Chief of Staff

Chief of Staff – Secure Government Technology Service

Location: East Kilbride (Hybrid)

Clearance: SC/DV eligibilty required

Contract: 6 - 12 months

Rate: Competitive (G6-equivalent level)

About the Organisation

We provide the UK Government's secure technology service for working at SECRET across more than 90 departments, arm's length bodies and international partners. With operations spanning 160+ global locations, we're entering a period of significant transformation while maintaining excellence in service delivery.

We're looking for an experienced Chief of Staff to work alongside our Deputy Service Director and extended leadership team to strengthen operational discipline, improve organisational coordination, and ensure confident engagement with senior stakeholders across government.

This is a high-impact role at the centre of one of HMG's most important secure technology services.

The Role

As Chief of Staff, you'll be the leadership execution engine for our RUN organisation. You'll ensure the Deputy Service Director and extended leadership team operate with pace, clarity and discipline—running the leadership rhythm, sharpening decisions, and improving cross-functional alignment.

You won't own operational processes (SLAs, service metrics, vendor contracts)—those sit with functional leads—but you'll work closely with them to ensure delivery issues are surfaced, prioritised, and acted upon. You'll also act as a proxy for senior leaders in engagements with Cabinet Office oversight functions, HMT and other central bodies, helping shape narrative and coordinate key submissions.

Key Responsibilities

• Run the leadership operating rhythm: agendas, board papers, action tracking, forward look and escalation paths
• Ensure decision-making is evidence-based, well-prepared and communicated clearly across the organisation
• Provide the Deputy Service Director with a coherent, timely view of operational performance
• Identify cross-team issues and support senior leaders in resolving delivery risks or misalignment
• Act as proxy for senior leadership in Cabinet Office engagement, supporting submissions, approvals and assurance activity
• Strengthen alignment and information flow across the extended leadership team
• Support delivery of People Plan priorities including Leadership Charter, People Survey actions, and staff engagement initiatives

About You

You're credible, organised, politically astute and able to operate with confidence at senior levels. You bring judgment, discipline and a steady hand. You can distil complexity quickly, challenge constructively, and keep people aligned on what matters.

Essential:

• Experience in a senior operational, leadership-support or Chief of Staff role
• Strong understanding of IT service environments (ITIL/ITSM awareness useful)
• Proven ability to run leadership cadence, governance and decision processes
• Excellent communication skills and ability to prepare clear, concise papers
• Confidence engaging with senior civil servants and cross-government partners
• Strong organisational and analytical skills with ability to influence without authority
• Collaborative, low-ego style that builds trust across teams

Desirable:

• Experience in UK government, regulated environments or multi-stakeholder organisations
• ITIL or programme/PMO-related qualifications

Why Join?

You'll be joining at a uniquely important moment as we strengthen RUN operations while transitioning to next-generation SECRET cloud services. Your work will directly support operational stability today while enabling secure digital capability for government tomorrow.

If you enjoy bringing order to complexity, supporting confident leadership and making large organisations run well, this role offers genuine impact.

To apply, please submit your CV and a brief cover note outlining your relevant experience.

Successful candidates will be required to undergo security clearance vetting.