Assistant Head, Strategy Development

Job summary

Do you want to work on one or the most exciting transformation projects in the public sector?

The Defence Housing Service (DHS) is being created through the Armed Forces Bill to deliver a step-change in housing for the UK’s Armed Forces and their families following the publication of the Defence Housing Strategy on 3 November 2025, which marked the most significant change to Armed Forces housing in over 50 years. DHS will bring a dedicated focus to improving the homes, communities and lived experience of Service personnel, placing families firmly at the heart of everything it does.

This is one of the most ambitious housing transformation programmes in the UK today. Backed by a £9.2 billion investment, DHS will modernise tens of thousands of homes, introduce a more proactive and customer-focused approach to maintenance, and unlock new opportunities to develop housing on Defence land. DHS will have the focus and agility to deliver change at pace, combining public service values with greater flexibility to build the skills, systems and partnerships needed for the future.

This is a rare opportunity to be part of shaping its culture, influencing how it works, and helping deliver lasting improvements for Service families across the UK.

The Defence Housing team is currently part of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), who respond to the evolving needs of our military personnel, and the ways in which they live, work, train and deploy. We are proud to be the expert partner Defence needs for all their infrastructure requirements. From large scale infrastructure projects such as runways for the F35 fighter jets to net carbon-zero accommodation for our Service families, our activities focus relentlessly on our customers, and our outputs are unique in the UK and across the globe!

DIO , What we deliver every day.

The future delivery model for this team is currently under review and may change as part of potential organisational developments. This could include the team or function transferring to a different employer or organisational structure in the future. Should activities transfer out of the Ministry of Defence existing employees transferring with those activities will maintain the same, or substantially the same, terms and conditions of employment.

Job description

As Assistant Head, Strategy Development, you’ll will work closely with the Deputy Head of Strategy, cross-cutting stakeholders and experts, to translate strategic priorities into clear, deliverable outputs.

You’ll bring together evidence, insight and a range of perspectives, to tackle complex cross-cutting strategy challenges, whilst enhancing business capabilities and driving performance. You’ll lead on a variety of interesting strategic areas, which are likely to include the Corporate Strategy, Annual Report and bespoke cross-cutting projects, that ensure Service Personnel and their families are at the heart of defence development activities.

You’ll need to hit the ground running, with strong strategic thinking, leadership capabilities and a track record of seeing the bigger picture, turning complex issues into clear, practical recommendations. You’ll be passionate about building strategy from the ground up and dedicating time and resources to develop team capability, to make DIO Accommodation Strategy a great place to work.

Responsibilities

• Support delivery of key DIO strategies, such as the Corporate Strategy, to provide a clear vision, evidence-based objectives and deliverable outputs for the organisation.

• Bring together stakeholder perspectives, to address gaps and opportunities to support clear decision making, against Strategy deliverables.

• Lead monitoring and reporting against The Defence Housing Strategy recommendations, identifying key risks and areas for improvement.

• Lead and line-manage a small Strategy team, providing guidance and mentorship as required, to ensure alignment with strategy development and delivery.

• Lead high-profile, cross cutting projects on behalf of senior leaders, to help drive forward delivery of Defence Housing Strategy recommendations and wider organisational priorities.

• Provide clear strategic outputs that influence tangible operational and policy change, putting Service Personnel and their families at the heart of areas for improvement.

• Ensure recommendations from strategic projects have clear owners and implementation arrangements to drive successful delivery; establishing project structures, plans and governance to maintain momentum, managing risk and dependencies to deliver high-quality outcomes.

• Build and maintain strong working relationships with a wide range of stakeholders including internal DIO teams, wider MOD colleagues, external partners and serving personnel/families and their representatives.

Person specification

To be successful in this role you’ll need to demonstrate the following essential criteria in your application: (weighting order):

1. Demonstrable experience of strategic thinking, strategy development and delivery. (personal statement)

2. Strong leadership capabilities, able to work with and bring together a wide range of individuals and teams to work on shared objectives. (personal statement)

3. Experience of project and/or programme management, including structure, governance and risk management.

4. Line management experience, including building capability and developing high performing teams.

5. Able to demonstrate ability to analyse evidence, evaluate options and make strategic recommendations.

6. Excellent stakeholder management skills, able to build strong working relationships, to influence and deliver objectives.

Additional information

We have a strong learning and development ethos, supporting you to fulfil your potential by providing learning and development tailored to your role, professional skills development, access to thousands of training courses through Civil Service Learning and the ability to obtain industry recognised qualifications, supported by MOD.

This role can be based at London SW1A 2HB, Whittington WS14 9PY, Andover SP11 8HJ, Wyton PE28 2EA or Bristol BS34 8QW. Work location will be agreed once the successful candidate has been selected.

This job role may be suitable for hybrid working, which is an informal, non-contractual and voluntary arrangement, blending a balance of attendance in the workplace (your permanent duty station, which is based on business assessment of where the work is best done) and working from home as a personal choice (if the role is suitable for this). If you are successful, any opportunities for hybrid working will be discussed with you prior to you taking up your post.

Dependent on the business need, there will be a requirement to travel to meetings within the UK (and potentially occasional overseas visits).

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Making Effective Decisions
• Leadership
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace

Benefits