Location
Elgin Ave., London with opportunities to be based in the Manchester hub

Hours
Full Time

Salary
£86,000 per annum

About the Role
As Deputy Director of Gambling & Lotteries within the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), you will lead an exceptional team navigating a fast-moving, high-profile sector that balances economic significance with profound social responsibility. You will advise Ministers on complex regulatory issues, shape evidence-based policy in a heavily contested environment, and drive a world-leading consumer protection agenda.

This critical SCS1 role focuses on three core strategic pillars:
- Gambling Policy & Regulatory Reform: Drive ongoing legislative changes and finalise the implementation of the Gambling White Paper. Anticipate future industry trends, risks, and innovations while robustly addressing gambling harms using evidence.
- National Lottery Reform & Stewardship: Oversee the National Lottery framework to maximise its multi-billion pound success and integrity. Bring entrepreneurial, delivery-focused thinking to future reforms, ensuring approximately £1.8bn per annum in returns delivers for UK communities.
- Strategic Stakeholder & ALB Governance: Act as the trusted advisor to Ministers and lead DCMS’s relationship with vital partners including the Gambling Commission, the Horserace Betting Levy Board, the National Lottery operator, industry executives, and gambling harm charities.

You will lead a high-performing, multi-disciplinary team of around 30 professionals dedicated to delivering high-impact policy across the gambling and lotteries sectors. Leading through three team leaders, you will oversee portfolios covering Gambling Policy; Lotteries, Racing, and Arms-Length Bodies (ALBs); and Lottery Reform. You will hold strategic oversight and sponsorship of key delivery partners and drive the relationship with the National Lottery operator to support their mandate to double funding for good causes across the UK.

While DCMS operates as a cohesive national unit, the Manchester hub is a key growth area currently hosting approximately 30% of the wider directorate alongside London (60%) and regional offices (10%). The department encourages applications from candidates wishing to be based in Manchester to support growing senior leadership presence outside London.

An information session about the role will be held virtually on Monday 3rd August at 15:00 via Google Meets. This session will provide an opportunity to learn more about the role, team, and department, and to ask questions about the application and interview process. Please note the session will not be recorded and attendance requires prior registration before 09:00 on Monday 3rd August.

Experience
- Proven leadership ability to inspire, direct, and develop a high-performing, resilient, multi-disciplinary team.
- Strong experience making effective decisions using complex commercial, behavioural, or statistical data and legal/regulatory frameworks in high-stakes, scrutinised environments.
- Exceptional capability to build transparent partnerships, constructively challenge senior leaders, and build trust with diverse and polarised stakeholder groups.
- Proven track record of moving from strategy to concrete execution, fostering innovative thinking and translating emerging trends into tangible public protections.
- Experience translating macro-level economic, social, and political trends into cohesive strategy anticipating market innovations and public impacts.

About you
- Strategic thinker with excellent stakeholder management skills.
- Resilient and adaptable leader comfortable working in a fast-paced, politically sensitive environment.
- Collaborative team player who values transparency and constructive challenge.

Qualifications
- While no specific qualifications are mandated, extensive senior leadership experience in policy, regulation, or related sectors is essential.

Desirable Skills
- Experience working within a regulated sector or regulatory body.

Behaviours Assessed
- Leadership
- Making Effective Decisions
- Working Together
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Changing and Improving