Strategy Director, National Security Secretariat

Details
Reference number

436679

Salary

£100,000

External candidates will be expected to start on the band minimum. Existing Civil Servants will be appointed in line with the normal Civil Service pay rules.

A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

GBP

Job grade

SCS Pay Band 2

Contract type

Fixed term

Loan

Secondment

Length of employment

2 years

Business area

CO - National Security Secretariat

Type of role

Policy

Senior leadership

Strategy

Working pattern

Full-time

Number of jobs available

1

Contents

• Location
• About the job
• Benefits
• Things you need to know
• Apply and further information

Location

London

About the job
Job summary

The National Security Secretariat (NSS) is recruiting for a Strategy Director to bring innovative ideas and fresh thinking and approaches to bear on national security and international policy. The role would provide direct advice to the National Security Advisor, Deputy National Security Advisors, and the Prime Minister on the UK's national security and international policy.

This is a unique opportunity to shape the UK's strategic approach to national security at a time the 2025 National Security Strategy describes as a period of "radical uncertainty". The role requires someone to identify gaps in our policy approach, and develop genuinely innovative thinking across the system. They would be required to ensure that policy on the international environment, national security and the economy are complimentary, as well as balancing short-term responses to events with the UK's long-term strategic position.

The role requires credibility both within and outside the civil service and the ability to gather together multiple ideas from a range of sources and thinkers, and reconcile those with the most challenging, multi-faceted policy problems. They must be fully engaged in the academic discussion and bring challenge to existing ways of doing things and world-views. The post-holder will need to build strong relationships with external thinkers, foreign partners and senior Whitehall officials. As well as bringing ideas into government, the post-holder should also be able to project concepts and strategies outward, on the international stage, representing the apex of British policy planning.

The post-holder will lead a Strategy Team in NSS, which includes responsibility for running the secretariat for the National Security Council.

Job description

This is an opportunity to impact thinking at the heart of UK national security and international policy. You will be responsible for bringing in unique and fresh perspectives on many of the most complex challenges we face.

You will need to provide innovative insight on strategy and gaps in our policy approach to the National Security Adviser and Deputies. Your representation and presentation of external ideas should be brought together to form a coherent policy. You should be able to articulate both the diagnosis of the problem and the policy proscription aimed at solving it.

You will be required to build a network of external experts, academics, journalists and contacts in business and look to institutionalise those relationships.

The Director will be responsible for overseeing several teams within the National Security Secretariat, which are run by your Deputy. A small Strategy and Challenge Team which will support you in developing ideas and concepts; a Strategy Implementation Team, which is responsible for ensuring delivery of the National Security Strategy; and the National Security Council Secretariat.

You will need to work closely with the rest of the NSS leadership team, finding common ground between your and their priorities and working out common approaches to tackle challenges.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide innovative thinking and challenge to UK policy development, working closely with the NSA and DNSAs especially to develop these;
• Develop the UK's national security and international policy strategy, building out ideas and bringing those to the highest level of national security discussions;
• Identify gaps in our policy approach and pitch ideas for how to address those;
• Horizon scan for where emerging risks, opportunities and strengths lie and identify where those will intersect with UK interests;
• Engage systematically with the academic discussion, creating mechanisms for bringing those perspectives into government on a regular basis;
• Build and maintain relationships beyond government, championing external perspectives and integrating them into government policy development, unblocking any obstacles to the free flow of ideas;
• Maintain knowledge and coverage of all aspects of national security and international policy, and provide strategic advice across all these areas;
• Run exercises and simulations to unpick innovative solutions to the most complex national security challenges.

Person specification

It is important that, through your CV and supporting statement, that you provide evidence of the following Essential Criteria:

Strategic insight on national security:

• The ability to reconcile different ideas and articulate a strategic approach to complex national security challenges and apply that to real-world, fast-paced policy development and responses.
• The ability to see ahead of the immediate issues to determine – and articulate – where the UK's long-term interests lie.
• Broad experience including on international policy and national security: including trade, economic diplomacy, technology and Europe.
• The ability to engage a broad network of external thinkers to bring outside perspectives to bear on national security and international policy challenges.
• Consistently excellent judgement, with acute political awareness in complex settings, including an understanding of wider Government priorities.

