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Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # Deputy Director for Change & AI Transformation - **Company:** Department for Energy Security and Net Zero - **Location:** Birmingham, UK (Remote available) - **Experience:** Expert - **Salary:** £23,465.0 - £81,000.0 - **Contract:** Temporary to permanent - **Skills:** Agile Methodology, Artificial Intelligence - **Published:** June 29, 2026 - **Apply:** https://uk.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=d041a5cfa2d6afc5 ## About the Role Do you have experience in Presentation skills?, * Proven SCS level leadership of complex, organisation wide change and transformation, with a strong track record of delivering impact through influence rather than direct control, and through effective change management at all levels. * Strategic understanding of digital and AI enabled transformation, including the ability to translate emerging technology into practical organisational value at scale which solves problems. * Exceptional stakeholder leadership skills, with the credibility and confidence to engage effectively with senior leaders and decision-makers across complex organisations. * Effective programme oversight and management, with the ability to maintain momentum on programmes, track benefits and progress, and work with stakeholders to unblock issues in delivery. * Strong systems thinking, able to connect mission, strategy, operating models, technology and culture into a coherent transformation narrative. * A delivery focused mindset, combining intellectual rigour with pragmatism, pace and a relentless focus on outcomes and benefits. * Inclusive, empowering leadership style, with a commitment to developing people, building diverse teams and creating the conditions for others to succeed., * Changing and Improving * Leadership * Making Effective Decisions * Managing a Quality Service, 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 criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check . ## Description DESNZ has a critical mission: to make the UK a clean energy superpower by securing energy independence, protecting consumers, driving growth and delivering net zero. Achieving this requires not only strong policy and delivery, but a department that is continuously able to adapt, modernise and operate at pace. The Change and Transformation Directorate sits at the centre of this ambition, providing the strategic capability to reshape how DESNZ works so it can deliver its mission now and in the future. The Deputy Director for Change and AI Transformation will play a pivotal leadership role in this agenda. Reporting to the Director of Change & Transformation, the postholder will lead some of DESNZ’s most strategically important transformation programmes, including Mission DESNZ (our change programme to improve delivery, increase flexibility, build future skills and enable AI and technology adoption) and departmental change management and capability building. This includes driving the effective deployment of AI tools, shaping high value AI use cases for how we work and deliver, and ensuring systems, ways of working and leadership behaviours evolve together. The role operates in a complex, high-profile environment, working across DESNZ, with delivery partners and with the centre of government – particularly with Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and the Cabinet Office on ensuring we align on the ambitions for Delivery, Innovation and Pride. Success will depend on the ability to set clear strategic direction, mobilise senior leaders, and deliver tangible organisational change in an uncertain and fast-moving context., * Lead the Mission DESNZ Change Programme (working to the Chief Operating Officer and the Director of Change and Transformation), providing clear strategic ownership, governance and delivery momentum to ensure the change is embedded into how the department plans, prioritises and delivers across policy, delivery and corporate functions. * Own and drive the DESNZ change management approach, including the design and delivery of department wide change frameworks, capability building interventions and targeted support for senior leaders and priority programmes. Working closely with other functions such as Organisational Development and wider HR teams. * Lead AI adoption and transformation across DESNZ, including the rollout and effective use of Copilot for our people, capability building for AI use, identification and prioritisation of systems and strategic AI use cases, and alignment with wider digital, data and systems transformation activity. * Shape DESNZ’s approach to systems and ways of working transformation, ensuring technology, processes and organisational design reinforce each other to improve productivity, pace and quality of decision making. * Act as a senior partner to the Chief Operating Officer, Directors General, Directors and Senior Responsible Owners, providing challenge, insight and support to enable successful delivery of complex change and transformation initiatives. * Lead a high performing, multidisciplinary team, setting clear direction, building capability, and role modelling inclusive, empowering leadership. This will require leading virtual teams across different functions at times to ensure successful delivery. * Represent DESNZ at senior cross government forums, working closely with Cabinet Office, DSIT and other departments on the Productive and Agile State and AI related agendas. * Ensure strong change management, governance, risk management and benefits realisation across the portfolio, maintaining grip while enabling innovation and pace., The Department offers engaging jobs in work that really matters; jobs which have a direct impact on the quality of public services. Roles can offer great job satisfaction and there are many opportunities to develop and progress both within the Department and across the wider Civil Service. We are committed to investing in our staff and offer a range of work based training and qualifications, coaching and mentoring opportunities and a guaranteed five days of learning a year. Other Benefits Any move to DESNZ 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. Determine your eligibility at: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk, Government Recruitment Service will acknowledge your application and advise you of the outcome of the sift meeting. Depending on the number of applications received there may be a second stage sift. Applications will be sifted to select those demonstrating the best fit with the post against the criteria set out in the person specification. Please ensure you keep this in mind when writing your CV and supporting statement. Failure to address any or all of these may affect your application. The timeline later in this pack indicates the date by which decision is expected to be made, and all longlisted and shortlisted candidates will be advised of the outcome as soon as possible thereafter. Feedback will only be provided if you attend an assessment and/or interview. This is on a request basis. Assessment If you are shortlisted, you will be asked to take part in an assessment. This will be a Staff Engagement Exercise. This assessment will not result in a ’pass’ or ’fail’ decision. Rather, it is designed to support the panel’s decision making and highlight areas for the panel to explore further at interview. Full details of the assessment process will be provided to shortlisted candidates at the earliest opportunity. For further information regarding the assessments please follow this link: https://scs-assessments.co.uk/ For further information on the Civil Service application process and an overview on what to expect, please visit the Civil Service Careers website. Arrangements for interview 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 following Success Profiles at interview: experience and behaviours. You may also have the opportunity to speak to a member of the department prior to the final interview to learn more about the role and organisation. Please note this is not part of the formal assessment process. If you are required to prepare a presentation for the final interview you will be given the subject in advance. Full details of the assessment process will be made available to shortlisted candidates. The final selection panel interview will be held virtually. Expenses incurred by candidates during the recruitment process will not be reimbursed by the Department except in exceptional circumstances and only when agreed in advance. Selection and Feedback Regardless of the outcome, we will notify all candidates as soon as possible. Feedback is only be provided if you attend an assessment and/or interview. This is on a request basis., * 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 European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) * 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 ## Related Videos - [Building Organizations That Can Actually Adapt](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100316-building-organizations-that-can-actually-adapt) - [Edit Your Future: Queerverse Radical AI](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/909-edit-your-future-queerverse-radical-ai) - [ShapeShift: Reinventing Agile for a B2B SaaS Scale-Up](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1655-shapeshift-reinventing-agile-for-a-b2b-saas-scale-up) - [Delete the roles, deploy the skills](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/2104-delete-the-roles-deploy-the-skills) - [AI is dead, long live AK](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1093-ai-is-dead-long-live-ak) - [From Punch Cards to AI-assisted Development](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/611-from-punch-cards-to-ai-assisted-development) ## Related Articles - [Navigating the AI Shift](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/629-navigating-the-ai-shift) - [Data Analyst Salary in the UK](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/278-data-analyst-salary-in-the-uk) - [UK Business Culture and Etiquette](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/326-uk-business-culture-and-etiquette) - [How to Become an AI Engineer](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/331-how-to-become-an-ai-engineer) - [Data Engineer Salary UK](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/253-data-engineer-salary-uk) - [Dev Digest 121 - AI goes offline](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/456-dev-digest-121-ai-goes-offline)