Head of Policy, Engagement, Operations, Isac Secretariat

**Details**:
**Reference number**:

- 416106

**Salary**:

- £67,170 - £78,192
- The National salary band applies to the Manchester based role: £67,170 - £76,117
London-weighting is included in the London based role: £70,845 - £78,192
- A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

GBP

**Job grade**:

- Grade 6

**Contract type**:

- Permanent

**Business area**:

- DG Strategy and Growth

**Type of role**:

- Policy

**Working pattern**:

- Flexible working, Full-time, Job share

**Number of jobs available**:

- 2

**Contents**:

- Location
- About the job
- Benefits
- Things you need to know

**Location**:

- London, Manchester

**About the job**:
**Job summary**:
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is the department for economic growth. We support**businesses to invest, grow and export, creating jobs and opportunities across the country. We operate in an increasingly dynamic international environment, with a range of forces rapidly reshaping the global economy. For the UK to navigate this environment successfully, we need to understand how the world is changing.

To meet this challenge, the Government launched a new Modern Industrial Strategy on 23 June, 2025. This 10-year plan is central to the Government’s Growth Mission and aims to make the UK one of the best places in the world to do business. It focuses on unlocking investment, boosting productivity, and creating 1.1 million high-quality, well-paid jobs across thriving sectors.

The Strategy is designed to shape the kind of growth the UK pursues, leveraging UK wide strengths in services and manufacturing, while enabling leadership in emerging industries. It also supports key national priorities including Net Zero, regional growth, and economic resilience.

To underline the government’s commitment to certainty, stability and long-termism, the Government has established the **Industrial Strategy Advisory Council (ISAC).** This independent, evidence-led body has advised on the development of the Strategy but will now be moving into an exciting new phase monitoring the Strategy’s implementation, engaging with a wide range of stakeholders and conducting its own analysis to build a strong evidence base that will underpin its recommendations. The Council will be placed on a statutory footing in due course, reinforcing its long-term role in ensuring the Industrial Strategy delivers sustained, inclusive economic growth.

**Job description**:
The ISAC will be supported by a Secretariat of around 25 FTE, based in Manchester and London, comprising analytical and policy expertise. The Secretariat’s role is to support the Council in its mandate to monitor delivery of the Industrial Strategy, evaluate its impact and build the evidence base to support future industrial policy development.

The role-holder will lead a multi-disciplinary team of approx. 4-5 FTEs spanning policy, operations and communications to support the ISAC members in delivering on their mandate. You will work closely with your G6 counterpart in providing leadership and management across a range of policy projects according to the ISAC’s agreed workplan, developing and nurturing the team into a high performing unit that delivers robust advice and exceptional stakeholder management. Alongside this, you will hold operational responsibilities for the smooth running of the Secretariat, from managing press enquiries to delivering professionally run and strategically focused quarterly boards.

You will work hand in glove with analytical counterparts in the Secretariat to deliver high-quality evidenced based recommendations in the form of an annual report and interim reports on other agreed topics, many of which will be commissioned annually by DBT and HMT Ministers.

You will develop excellent working relationships back into DBT and HMT as co-sponsor departments, working closely with DBT’s G6 Head of ISC Strategy and Sponsorship Team, responsible for delivering the long-term statutory model for the Industrial Strategy Council.

The Manchester role will initially be based in 3 Piccadilly Place, M1 3BN. All DBT staff in Greater Manchester, including in the ISAC Secretariat, will be moving to the new Manchester Government Hub at First Street, expected in late 2026. The London role is based in DBT's Old Admiralty Building offices.

**Person specification**:
Core responsibilities will include:

- Developing and overseeing the ISAC’s workplan alongside your G6 counterpart and working hand in glove with analysts, including monitoring progress, mitigating risk and escalating as required.
- Managing the ISAC’s core interactions with Government and their broader stakeholder engagement programme, including the ISAC’s quarterly boards and interaction with the other members of the Labour Market Evidence Group (LMEG).
- Ensuring a constructive and collaborative relationship with the departmental Sponsorship Team within DBT.
- Reviewing and improving ways of working across delivery of the