Head of Policy

What we do matters

We're a team that delivers

The role

Person specification

Working pattern and hours

Contract type

Expected start date

Benefits

Things to know

How to apply

Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles

What we do matters

Wilton Park is dedicated to solving the most complex global challenges. A home of strategic thought, respectful dialogue, and discreet diplomacy, it is the place people go when they need answers to difficult questions. It is where people turn when they need a space to resolve differences. It is a belief that dialogue and expertise can make the world a better place. Partners work with and return to Wilton Park because of its unique ability to generate new ideas, help them find practical solutions, and support them in building networks of influence.

Wilton Park brings together government, business, civil society, and the expert community in a secure environment where they can challenge, understand, and learn from each other. For government, Wilton Park helps to inject external thinking, build networks, promote agreement, and harness expertise that improves policy and provides strategic foresight. For businesses, it provides unique insights, a platform to engage with policy discussions and the opportunity to understand governments and make themselves better understood. For civil society groups, Wilton Park supports their representation and coordination so that they can maximize their impacts.

As an Executive Agency of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), Wilton Park is proud to support UK foreign policy development. It directly supports UK diplomatic objectives and plays a vital role in strengthening cooperation, dialogue, and multilateralism.

The role

The Head of Policy will play a lead role in delivering the organisations mission to serve as a force for good, promoting the priorities of the FCDO and other UK Government departments and advancing practical solutions to global issues. The post holder will lead a department of Programme Directors and Policy Officers, ensuring strategically focussed, high-quality and impactful events; they will also deliver events themselves. The post holder is a member of the Senior Management Team, the Heads of Department Team and the Risk Committee and will share in the overall leadership of Wilton Park.

Key responsibilities

• Oversee delivery by Programme Directors (PDs) and Policy Officers of an annual programme of policy events that contribute to Wilton Parks financial and impact targets
• Working closely with other Senior Management Team members and PDs, lead strategic thinking for the organisation and development of policy areas
• Lead and line manage seven PDs and the Senior Policy Officer, providing guidance and mentoring as needed and role-modelling Wilton Park behaviours
• In collaboration with the Finance Director set volume and financial targets for PDs and monitor progress
• Manage a small consultant cadre of Associate Programme Directors (APDs) to ensure delivery of events that meet Wilton Park policy and business delivery/financial goals
• Coordinate and participate in stakeholder engagement and communications with FCDO officials and other government departments, partners in national and international organisations and the private sector, to identify and develop topical, timely and policy-relevant events
• Co-chair the FCDO Priorities Fund Board (£1.9m in 2025-6), soliciting and reviewing bids for events that align with the FCDOs priorities
• Oversee the Call for Concepts programme to identify and develop new event options as suggested by HMG departments and posts and the wider Wilton Park network
• Combine policy expertise and a commercial mindset to develop existing and new business opportunities, working with the Head of Partnership Development, including on meetings of Wilton Parks Global Impact Group
• Design, coordinate and deliver an agreed number of events, drawing on Wilton Parks and other networks, using high-quality and outcome-focused facilitation techniques to achieve impact
• Develop and support policy and organisational innovations as appropriate
• As Information Asset Owner, be responsible for managing the risks to personal information and business critical information held within the department
• Contribute to other corporate activities as needed

For full details of this role, please refer to the job description at the bottom of the page.

Person specification

Essential skills

• Strategic leader able to work within a fast-moving, dynamic environment and take effective decisions
• Ability to lead, manage and inspire a large team, including through periods of uncertainty and high pressure
• Good people management skills with proven experience in motivating individuals and increasing team performance
• Comfortable challenging the status quo, being open to, and championing new approaches and managing complexity
• A strong background in policy and delivery of complex, cross-cutting programmes
• Versatility and a willingness to deliver a wide range of corporate and management functions to support the organisations success

Desirable skills

• Substantive policy experience of at least one of the following
• Global Governance and the Multilateral System
• Science, Technology and Innovation
• Climate and Environment
• Global Economy and Trade
• Geopolitics, State and Non-State Actors
• International Peace and Security
• International Development and Global Public Goods
• Strong inter-personal and communication skills
• Excellent self-organisation skills and track record of professional success
• Experience of reporting on outcomes to partners and sponsors
• Acquaintance with Government Functional Standards

Behaviours

This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours. We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Seeing the big picture
• Making effective decisions
• Working together

Working pattern and hours

Full time working for 37 hours (net) per week Monday-Friday including an unpaid lunch break of one hour.