Personal impact at the heart of Government:

• Personal credibility as a thought leader and opinion shaper as well as a track record of providing trusted advice and challenge to the most senior stakeholders in organisations.
• Influencing, managing, and delivering through senior stakeholder relationships and partnerships (internally and externally, and in international environments).
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, able to deliver impactfully at the highest levels.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £100,000, Cabinet Office contributes £28,970 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Whatever your role, we take your career and development seriously, and want to enable you to build a really successful career with the Department and wider Civil Service. It is crucial that our employees have the right skills to develop their careers and meet the challenges ahead. You'll benefit from a wide range of training and development opportunities, regular performance and development reviews to ensure this development is ongoing. As a Civil Service employee, you'll be entitled to a large range of benefits.

This includes:

• 25 days annual leave on entry, increasing on a sliding scale to 30 days after 5 years' service. This is in addition to 8 public holidays.
• This will be complimented by one further day paid privilege entitlement to mark the King's Birthday;
• A competitive contributory pension scheme that you can enter as soon as you join where we will make a significant contribution to the cost of your pension; where your contributions come out of your salary before any tax is taken; and where your pension will continue to provide valuable benefits for you and your family if you are too ill to continue to work or die before you retire;
• Generous paid maternity and paternity leave which is notably more than the statutory minimum offered by many other employers;
• Childcare benefits (policy for new employees as of 5 April 2018): The government has introduced the Tax- Free Childcare (TFC) scheme. Working parents can open an online childcare account and for every £8 they pay in, the government adds £2, up to a maximum of £2000 a year for each child or £4000 for a disabled child. Parents then use the funds to pay for registered childcare. Existing employees may be able to continue to claim childcare vouchers, so please check how the policy would work for you here.
• Interest-free loans allowing you to spread the cost of an annual travel season ticket or a new bicycle;
• The opportunity to use onsite facilities including fitness centres and staff canteens (where applicable); and occupational sick pay.

Things you need to know
Selection process details

Application process:

To apply for this post, you will need to complete the online application process, outlined below. This should be completed no later than 23:55, Sunday 7th December 2025.

• A CV (max 2 pages or 1250 words) setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years.
• A Statement of Suitability(no longer than 1250 words) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the essential criteria in the person specification.

Failure to complete both sections of the online application form (CV and Statement of Suitability) will mean the panel only have limited information on which to assess your application against the criteria in the person specification.

Should you encounter any issues with your online application please get in touch with us via:

Selection process:

A panel, including the hiring manager, will assess your application to select those demonstrating the best fit with the role by considering the evidence you have provided against the criteria set out in the 'Person Specification' section. Failure to address any or all of these may affect your application.

If you are successful at the application stage, you will be invited to attend a panel interview, in order to have a more in-depth discussion of your previous experience and professional competence in relation to the criteria set out in the Person Specification. We will be assessing against the Success Profile Experience at interview.

Full details of the assessment process will be made available to shortlisted candidates. If you are required to prepare a presentation for the final interview you will be given the subject in advance.

For more information about the role, selection process and selection panel, please see the Candidate Information Pack attached to this advert.

Expected timeline (subject to change):

Sift date – 12th December 2025

Interview date - 19th December 2025

Reasonable adjustments:

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

• Contact Government Recruitment Service at: as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
• Complete the 'assistance required' section in the 'personal information' page of your application form to provide information we should be aware of that will enable us to support you further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you're deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Reserve lists:

We may hold suitable applicants on a reserve list for 12 months, and future vacancies in the Civil Service requiring the same skills and experience could be offered to candidates on the reserve list without the need for a new competition.

Further information:

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact:

Any move to Cabinet Office from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

Current Civil Servants (all contract types) will need to ensure that they are still employed as a civil servant at the point of starting in the relevant new post. If their contract ends (e.g. end of FTA contract or resignation) at any point during the recruitment/onboarding process for the advertised role, they will no longer be eligible and may be withdrawn.

Please note that this role requiresa willingness to obtain clearance to Developed Vetting (DV) level and be STRAP inducted, which would normally need 10 years' UK residency in the past 10 years. This is not an absolute requirement, but supplementary checks may be needed where individuals have not lived in the UK for that period. This may mean your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is developed vetting .

See our vetting charter .

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

Open to UK nationals only.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles .

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy .

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

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Contact point for applicants
Job contact :

• Name : GRS SCS Recruitment Team
• Email :

Recruitment team

• Email :

Further information

Civil Service Commission Selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit, on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles.

In accordance with the Civil Service Commissioners' Recruitment Principles, our recruitment and selection processes are underpinned by the requirement of appointment on the basis of merit by fair and open competition. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance you should contact;

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive you can contact the Civil Service Commission at and more information can be found

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