Deputy Director - Place (4732299)

Increasing investment, both foreign and domestic, is crucial to the UK’s economic growth and the future prosperity of its citizens. Leveraging private investment is also fundamental to delivering new infrastructure, the energy transition and retaining international leadership as a science and technology driven economy.     

The Office for Investment (OfI) was spun out of Downing Street in January 2021 and is now a joint unit between No.10, HMT and the Department for Business and Trade (DBT).  The OfI is an exciting, creative and dynamic place to work among a motivated and driven team with both commercial and public sector backgrounds. The Office works closely with Secretaries of State, Junior Ministers, and No.10 to deliver the highest-value, highest profile investment propositions.   

The team operates a flexible and flat structure which means that staff across all grades have the opportunity to work directly alongside the senior leadership and have direct exposure to ministers and senior business executives.    

OfI's vision and mission is to secure investment to drive growth, job creation and increased productivity across the UK. We are proactive and entrepreneurial, delivering ambitious outcomes aligned to the Industrial Strategy and HMG Missions. To become a centre of excellence for attracting and growing investment we want to attract talented people from the private sector and across government – local and national - who are curious, creative and agile in pursuing emerging opportunities for the UK. 

This is a wide-ranging role where you will get to develop new skills and build on existing ones to increase investment opportunities and shape the wider Government policies investors will operate under.

Job Description/Key Accountabilities

This role is for a Senior Investment Partner (SCS1) to deliver the OfI’s regional strategy, reporting to the Director. You will be responsible for building strong relationships with regional leaders (First Ministers, Mayors etc), C-suite investors, and other government departments, to deliver transformational investment projects and develop high-quality, high-impact, large-scale investment opportunities across the UK. You will be expected to play a leadership role within the OfI as a member of the Senior Leadership Team, as well as line-management responsibilities for the OfI’s Investment Partners (Grade 6) in the regions and nations.  ​

Key responsibilities:​

• Regional Opportunities. You and your team will work to develop a pipeline of transformational local investment opportunities and work with partners across the UK to surface and co-design products to meet global corporate and capital demand. You will draw in experts from across OfI (especially Product team), government and industry to help structure and market these opportunities.
• Deal Closure. You will focus intensively on landing a very select number of the most strategically important investment projects, convening and corralling wider OfI teams and departments to ensure that all the relevant HMG levers, direct and indirect, are pulled to get deals over the line. For some projects you will be responsible for championing their strategic importance and proactively securing the mandate to devote focus and drive to them.  
• Regions and nations network. You will be well-networked and visible as a leader across the UK regions and nations, working hand in glove with First Ministers, mayors, local authorities, and other leaders to ensure that large-scale opportunities are brought to market effectively, including by unblocking barriers to delivery. You will utilise the Council of Regions & Nations, Executive Forum and drive the Investment Sub Group for Chief Executivesto achieve investment outcomes. You will empower your G6s to have senior relationships across their dedicated region and support them to develop powerful networks to help identify and deliver deals.
• Networks/Investor Relations. You will nurture and manage relationships with senior decision-makers in the world’s leading companies. You will provide trusted advice, make introductions to No10 and Ministers, and help them navigate the complexities of the UK system. You will also set direction within HMG, providing leadership to teams brought together from relevant departments and delivery partners to unblock barriers to investment.  
• Investment Strategy. You will provide expert, commercially astute advice to No10, HMT and other Depts on how to unlock investment in the nations and regions to operationalise the Government’s strategies. You will engage industry, investors, academics, and policy experts in other departments, agencies and public finance institutions, to understand market demand, failures, barriers, and opportunities across critical supply chains, applying an investor-focused lens to spot gaps and, where needed, challenge the direction of HMG’s approach. ​​

• Team management. You will oversee a team of G6s, G7s and SEOs operating across the UK, ensuring that the team is well directed, with clear roles, responsibilities and both short and long-term priorities, to ensure strong delivery. You will also drive strong collaboration with other teams, such as Deal Makers, Strategic Investment Opportunities, Marketing and Investor Relations, so that OfI’s regional offer feels seamless to external stakeholders, and the regional agenda is well represented internally.  

Essential Criteria

• Proven understanding of, and ability to navigate, the regional landscape; and experience working with local leaders and government
• Experience working with investors, applying commercial acumen and an understanding of how investors make decisions​ and how to create compelling investment propositions.
• Effective and inspirational leader with a track record of building and motivating teams​
• Self-starter with the confidence and entrepreneurialism to build networks and relationships with a wide range of key stakeholders across the public and private sector, ideally already having extensive investment networks across the public, private sector, and the advisory community.
• Strategic thinker skilled at drawing on socio-economic, commercial, and political insights to shape the direction of travel for your organisation and wider partners​
• Excellent written and oral communication skills with an ability to influence and persuade different audiences, including senior leaders​

Desirable Criteria

• An understanding of Whitehall processes
• Commercial understanding and/ or experience of working with high profile stakeholders
• Public speaking/presentation skills

Personal Attributes & Skills

We are looking for a proactive and experienced leader who can drive relationship development with senior leaders across Whitehall and with C suite decisionmakers whilst working closely with senior leadership. The ideal candidate will have a strong background of working in or with the private sector and have the ability to lead teams and influence strategy at a senior level. 

Candidates will be assessed against the following behaviours at interview:

• Leadership
• Seeing the big picture 
• Communicating and influencing 

Contact information

Department Business and Trade

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