Head of Enterprise Performance


Company:	Government Recruitment Service
Salary:	£67,730 - £81,535
Hours:	Full-time
Location:	Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Job type:	Permanent
Posting date:	6 Aug 2026
Closing date:	24 Aug 2026

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Summary

You will join the Data and Analysis for Delivery (DA4D) Division in Portfolio Directorate in Defra’s Strategy and Change Director General Group.

DA4D is a team of 20 performance, risk, digital and data professionals. We’re a fun, ambitious and welcoming team working to put quality data, information, advice and support at the heart of how Defra delivers outcomes. We are one of the core strategic teams helping Defra deliver some of government’s most ambitious and exciting work and outcomes: water, food, land and nature are the infrastructure upon which everything else depends and the foundation for our economic way of life and a thriving farming sector, clean water, productive seas and reduced trade barriers with the EU are all contributions to a growing economy. We are also a national security and resilience department leading work on biosecurity, flood resilience, food security, protection from environmental hazards and emergency preparedness which are all central to keeping the people of this country safe.

As Head of Enterprise Performance, you will sit at the heart of Defra's strategic centre, where you will advise and support teams, Directors, Directors General, and the Permanent Secretary on the extent to which Defra is on track to achieve its outcomes. This is a moment of change for Defra: you will be responsible for a step-change in Defra’s ability to know the extent to which we are on track, instrumental in building the performance capabilities Defra needs to do this and to course correct when needed.

You will be an experienced analytical leader who is happy engaging with people and teams. You’ll be at home leading ambitious analytical work and know how to lead the change needed in the business. You’ll know how policy delivery works in practice, and with that knowledge and experience, you’ll help policy delivery teams improve how they’re monitoring and using performance data. You will provide great advice and will lead teams and the organisation through acting on that advice, improving outcome delivery as a result.

You will do so by:

leading efforts to improve the monitoring and measurement of Defra’s outcomes and corporate functions;
Using data and analysis to identify and take collaborative action to resolve performance issues, and
build performance capability across the wider organisation, whilst
ensuring high quality published performance contributions to the annual fiscal, accountability and governance cycle

You will shape the performance conversation at the most strategic level and use your analytical expertise to identify and exploit the most appropriate data and information, so that we’re ‘measuring what needs to be delivered’ and delivering it as a result. You will derive performance insight and support enterprise-level performance management from that data and information, and from the relationships that you build and cultivate across outcomes delivery teams.

You will oversee the development and consistency of a performance measurement framework across the department, working to align frameworks and approaches across the wider Defra group where possible and desirable. In doing so you will build communities and capability across teams to embed performance management where it matters. You will collaborate with analytical (and policy?)colleagues embedded in outcome and delivery areas right across the department, working in matrix ways, to support them to identify and improve performance measures.

To achieve all this, you will empower and motivate a small analytical team while building coalitions and capabilities in the wider business through which you will improve performance measurement? at scale.

Does this sound interesting but like you might not be quite right? Please read on and consider applying! We’re looking for applicants from people with diverse experience and perspectives.

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