Job Summary
Role Context
NZB Portfolio leads on the Warm Homes Plan, which is this Government’s flagship commitment to upgrade 5m homes this Parliament, bringing down bills and leading the transition away from gas in heating. We are responsible for delivering the buildings sector share within the carbon budgets framework. That means that we need to ensure that every building in the UK is decarbonised by 2050 through the installation of clean heat technology and improving building efficiency. Buildings account for around 30% of UK greenhouse gas emissions.
Broadly speaking, we need to move to the situation where the installation of a heat pump or connection to a heat network becomes the default choice for domestic consumers as quickly as possible.
There are several policies and incentive schemes that are designed to incentivise consumers to make this choice. Government is also improving consumer information and looking at the role of future regulation in this area. We also oversee several subsidy schemes for low-income households to improve the energy efficiency of their home and make the switch to clean heating. As part of this, we are looking to reform the delivery model for the Plan, to make sure it can lead the transformational change needed.
Job Description
Job description for Deputy Director, Net Zero Buildings Consumer Green Finance:
We are working to develop and deliver the Warm Homes Plan as set out in the Labour manifesto. This included a commitment to offering grants and low interest loans to support investment in insulation and other home improvements, such as solar panels, batteries and low carbon heating.
Several high street banks offer forms of ‘green finance’ (e.g. discounts on mortgage rates) to homeowners to make energy efficiency improvements to their properties. However, demand for these products is low and not commensurate with the scale of private capital that is needed to fund the transition outlined above.
The Warm Homes Plan commits the Government to supporting a wider consumer finance offer for home retrofit and so we need to develop proposals and advice for Ministers and take these through to delivery. We need to understand what role Government should play in supporting the commercial market and how a consumer finance offer could interact with wider policy across the Portfolio, including universal grants for clean heat deployment, grants to low-income households, better consumer information and any regulation on landlords.
The post-holder is also responsible for management of historic casework relating to the Green Deal.
As Deputy Director, Net Zero Buildings Consumer Green Finance, your responsibilities include:
* Lead work for Ministers on a new consumer finance offer for home retrofit across technology types. Ensure that any proposals are complementary to other policies in the Warm Homes Plan, including universal/low-income grants and proposed regulation.
* This work must take into account previous experience and on-going casework from the Green Deal. It will involve close working with HMT and others who have responsibility for the wider consumer finance regulatory landscape, as well as consumer standards for retrofit.
* Take forward the lead option into delivery, working with the National Wealth Fund and industry
* Lead work on wider policy for how the finance sector could further support home retrofit.
* Oversee the Green Homes Finance Accelerator as part of the Net Zero Innovation Programme and ensure that lessons from it are taken into new policy development.
* Build and directly lead a growing team of up to 30 FTE, as well as providing wider leadership across the Portfolio.
Job description for Deputy Director, Warm Homes Delivery:
We are working to develop and deliver the Warm Homes Plan, including the commitment to upgrading 5m homes this Parliament through support for investment in insulation, solar panels, batteries and low-carbon heating. In preparation for the launch of the Warm Homes Plan, we have stood up a project to look at how best to implement the new policies and schemes within the Plan. The project is considering all delivery options given the scale of the ambition that will be core to the Warm Homes Plan.
Successful implementation of the Warm Homes Plan will likely include consumer engagement and promotion, advice and information and consumer protection as well as oversight and administration of grants and loans to support the decarbonisation of buildings. The implementation will be working closely with local and strategic authorities, the newly formed Great British Energy, industry and the wider supply chain.
As Deputy Director Net Zero Buildings Warm Homes Delivery, your responsibilities include:
* Strategy and Scoping
* Working with Ministers to further refine and agree the scope for the new delivery body, working with all impacted organisations.
* Owning the strategic and economic cases within the Business Case.
* Understanding and advising on the interaction between new and evolving policy contained in the Warm Homes Plan and the emerging operating model for the new delivery body.
* Determining the implications for existing partner organisations and DESNZ and how this will progress up to, and after launch of the new body.
* Working across DESNZ to further develop our understanding of the role of strategic and local authorities in buildings decarbonisation over this Parliament, notably defining the role of the new delivery body within local partnerships.