Contract type

Permanent

Expected start date

October 2025 subject to relevant clearances.

Benefits

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension
• Company social events
• Free car parking at Wiston House, the home of Wilton Park
• 25 days annual leave rising to a maximum of 30 days leave after 5 years of service. You will also receive public and privilege holidays per year
• EV charging points at Wiston House
• A range of benefits for financial support, discounts and rewards and employee assistance programme

Things to know

Location

Wilton Park is based in Wiston House, a 16th-century Grade 1 listed house in the heart of the South Downs. This is where the majority of our events are held, and will be your official place of work. You will be expected to travel to Wiston House to attend the events you have worked on, as well as for staff and team days to connect with your colleagues. Wiston House is not accessible via public transport, and is approximately 20 minutes by taxi from the nearest railway station (Shoreham-by-Sea). You will be able to stay the night at Wiston House during events if you do not live locally. As Wiston House is the official place of work, Wilton Park is unable to reimburse travel costs to get there.

Wilton Park staff are also able to work from FCDO Headquarters in Whitehall, and one or two members of Policy Department are there most days. Most Policy Department staff also work from home 2-3 days per week.

Selection process details

A panel will conduct an initial sift of applications and will score applicants against the behaviours and first three essential skills listed on the job description (see document at the bottom of the advert). Interviews and additional assessment activities will be assessed against the behaviours and skills outlined in the job descriptions. Applications must be factually accurate and should be your own work. If there is any evidence of plagiarism, including presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own, your application will be withdrawn.

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

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is Developed Vetting (DV). See our vetting charter. If the successful candidate does not already have DV clearance, a permanent appointment will be conditional on securing it.

In addition to nationality requirements outlined below, to pass security clearance you are required to have a UK footprint of 2 in the last 5 years (including as a Crown Servant overseas). This is a mandatory requirement of National Security Vetting (NSV).

Eligibility

You will be eligible for appointment only if:

• You are a British citizen;or
  
• You have been resident in the UK for at least two of the previous ten years, at least one year of which must have been a consecutive twelve-month period, unless you have served overseas with HM Forces or in some other official capacity as a representative of Her Majestys Government, or have lived overseas as a result of your parents or partners Government employment. Also, to enable the appropriate security checks to be carried out, you must have lived for at least three consecutive years in one country.

You should be aware that a lack of sufficient background information may prevent you from being granted security clearance.

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 and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.

How to apply

Please complete the online application process using the Apply for this job link at the top of the page. As part of this process, you will be asked for:

• An anonymised CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements
• A 1000 word Personal Statement explaining your suitability for the role and how you meet each of the criteria listed under the Essential skills section of the Person specification. PLEASE NOTE, ONLY THE FIRST 1000 WORDS WILL BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT WHEN ASSESSING YOUR APPLICATION.
• A 250 word statement for each Behaviour (as listed under the Person specification above), explaining how you meet the required criteria as outlined in the Success Profiles framework. PLEASE NOTE, ONLY THE FIRST 250 WORDS WILL BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT WHEN ASSESSING YOUR APPLICATION.

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

Email: [email protected]

Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles

Wilton Parks recruitment processes are underpinned by the principle of selection for appointment on merit, on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should, in the first instance, contact [email protected]. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from Wilton Park, you can contact the Office of the Civil Service Commissioners at [email protected]