Deputy Director of Digital Portfolio and Capability
Description
- Job grade: SCS Pay Band 1
- Contract type: Permanent
- Business area: CPS - HQ Digital Information Directorate (DID)
- Type of role: Digital, Senior leadership
- Working pattern: Flexible working, Full-time
- Number of jobs available: 1
Location
About the job
Job summary
The Crown Prosecution Service is seeking a strategic and inclusive senior leader to become our Deputy Director of Digital Portfolio and Capability. Reporting to the Chief Digital and Information Officer and serving on the Digital Senior Leadership Team, you will strengthen the performance and organisational effectiveness of the Digital and Information Directorate.
This is a broad leadership role spanning portfolio management, governance, business relationship management, workforce planning and organisational performance. You will ensure that demand for digital services and change is prioritised effectively, resources are directed to greatest value, and the directorate has the skills and capacity needed to deliver its objectives.
The Crown Prosecution Service operates across England and Wales, and this role can be based in any CPS office within these locations. Please note that regular travel will be required as part of the role, and it is subject to the CPS hybrid working policy.
As part of this role, you are expected to undertake direct line management responsibilities.
This is an exciting and fast-paced role with a real opportunity to make a difference. Find out more about the Crown Prosecution Service.
Job description
Your roles and responsibilities:
- Lead the Digital and Information Directorate business plan and contribute to the organisation’s Digital and Technology Strategy.
- Own the digital portfolio, aligning investment, delivery capacity and resources with strategic priorities.
- Lead governance, assurance and performance frameworks, providing clear insight on risk, dependencies, benefits and delivery confidence.
- Build trusted relationships across the CPS and with external partners, translating business needs into coherent digital roadmaps and investment plans.
- Lead workforce strategy and capability planning, including recruitment, succession, talent, learning and development and specialist digital career pathways.
- Direct financial and resource planning, ensuring affordability, value for money and effective use of people, budgets and suppliers.
- Provide visible, inspirational leadership to senior managers and multidisciplinary teams, fostering an inclusive, user-focused and continuously improving culture.
A copy of the full job description is attached.
Person specification
You must clearly demonstrate evidence of the following essential criteria, which are assessed throughout the selection process, including at the shortlisting and interview stages.
Essential criteria:
- Significant senior leadership exposure within a complex digital, transformation, programme, or corporate environment, with a track record of improving organisational performance and leading change across multiple functions.
- Proven experience of portfolio, demand, and resource management, including prioritising competing requirements, workforce planning, investment decisions and ensuring capacity and capability are aligned to future demand.
- Strong experience of governance, assurance, financial management and organisational performance, with the judgement to introduce appropriate controls while remaining pragmatic, outcome-focused, and able to operate at pace.
- Demonstrable ability to build trusted relationships and influence at senior level, acting as a credible partner across digital, policy, operations and corporate functions and effectively unblocking complex organisational issues.
- Experience of leading significant programmes and cross-cutting change, with the ability to operate as an SRO or senior accountable leader across organisational boundaries and connect digital, data, and technology activity to wider business outcomes.
- A strong track record of building organisational capability, including workforce and succession planning, developing teams, shaping new roles, and operating models, and creating the skills and capability needed for the future.
Benefits
The Crown Prosecution Service is passionate about ensuring that we're a top performing organisation and a great place to work. We're a committed equal opportunities employer, creating a culture where you can bring your whole self to work, and individuality is truly appreciated.
This culture of inclusion is underpinned by our staff networks covering disability, faith and belief, LGBTQI+, race, social mobility alongside our mental health first aiders programme and wellbeing sessions.
The Crown Prosecution Service commits to offer its employees the following experience:
- You can do impactful, purposeful work that’s making a difference to your local communities.
- You are able to learn and grow, with access to the right opportunities and resources.
- We care about your wellbeing.
- We want you to feel valued, trusted and included.
We also offer the following range of benefits:
- Civil Service contributory pension of up to 28.9%
- 25 days’ leave, increasing to 30 days after 5 years
- an extra privilege day to mark the King's birthday
- £350 each year to spend on personal development
- competitive maternity, paternity and parental leave
- flexible working including flexitime, and a family friendly approach to work, subject to business and operational needs
- Cycle2Work scheme, employee savings.
Diversity at the Crown Prosecution Service is about inclusion, embracing differences and ensuring our workforce truly reflects the communities we serve. We want you to feel that you belong and can thrive, whatever your background, identity or culture. As a Disability Confident employer, we're happy to support requests for reasonable adjustments and improve your recruitment experience. If you'd like any reasonable adjustments made to our recruitment process, let us know within your application. You can find out more about reasonable adjustments and the Disability Confident Scheme at Civil Service Reasonable Adjustments and Disability Confident Scheme.
We want to ensure our employees can thrive at work and home and offer a range of support to achieve a balance. This includes flexibility of working hours, flexibility to support caring responsibilities and a flexible approach to deployment. We offer a hybrid working policy. There is an expectation that you spend at least 40% of your contracted hours over a four-week period at court, in an office or another official workplace depending on business need and the kind of work you're doing.
Things you need to know
Artificial intelligence
Selection process details
Global Resourcing are managing this competition on behalf of the Crown Prosecution Service.
The recruitment process will consist of an online application, followed by a number of assessments (virtual and in-person), and an interview held in person.
