Job summary
The Hydrogen & Industrial Carbon Capture (HICC) Directorate is leading an expanding programme to deliver low carbon hydrogen and industrial carbon capture as key planks of the Government's approach to achieving Energy Security and Net Zero.
Hydrogen is one of a handful of new, low carbon solutions that will be critical for the UK�s energy security and transition to net zero. As part of a deeply decarbonised, deeply renewable energy system, low carbon hydrogen could be a versatile replacement for high-carbon fossil fuels used today � helping to bring down emissions and provide flexible energy for power, industry, transport and potentially heating. Industrial carbon capture will be critical to decarbonise vital UK industrial sectors and forms an important element of the Government�s �20 billion Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage (CCUS) Programme.
The Hydrogen Strategy & Portfolio team coordinates and manages or supports the delivery of the UK�s Hydrogen Strategy and associated programmes from across the directorate to deliver the strategy, including the �240 million Net Zero Hydrogen Fund, electrolytic Hydrogen Allocation Rounds (the first of which has announced contracts supported by over �2 billion from government), Hydrogen Transport & Storage allocation, negotiations with CCUS-enabled hydrogen and industrial carbon capture projects as well at cross cutting policy to support the development of the UK hydrogen economy such as standards and certification, market and regulatory frameworks, and development of UK hydrogen skills and supply chains.
The team is multidisciplinary in nature, bringing together strategy, policy and project delivery. It is made up of policy, communications and project delivery professionals who lead the Directorate�s strategy, briefing and correspondence, strategic comms and engagement, governance, planning, risk management, finance and resource management, and provide PMO support to policy and delivery teams across the HICC Directorate. (To note, the exact nature and remit of the role(s) may change slightly to take account of business need.
We are a friendly, inclusive and motivated team and our work is grounded in a multidisciplinary, cross-cutting approach working closely with teams across DESNZ and government, and with a range of industry partners. We place high value on diversity and inclusion and encourage candidates from a range of backgrounds to apply.
Job description
As Deputy Director, Hydrogen Strategy & Portfolio Delivery, you will be expected to:
1. Lead a team of 40-45 FTE and directly line manage 3-4 Grade 6s, building and maintaining strong relationships with other senior leaders and teams across HICC and DESNZ, wider government and with key external stakeholders. You will regularly represent HICC and its work in meetings with Ministers, senior departmental leadership and with senior external stakeholders, including on behalf of the HICC Co-Directors and EIG DG.
2. Oversee and ensure the implementation of the UK Hydrogen Strategy and its UK Hydrogen Economy Roadmap, including through publishing twice-yearly delivery progress updates and regular internal reporting of progress against commitments and deliverables set out in the 2021 Hydrogen Strategy, 2022 British Energy Security Strategy and 2023 Powering Up Britain Plan.
3. Lead work to refine and update the strategy, to keep pace with internal and external developments, and ensure UK retains its place in the leading pack for hydrogen internationally.
4. Oversee the secretariat for the Hydrogen Delivery Council, co-chaired by Departmental ministers and a senior industry representative. Maintain oversight and drive delivery of the Council�s two-year work plan across its six working groups.
5. Oversee the hydrogen briefing hub, which manages a significant volume of briefing and correspondence on hydrogen to an exceptionally high standard and to time.
6. Manage strategic communications and engagement for the HICC Directorate, including through supporting major publications and announcements over the course of the year.
7. Oversee governance of the hydrogen sub-portfolio, including through managing delivery of regular high-quality DG and Director level governance boards and supporting documents. You will ensure that governance processes and structures are both proportionate and robust, and evolve as needed over the delivery life cycle of HICC�s hydrogen policy and projects.
8. Oversee planning and risk management for the hydrogen sub-portfolio, across a complex and interdependent set of hydrogen programmes and projects � ensuring robust yet proportionate processes are in place to support senior decision-making and effective delivery, while avoiding unnecessary bureaucracy or process.
9. Oversee all finance and resource management for HICC Directorate, including management of contracts with external advisors, staff resource and budget management, and leading on all spending-related activity including business planning and spending review processes.
10. Oversee the HICC Project Management Office (PMO) which provides high-quality PMO support to policy and project delivery teams across HICC. This includes responsibility for planning, scheduling, risk and issue management, dependency management, resource management, assurance, benefits management, reporting and governance across HICC projects and programmes, in line with HMG project delivery frameworks and standards including the Project Delivery Functional Standard.
The exact nature and remit of the role(s) may change slightly to take account of business need.
Person specification
We will be looking for you to show that you can:
11. Confidently lead and manage � you will be an outstanding leader and manager with a track record of developing diverse, inclusive, high-performing teams. You will demonstrate how you support individuals to develop to their full potential and sustain inspiring, confident leadership in a fast moving and high-profile policy area.
12. Manage complex and multiple areas of work at pace � you will be experienced in driving progress across a range of complex and interdependent areas, delivering against milestones, and responding to changes in priorities as part of a supportive team environment.
13. Set vision and direction � you will be politically astute and able to think strategically across a complex and emerging system, clearly identifying decision and delivery pathways and translating strategic insights into practical action. You�ll bring a fresh and innovative approach to your work, creating opportunities to drive progress including through others, inside and beyond Government.
14. Build and maintain strong collaborative relationships � you will be comfortable working across boundaries with a track record of making rapid progress and delivering results through a broad network of internal and external stakeholders. You will build strong and effective relationships that reflect understanding of diverse motivations, provide challenge to orthodoxy, and learn from experience and ideas of others.�
15. Persuasively influence others within and outside government � you will be an excellent communicator, skilled at representing the UK Government position and able to present complex ideas and issues clearly to all levels and audiences, using a range of communication methods.
16. Demonstrate sound judgement and decision-making � you will be confident working with, and developing, evidence and using it to inform strategy. You will personally be comfortable working with analysis and explaining its implications clearly to Ministers.
17. Be committed to your own development and that of your team, and to ensuring personal and team resilience and wellbeing.� You will actively contribute to building and maintaining a friendly, fun, supportive and inclusive wider team culture.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
18. Leadership
19. Seeing the Big Picture
20. Communicating and Influencing
21. Delivering at Pace
Benefits
Alongside your salary of �75,000, Department for Energy Security & Net Zero contributes �21,727 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero offers a competitive mix of benefits including:
22. A culture of flexible working, such as job sharing, homeworking and compressed hours.
23. Automatic enrolment into the, with an average employer contribution of 27%.
24. A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by 1 day per year up to a maximum of 30.
25. An extensive range of learning & professional development opportunities, which all staff are actively encouraged to pursue.
26. Access to a range of retail, travel and lifestyle employee discounts.
The Department operates a discretionary hybrid working policy, which provides for a combination of working hours from your place of work and from your home in the UK. The current expectation for staff is to attend the office or non-home based location for 40-60% of the time over the accounting period. Senior Civil Servant (SCS) staff are expected to aim for closer to 60% of the time at an office or non-home based location over the accounting period.