Digital Sustainability Lead

**Job description**

If you share our vision to make our air purer, our water cleaner, our land greener and our food more sustainable, and you are ready to drive innovation and push boundaries, we want to hear from you. Join us, and together we will create a great place for living, and a green and healthy future for all.

Defra (Through our Chief Digital and Information Officer) are the Senior Responsible Owner and Policy owner for digital sustainability across government. As the Digital Sustainability Lead, you’ll drive the development and implementation of current and future Government, Defra and/or DDTS strategy and Policy for improving Defra’s sustainable ICT provisions, ensuring it is delivered in collaboration with wider Cabinet Office and Defra Group Corporate Services functions.

These roles are a fantastic opportunity to lead global thinking and delivery of digital sustainability policy, strategy, design and delivery in projects that will deliver a direct and tangible impact to Defra’s policy outcomes and the wider global digital sustainability agenda.

**Person specification**

**Responsibilities**

As a Digital Sustainability lead (two roles one internally facing and one external) you will lead a selection of either internal operationally focussed activities or external facing activities. These two roles are clearly defined to avoid overlap but responsibilities will include:

- You will assist with development of the Digital Sustainability Policy team to deliver the Greening Government ICT Strategy, Defra Digital Sustainability Strategy and all associated Policy (internally and externally) ensuring it is developed in collaboration with all Defra stakeholders, Government Departments, Agencies and Bodies in accordance with policies and targets.
- You will be responsible for working to develop and drive forward key sustainability initiatives at a function/programme/project level and working closely with the wider sustainability teams to deliver our Digital Sustainability Strategy (and others) and embed this into the group-wide sustainability approach.
- You will be responsible for positioning the DDTS SRO (Defra CDIO), and associated work as thought leaders in Digital Sustainability across UK government, industry and globally developing government excellence in Sustainable practices and inspiring others (Other Government Departments, Public Sector and suppliers and international stakeholders) to meet those standards, and chairing, participating in associated governance.
- You will be a main ambassador, champion, and spokesperson on ICT Sustainability across Defra Group or Government, Public Sector and industry overseeing and helping orchestrate the activities of all Defra Group Digital, Data and Technology operations, the STAR alliance (on behalf of Cabinet Office) and the Government Digital Sustainability Alliance (GDSA) (industry).
- You will lead on the development and delivery of Defra and/or UK Government response to climate change and sustainability disclosure requirements, as well as working with others across Defra and government to develop processes for tracking and reporting progress against our strategy and net zero targets.
- You will be responsible for feeding information into audits and other sustainability compliance activities, ensuring that Defra and/or Government is compliant with various regulations.
- You will build knowledge and expertise across the Defra and government DDaT Function on sustainability in technology, in the context of the full breadth of environmental, social. commercial and governance issues, including supporting the CDIO to achieve this among senior leadership communities such as the Functional Leadership Group
- You will seek solutions to align sustainability data collection from all Government and/or DDTS suppliers, projects and programmes into a single, automated mechanism.

**Skills and Experience**
- Educated to master’s degree level or equivalent experience.
- Chartered Environmentalist or full member of a professional chartered body recognised in sustainability, environment, and energy (or equivalent experience).
- Excellent organisational and facilitation skills.
- Systematic and critical thinking, confident with data analysis, adept at working with data to inform decision making and an ability to present evidence in a compelling way.

**Salary**: £49,403.00-£61,392.00 per year

**Benefits**:

- Additional leave
- Casual dress
- Company pension
- Cycle to work scheme
- Employee discount
- Flexitime
- Free flu jabs
- Sick pay
- Work from home

Schedule:

- Flexitime

Ability to commute/relocate:

- Reading, RG1 1AF: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Reading, RG1 1AF

Reference ID: 291958