International Strategic Engagement and Multilateral Deputy Director

Job summary

The International Biodiversity and Climate Directorate plays a critical role in contributing to global and Defra priorities. We play a major role in strengthening national security and resilience, stewarding critical national infrastructure, and helping protect and restore critical global ecosystems. International work is embedded across Defra’s Outcomes Framework.

We use strategy, negotiations, international development programming, deep political engagement, legislation and science to halt and reverse global biodiversity loss. This post offers an exceptional opportunity to shape and maximise our impact and be at the heart of this important agenda, to be part of an engaged, dynamic and collaborative team, and to lead our work to creatively and energetically drive
global change.

As the Head of the International Strategic Engagement and Multilateral Division, you will lead a team of approximately 40 staff. Facing into strategy colleagues across government and externally, you will be SRO for the HMG International Nature Delivery Plan, and co-SRO for Growth and Multilateral Delivery plans, under the 2035 Climate, Nature and Energy Strategic Framework. You will develop and represent Defra’s collective environmental interests as part of the G7 and G20 and be responsible for ensuring that nature continues to be at heart of UNFCCC Climate COPs.

In 2027, the UK will have the G20 Presidency and in 2028 the G7 Presidency, providing a once in a generation opportunity for sustained leadership to drive UK priorities internationally, in an increasingly fractured and contested geopolitical space, but clear international environment priorities.

This is an important role to provide strategic leadership on international environment issues across Defra and government, with external partners and in key multilateral fora, and ensure a strong coherence and integration with our domestic narrative and strategies. You must have some international experience, and will lead and deepen strategic engagement with key bilateral partners on nature, to then leverage in the G7, G20, London and New York Climate weeks and at the UNFCCC.

Your team will ensure that Defra has a clear strategy underpinning our leadership in international fora, a clear set of priorities in our engagement across government and externally, and on behalf of the wider Directorate, will ensure that we have the governance and resources in place to underpin delivery.

Job description

You will need to work closely with ministers and deploy your own political capital to build bilateral relationships internally across the UK system and externally. As a member of the Directorate’s senior leadership team, you will play an active role in promoting and role modelling an inclusive, innovative and supportive culture. You will also be expected to be a team player on corporate and management activities.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategy. You will confidently own and communicate Defra’s overall international environment strategy and support government governance and decision making across government. You will help deliver our strategy and communicate our impact. You will need to develop and maintain networks with a wide range of contacts across government and externally. Defra’s international nature and climate work is captured within an integrated HMG climate, nature and energy strategic framework, and you will oversee Defra’s participation in formal governance across government and support the Special Representative for Nature. You will lead Defra’s overall strategy and delivery at the UNFCCC COPs on both the negotiations and action agenda. You will also work across the Directorate to effectively track progress against agreed outcomes.
• Group of 7 and Group of 20. The Deputy Director will lead the team to define the Environment priorities for the UK’s G7 and G20 Presidencies and priorities more broadly. You will develop and maintain strong relationships with G7 and G20 negotiators, Cabinet Office Sherpa and cross government SCS, to achieve successful G7 and G20 agreements that further Defra and government objectives. You will ensure effective Ministerial engagement, be able to effectively chair negotiations, and be able to effectively lead a UK delegation and shape policy objectives across government.
• In 2027 and 2028 the UK will have the G7 and G20 Presidencies which will create key strategic opportunities which you will be able to shape. You will join at a time when the agenda for the 2027 G20 presidency has been set, taking on the leadership of translating those intended outcomes into tangible real-world delivery that supports prosperity, increases resilience, and contributes towards the Global Biodiversity Framework’s goals. This will require you overseeing an expansion of your team’s policy capacity, as well as onboarding new stakeholder engagement and delivery teams to prepare for and deliver a series of virtual and in-person working groups and Ministerial meetings, as well as chairing negotiations for adoption by Ministers, then Leaders.
• Alongside engagement with the US’s G7 presidency in 2027, you will be responsible for developing the environment policy contribution to the UK’s G7 presidency in 2028, then adapting teams across in due course to its delivery.
• Business Management: You will be supported by a well-established and effective corporate, people and finance team for the wider Directorate, ensuring that we have the right processes in place to ensure we have the financial and human resources to deliver; that we are creating and maintaining an inclusive performance culture across the Directorate; and supporting the Director to ensure that the SLT is providing effective leadership to the Directorate.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Leadership: Exceptional positive and inclusive leadership and management skills. Evidence of inspiring and developing the long-term capability and performance of teams; promoting an inclusive, diverse and supportive environment; and the ability to preserve both personal and team resilience to lead work under pressure over extended periods, especially whilst deploying across a range of time zones. You will also need to be able to work effectively through others and build a collective sense of purpose across different teams – outside your direct line management responsibility.
• Strategic thinking: The ability to design and deliver effective strategies, based on excellent analytical and scientific insight, in collaboration with a range of other partners. You will need to be able to demonstrate how you can look ahead, anticipate issues and risks, and develop innovative and creative solutions in addition to monitoring progress and delivery against agreed strategies already in place.
• Communicating and Influencing: Strong interpersonal skills to build strong senior and load-bearing relationships with colleagues across government and from a range of different countries and organisations. Excellent communication skills – an ability to be impactful in formal plenary sessions, but also to convene and broker solutions with small groups of countries, build enduring relationships with international counterparts, and work effectively with civil society. You will need to develop trusted relationships with seniors including the Nature Special Representative and Ministers. Language skills may be an asset.
• Strong collaboration and team working: Able to form strong alliances and partnerships to deliver ambitious change and innovative solutions. You must be able to demonstrate that you can work with difficult stakeholders from a range of cultural backgrounds.
• Making effective decisions: You will need the confidence and ability to agree negotiating mandates across government and then make effective decisio