Working closely with stakeholders, you will lead one of DBT's four key post-election priorities, empowering your teams to deliver a meaningful new small business strategy and large-scale transformation of our business support services. This role offers the opportunity to champion entrepreneurship and deploy creative and visionary thinking, while delivering an improved service – digitally and through people in government and beyond - that will offer practical, tangible benefits to businesses on the ground.
As Director of Small Business Strategy, you will be responsible for overseeing the publication and first phase of implementation of the Small Business Strategy. This includes delivery of core policy interventions contained within the Strategy, with a specific focus on High Streets and Business Capabilities. Working on High Streets involves close coordination with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government to design and deliver innovative support to high street businesses across the UK. Business Capabilities spans our range of direct business support services including leadership and management training, facilitation of peer networks, our offer to scale-ups, and supporting digital adoption among SMEs.
The role is also responsible for launching and developing the Business Growth Service - a simplification of the publicly funded business support ecosystem across the UK, with a world leading digital offer at its foundation. This will involve close stakeholder engagement across the business community, devolved administrations, local authorities and Mayoral Combined Authorities, as well as oversight of successive phases of the BGS’ development.
The Director for Small Business Strategy will hold line management responsibility for 3 Deputy Directors. The successful candidate will initially work alongside a co-Director for small business, with the possibility of evolving to a standalone Directorate in the post-Spending Review period. As such, the role will require significant agility, with the capacity to flex to emerging priorities and adapt to organisational change.
This role is a fantastic opportunity to enhance your senior leadership experience within a complex change environment, whilst working and leading brilliant colleagues dedicated to driving innovation and making a meaningful impact to the UK economy.
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