Deputy Director Strategy

Interim Deputy Director Strategy

Location: UK based, hybrid working with occasional travel

Salary: £64,000–£70,000 per annum

Contract: 12-month fixed term (maternity cover)

Hours: Full-time, 37.5 hours per week, with flexible working arrangements considered

The opportunity

Door 10 is recruiting a senior strategy and organisational development professional for an established, purpose-driven organisation working to achieve positive social change.

This is a significant leadership opportunity for someone who combines strategic thinking with the ability to turn ambitious plans into practical, measurable improvements.

Our client is approaching an important period in its development, with decisions to be made about future priorities, resources and organisational direction. They are looking for an experienced leader who can bring structure to complex challenges, and marry the needs of the external affairs and finance teams to help build the new strategy.

A key challenge will be bringing greater coherence and pace to organisational decision-making, creating a more coordinated approach that enables the organisation to develop clear policy positions and respond more quickly to changing circumstances.

The successful candidate will be comfortable operating across organisational boundaries, balancing competing priorities and working with senior stakeholders to build consensus around important decisions.

Working in policy areas like education, employment, skills and economics amongst others.

The role

Working closely with the senior leadership team, you will take responsibility for a broad portfolio spanning corporate strategy, organisational improvement, performance, partnerships and team leadership.

The role requires someone who can step back from immediate operational pressures, assess the wider political, economic and organisational landscape, and help senior leaders determine what the next phase of the organisation's strategy should look like.

A particular priority will be helping the organisation prepare for its next phase of development, ensuring that decisions about its future are supported by robust analysis, clear recommendations and effective implementation.

Your responsibilities will include:

Shaping the organisation's future

• Bring together financial, operational and external considerations to help senior leaders evaluate strategic choices.
• Coordinate complex planning exercises involving multiple departments, ensuring that different perspectives inform a coherent approach.
• Develop practical recommendations that help the organisation respond to changing circumstances and emerging opportunities.
• Translate leadership decisions into clear priorities, implementation plans and measurable objectives.

Improving performance and effectiveness

• Identify where systems, processes or ways of working could be improved to support better organisational performance.
• Develop effective approaches to measuring progress, demonstrating outcomes and informing future decisions.
• Bring together information from across the organisation to create a clearer picture of achievements, challenges and opportunities.

Supporting organisational sustainability

• Contribute to planning that supports the organisation's longer-term financial and operational resilience.
• Help ensure that strategic ambitions remain realistic, affordable and aligned with organisational capabilities.
• Anticipate organisational risks and help develop practical responses.

Leadership and stakeholder relationships

• Help lead and develop a team working across several strategic and organisational priorities.
• Establish clear expectations, encourage professional development and support colleagues through change.
• Build productive relationships with senior internal and external stakeholders.
• Represent the organisation in senior-level discussions where appropriate.

About you

We are looking for an experienced strategy or organisational development leader who can demonstrate:

• Significant experience of corporate strategy, strategic planning or organisational transformation.
• A track record of delivering complex projects involving multiple teams and senior stakeholders.
• The ability to turn high-level strategic objectives into practical programmes of work.
• An understanding of financial sustainability and how resource considerations influence strategic decisions.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, including the ability to influence at senior level.
• Experience managing and developing colleagues.
• The ability to communicate complex information clearly, including through high-quality reports, presentations and recommendations.
• Confidence operating in changing environments where priorities may evolve.

We would be particularly interested in candidates with experience in Chief of Staff, senior strategic advisory or comparable Civil Service roles, especially those combining policy development with private office experience.

This is a varied and fast-moving position, requiring someone with excellent interpersonal skills who can build relationships quickly, exercise sound judgement and move comfortably between strategic discussions and practical problem-solving.

Experience that would be particularly valuable includes:

• Working in a charity, foundation, public body or other mission-led organisation.
• Developing organisational strategies in environments influenced by government policy or public funding.
• Supporting funding discussions, partnership development or major organisational change.
• Working with policy, research, communications or external affairs teams.
• Experience incorporating stakeholder participation and lived experience into organisational planning.

Working arrangements

The organisation offers hybrid working, with an expectation of two days per week in the office and three days working remotely.

Flexible working arrangements and alternative working patterns will be considered.

How to apply

Door 10 is managing this recruitment process on behalf of our client.

• Please apply with your CV through LinkedIn. Applications will be treated confidentially, and further information about the organisation will be shared with suitable candidates as the process progresses.