If you would like to discuss the role confidentially before applying, or require more information about the recruitment process, please contact Lauren O'Brien at Global Resourcing on 020 8253 1806 or email CPS-DDPortfolio@global-resourcing.com
Application
When you are ready to apply, please contact Lauren O’Brien on 020 8253 1806 or email CPS-DDPortfolio@global-resourcing.com ahead of the application deadline, 23:55pm on Sunday 6th December 2026.
Your submission must include:
- A personal statement (maximum 1,250 word) outlining how your personal skills, qualities, and experience demonstrate your suitability for the role. Please include relevant examples to demonstrate how you meet the essential criteria set out in the person specification.
- Your current CV (maximum two A4 pages), including your educational and professional qualifications, full employment history, and an explanation of any employment gaps.
- Details of your current remuneration package.
- The names of at least two referees who may be contacted after the interview stage. Please state the capacity in which they have known you and for how long. Referees will not be contacted without your consent.
Your personal statement and CV/experience are used to assess your suitability at the application stage. If you do not submit all required information, the panel has only limited information on which to assess your application against the criteria in the person specification.
Applications cannot be amended once submitted. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure all required information is provided in the specified format at the point of submission to be considered.
Longlist
Applications will be assessed against the essential criteria in the Person Specification to identify candidates who demonstrate suitability for the role and progress to the longlist.
Shortlist
Longlisted applications will be further assessed against the essential criteria in the Person Specification to identify candidates who best demonstrate suitability for the role and progress to the shortlist. Failure to address any or all of the essential criteria may affect your application.
Assessments
If you are shortlisted, you undertake a number of assessments prior to your final interview, including staff engagement exercise and individual leadership assessment (ILA), a series of psychometric assessments, concluding with a session with the psychologist.
These assessments will not result in a pass or fail decision. Rather, they are designed to support the panel's decision making and highlight areas for the panel to explore further at interview. Find out more about SCS assessments.
Interview
You then attend a panel interview following the individual leadership assessment and staff engagement exercise. This provides an opportunity for a more in-depth discussion of your previous experience and professional competence in relation to the essential criteria set out in the person specification. You also deliver a presentation at interview; full details of the process are provided to shortlisted candidates.
Regardless of the outcome, we will notify all candidates as soon as possible after the final assessment and panel interview. Feedback will only be provided to candidates that progress onto the interview stage
Key dates
- Application deadline: 23:55pm on Sunday 6th December 2026
- Individual leadership assessment (online): 5-11 January 2027
- Staff engagement exercise (in person at London): Tuesday 12 January 2027
- Interview (in person at London): Thursday 4 February 2027
Your co-operation in making yourself available during this time is much appreciated. We always offer as much flexibility as possible, but unfortunately, it is not possible to provide alternative dates for assessments or interviews. You are therefore asked to note the timetable set out above and exercise flexibility throughout the recruitment and selection process in order to meet the given dates. Please note that these dates may change.
Reserve list
A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months, which the Civil Service may use to fill future suitably similar vacancies across government for candidates who are considered appointable following interview.
Checks required
The following checks apply if you are shortlisted:
- Complete a conflict of interest form and declare any actual or perceived conflicts between your public duties and private interests, in line with the Civil Service Code. This may include financial interests or relevant relationships involving you or a family member. If you believe you have a relevant interest, please contact Lauren O'Brien at Global Resourcing on 020 8253 1806 or email CPS-DDPortfolio@global-resourcing.com as early as possible.
- Complete a candidate information form and be subject to reference and open-source due diligence checks, including searches of previous public statements, social media, blogs and other publicly available information.
The following checks apply if you are successful at interview:
- Fraud check: if successful at interview, you will undergo pre-employment screening, including a check against the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This involves checking your name, National Insurance number and date of birth. Anyone included on the database is refused employment unless they can demonstrate exceptional circumstances.
- Documentation submitted by unsuccessful candidates will be securely disposed of.
Clearance required
The appointment will be subject to satisfactory completion of checks on health, security and other matters.
If successful you must hold, or be willing to obtain, security clearance to SC level before taking up post.
Find out more about the vetting process.
Current civil servants
If you are a current civil servant and you are currently undergoing any of the following formal actions your application will not be progressed any further:
- Formal discipline action
- Any formal action regarding attendance, poor performance
- Any restriction of duties as a result of disciplinary action
Restrictions
During the period of appointment there will be certain restrictions on political activities Civil Service management code - GOV.UK
Business appointments
Please note that, on leaving the appointment, you are subject to the Government’s business appointment rules, and restrictions on future employment may be imposed. Find out more about business appointments.
Civil Service Commission
If you are dissatisfied with the recruitment process and wish to make a complaint, please contact SCS.RelationshipsTeam@cps.gov.uk with your concerns.
If you remain dissatisfied and wish to make a further complaint, please click on the following link to the Civil Service Commission complaints page Recruitment Complaints - Civil Service Commission
Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles can be found at
Details of the Civil Service Nationality Rules are located at
Candidates are subject to UK immigration requirements. For the most up-to-date information on the requirements of working in the UK, please go to the UK Visas and Immigration website at
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
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
See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
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
Working for the Civil Service
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
Diversity and Inclusion
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : Lauren O'Brien at Global Resourcing
- Email : CPS-DDPortfolio@global-resourcing.com
- Telephone : 020 8253 1806
Recruitment team
- Email : CPS-DDPortfolio@global-resourcing.com
Attachments
| Candidate Information Document - DD of Digital Portfolio Capability 161026 Opens in new window (docx, 954kB) |
| CPS Personal Statement Guidance Opens in new window (docx, 453kB) |
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