* Establish critical success factors and business targets for the future organisation.
* Leading the legislation required to support the new delivery body. This will require providing leadership throughout the passage of the Bill through Parliament.
* Controlling Mind for the business design of the new Operating Model
* Own the high-level business design for the new Operating Model including business objectives and outcomes for the new Board.
* Manage changes to the design of the operating model.
* Working with partner organisations and DESNZ including Corporate Services to secure agreement to the business design for the new Operating Model.
* Direct leadership of team of c.10 people and wider leadership across the Portfolio.
Person specification
It is essential in your application you provide evidence and proven examples in each of the following selection criteria below:
Essential Criteria:
* Strong policy skills, able to grip and interrogate complex problems and come up with new solutions that are legally, financially, analytically and practically robust; willingness to challenge status quo;
* Ability to lead strategic system thinking with political and commercial awareness;
* Ability to lead high-performing and inclusive teams, working collaboratively across boundaries to drive change and improvement;
* Ability to build strong relationships with Senior Executive Stakeholders across multiple sectors;
* Previous experience in economic policy and regulation.
* Experience of leading organisational change.
* Understanding of the legislative processes.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
* Making Effective Decisions
* Leadership
* Seeing the Big Picture
* Communicating and Influencing
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £81,000, Department for Energy Security & Net Zero contributes £23,465 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero offers a competitive mix of benefits including:
* A culture of flexible working, such as job sharing, homeworking and compressed hours.
* Automatic enrolment into the Civil Service Pension Scheme, with an employer contribution of 28.97%.
* A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by 1 day per year up to a maximum of 30.
* An extensive range of learning & professional development opportunities, which all staff are actively encouraged to pursue.
* Access to a range of retail, travel and lifestyle employee discounts.
Office attendance
The Department operates a discretionary hybrid working policy, which provides for a combination of working hours from your place of work and from your home in the UK. The current expectation for staff is to attend the office or non-home based location for 40-60% of the time over the accounting period. Senior Civil Servant (SCS) staff are expected to aim for closer to 60% of the time at an office or non-home based location over the accounting period.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.
How To Apply
To apply for this post please follow the instructions on the CS Jobs website by no later than 23:55 Sunday 4th January 2026. As part of the application process you are asked to complete the following:
* A CV setting out your career history, highlighting specific responsibilities and achievements that are relevant for this role, relevant achievements in recent posts, together with reasons for any gaps within the last two years.
* A Statement of Suitability (no more than 1,250 words) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the essential criteria in the person specification.
* Final Interview
For further information on the application process and an overview on what to expect, please visit the Civil Service Careers website.
Overview Of The Process
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.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview.
Arrangements for Interview
The final selection panel interview will be held virtually.
If candidates are required to prepare a presentation for their interview, they will be given at least one week’s notice of the subject.
At interview you will be assessed against the Success Profiles; Experience and Behaviours.
For more information about Success Profiles, please follow this link; https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles
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.
Indicative Timeline
Please note that these dates are only indicative at this stage and could be subject to change. If you are unable to meet these timeframes, please let us know by contacting scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk. Please ensure you quote the job title and reference number in your email.
Interviews will be held virtually. Candidates are asked to note the timetable, exercising flexibility through the recruitment and selection process. The anticipated timetable is as follows:
Advert Closing Date – Sunday 4th January 2026
Shortlist Announcement – 15th January 2026
Interviews – 22nd or 23rd January 2026
Further Information
Reasonable Adjustment
We are proud to be a disability confident leader and we welcome applications from disabled candidates and candidates with long-term conditions.
Information about the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) and some examples of adjustments that we offer to disabled candidates and candidates with long-term health conditions during our recruitment process can be found in our DESNZ Candidate Guidance. A DESNZ Plain Text Version of the guidance is also available.
We encourage candidates to discuss their adjustment needs by emailing the job contact which can be found under the contact point for applicants section.
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
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 security check (opens in a new window).See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
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
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
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).
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.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.
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
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.
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 : SCS Recruitment Team
* Email : scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Recruitment team
* Email : scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Further information
Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the recruitment principles, and wish to make a complaint, then you should contact in the first instance scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages at: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/contact-us/