Deputy Director Policy, Partnerships and Performance (England)

Job summary

We are looking for an exceptional senior leader to join The National Lottery Community Fund as Deputy Director England, Policy, Partnerships and Performance. As a key member of the England Senior Leadership Team, you will lead a multidisciplinary function that provides the strategic backbone for delivery of the England Portfolio - connecting policy, partnerships, planning, performance, improvement, insight and learning so that our funding achieves measurable impact for communities.

Job description

Reporting to the England Director, Strategy, Partnerships & Engagement, you will lead high-performing, dispersed teams and work closely with funding colleagues and corporate and enabling functions, including Funding Strategy, Corporate Responsibilities, Communications and Impact. The role combines substantial internal leadership with a strong ambassadorial remit, building the Fund’s credibility and influence across the voluntary and community, public and private sectors.

This is a varied, strategic role focused on turning ambition into delivery. You will set clear direction for policy, partnerships and performance; use external intelligence, management information and learning to shape decisions; and ensure implementation is coherent, well governed and able to adapt. You will represent the Fund with senior stakeholders, produce compelling advice for governance forums, including Committee and Board meetings, and create the conditions for teams to deliver consistently and collaboratively.

Key responsibilities may include:

• Lead the Policy, Partnerships and Performance function and support effective implementation of the England Portfolio.
• Develop the Fund’s policy positioning and influence, informed by community need, external insight and organisational priorities.
• Develop the vision and strategy for funding and non-funding partnerships, overseeing relationship and operational management, funding priorities and the grant budget, and using inclusive co-design, convening, listening and learning to increase collective impact.
• Integrate planning, performance reporting, insight, risk, learning and improvement across the England directorate.
• Ensure evidence and performance insight inform priorities, resource allocation, governance and continuous improvement, and demonstrate the delivery and measurable impact of the England Portfolio.
• Champion One Fund ways of working through shared outcomes, clear accountabilities and practical arrangements for joint planning, prioritisation, decision-making and escalation across organisational boundaries.
• Lead and develop inclusive, high-performing teams through change, working across organisational boundaries.

You will bring significant senior-level experience of policy and strategy development, partnership working, implementation and performance leadership. You will have a strong record of translating strategy into coherent plans and measurable delivery, using evidence to manage risk and improve performance. An inclusive and compassionate leader, you will be confident operating in decision-making environments at Board or Committee level, influencing senior stakeholders and communicating complex issues clearly. You will also be financially astute, with extensive experience of costing, financial modelling and budgeting, comfortable overseeing grant budgets and resource decisions, and motivated by the Fund’s purpose and the communities we serve. This England-focused role will involve travel to build relationships with colleagues, communities and partners.

Interview details:

• Date: Week Commencing 19th October 2026
• Format: Virtual
• Location: England

We have a hybrid approach to working. The work pattern, contracted office and travel expectations will be agreed with the successful candidate.

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact: Rachel Campbell, EA to England Directors, to arrange a suitable time: rachel.campbell@tnlcommunityfund.org.uk

Person specification

How to apply:

Upload your CV in Word format and provide a supporting statement of up to 1,000 words demonstrating how you meet the essential criteria below. We will use this to score your application. Appy here.

Essential Criteria:

• Significant senior-level experience of policy and strategy development, partnership working, implementation and performance leadership.
• Demonstrable success in translating strategy into delivery by setting priorities, aligning resources, managing risk, tracking progress and adapting plans through evidence and learning.
• Experience of leading multidisciplinary and dispersed teams through change, creating an inclusive, collaborative and high-performance culture.
• A strong track record of developing relationships with senior stakeholders across sectors, representing an organisation externally and building credibility, influence and shared purpose.
• Extensive experience of policy development, positioning and implementation, connecting external insight and community need with organisational priorities, alongside identifying and realising funding and non-funding partnership opportunities.
• Strong analytical, performance-management and improvement skills, using data, management information and learning to support decisions, improve operational effectiveness and evidence measurable impact.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication, including producing clear advice and presentations for senior governance forums and operating effectively in Board or Committee decision-making environments.
• Financial and governance acumen, including costing, financial modelling, budgeting, grant-budget oversight, resource decisions, risk management, accountability and effective stewardship of public funds.

Desirable Criteria:

• Experience of grant-making or working closely with communities, civil society and organisations serving diverse communities.
• Experience of developing innovative funding and non-funding partnerships across the voluntary and community, public and private sectors.
• Experience of bringing together policy, partnerships, planning, performance, insight, improvement or evaluation within a single strategic function.
• A demonstrable commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion and to the Fund’s values and purpose.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion ​

Communities in the UK come in all shapes and sizes. National Lottery funding is for everyone – therefore, we are committed to equity, diversity and inclusion and we work hard to ensure our funding reaches where it is needed.

We also believe our people should represent the communities, organisations and individuals we work with. That’s why The National Lottery Community Fund is committed to being an inclusive employer and a great place to work. We recognise and celebrate the fact that our people come from diverse backgrounds. We positively welcome applications from people from ethnic minority backgrounds, people with disabilities or longstanding health conditions, people who are LGBTQ+, and people from different socio-economic and educational backgrounds, as well as people of all ages.

As a Disability Confident Employer, we take a proactive approach in making reasonable adjustments, if needed, throughout the recruitment process and during employment. (This can be related to a physical and mental health condition.)

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £75,000, The National Lottery Community Fund contributes

£21,727 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

A full list of our benefits can be found on our website using the link:

• Generous Civil Service Pension scheme
• Flexible working
• Enhanced paid maternity/paternity leave
• Paid volunteering leave
• Season ticket loan

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 candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

Upload your CV in word format and write a supporting statement (1000 words), aligning your statement to the Essential criteria. We will use this to score your application.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) 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 European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• 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

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the

Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window)

and the

Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window) .

Apply and further information

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available.

You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : recruitment@tnlcommunityfund.org.uk
• Email : recruitment@tnlcommunityfund.org.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : recruitment@tnlcommunityfund.org.uk

Further information

• https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/about-us/working-for-us/benefits-of-working-with-us
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