Strategic Change Director

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is seeking an exceptional Strategic Change Director to join its Executive Team. Reporting directly to the Chief Executive, you will be accountable for delivery of the Agency portfolio and change objectives, ensuring programmes, projects and portfolios are prioritised, governed, resourced and successfully delivered in line with DVLA and wider government priorities. This is a brand-new role within DVLA's Executive Team, created to give strategic change the dedicated leadership it needs as the Agency embarks on its next phase of transformation. You will have real scope to define how the function operates and to build the team, governance and culture around it from the ground up., As Strategic Change Director, you will provide visible leadership across DVLA's transformation and strategic change agenda, acting as the architect of the organisation's change portfolio. You will translate strategic ambition into an integrated, prioritised and sequenced programme of change that improves customer outcomes, colleague experience and organisational resilience. You will:

• Lead and own DVLA's end-to-end strategic change and transformation portfolio, ensuring activity is prioritised, aligned to strategic objectives and delivers value for money.
• Shape and deliver large-scale organisational, operational and service transformation, ensuring change is user-centered, effectively governed and successfully embedded across the Agency.
• Lead and develop a diverse, multi-disciplinary workforce, building the leadership, capability and capacity required to deliver DVLA's long-term ambitions.
• Foster an inclusive, high-performing culture that promotes accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement and a "One DVLA" approach to transformation and change.
• Provide strategic advice and assurance to the Chief Executive, Board and Executive Team on portfolio performance, risks, dependencies, benefits and organisational readiness for change.
• Act as a corporate leader of DVLA, contributing to enterprise-wide decision-making and collective accountability for organisational performance and outcomes.
Person specification, We will try and offer as much flexibility as we can, but it may not be possible to offer alternative dates for assessments or interviews. You are therefore asked to note the below timetable, exercising flexibility through the recruitment and selection process, in order to meet the dates given. Please note that these dates may be subject to change. The anticipated timetable is as follows: Advert Closing Date - 23:55 Monday 14th September 2026 Longlist - Friday 18th September 2026 GR Interviews - 22nd - 30th September 2026 Shortlist - W/C 5th October 2026 Assessments - W/C 12th October 2026 Final Interviews - W/C 19th October 2026 If your application is successful but you have been dismissed from the Civil Service, your application could be removed at the pre-employment checking stage depending on the nature of the dismissal. Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant's details held on the IFD will be refused employment. A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government. All external applicants and current employees of accredited non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) will be required to undergo a Social Media Check. A Social Media Check is a review of your publicly available online activity, typically across platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and others. The purpose is to identify any public posts or content that could raise concerns for employers, such as:
• Hate speech or discriminatory behaviour
• Threats or acts of violence
• Illegal activity or substance misuse
• Sexually explicit material
• Extremist views or affiliations
Importantly, this check does not involve hacking into your accounts or accessing private messages. It only considers content you have chosen to make public. Employers use this kind of screening to help ensure their workplace remains safe, inclusive, and aligned with company values. It's not about judging your personality or lifestyle - it's about checking for potential red flags that might affect the role or company culture. If you have questions or concerns about the social media check, we would be happy to explain in more detail what's being looked at and how your data is handled securely and fairly. Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.This role has a minimum assignment duration of 3 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise. As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above. Security Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is . .People working with government assets must complete checks. Nationality requirements This job is broadly open to the following groups:
• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
  
  Strategic Change and Transformation Portfolio Leadership - Proven experience leading and owning a large-scale change or transformation portfolio within a complex organisation, and translating organisational strategy into a coherent, prioritised programme of work that delivers measurable outcomes and value for money. This experience may come from central government, wider public sector, regulated industries or private sector organisations of comparable scale and complexity.
• Prioritisation, Governance and Assurance - Significant experience establishing and leading portfolio governance, assurance and decision-making frameworks, providing executive oversight of risks, dependencies, benefits, performance and resource allocation across complex change environments.
• Leading Large-Scale Organisational and Service Transformation - A strong track record of leading complex organisational, operational and service transformation, ensuring change is successfully designed, delivered and embedded, with genuine attention to user and customer outcomes.
• Executive Leadership and Organisational Influence - Demonstrable experience operating at or near executive level within a large and complex organisation, leading senior leaders and multi-disciplinary teams, building organisational capability and contributing to corporate decision-making and strategic outcomes., Experience applying recognised governance, assurance or professional standards to control and improve the quality of transformation programmes.
• Experience building a change or transformation function from an early stage, including establishing new governance, ways of working or team structures.
• Experience of Board-level governance and sector accountability structures, for example working with or reporting to a Board, Minister, non-executive body or equivalent senior governance structure in a large public or private sector organisation.
  
  Benefits Alongside your salary of £90,000, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency contributes £26,073 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.
• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
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with an employer contribution of 28.97% Things you need to know Artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use. Selection process details