Location
Central London

Hours
Full Time

Salary
£117,800 per annum

About the Role
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is leading preparations for the UK’s participation at Expo 2030 Riyadh, taking place from 1 October 2030 to 31 March 2031. Expo 2030 is a major global event with an expected 42 million visitors and 197 participating countries, providing a significant opportunity to showcase the UK’s presence on the world stage and highlight the bilateral relationship between the UK and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The UK Pavilion will offer an immersive experience designed to engage diverse audiences including diplomatic partners, businesses, and the visiting public. Every element—from architecture and landscape to interiors, visitor experience, and public and VIP events—will showcase the best of the UK.

This senior leadership role provides strategic direction and oversight to ensure the UK delivers an impactful presence at Expo 2030. Leading a multi-disciplinary team, the Deputy Director integrates strategy, pavilion design, build and operations oversight, commercial negotiations, supplier management, and private sector partnerships into a unified vision that advances government priorities, strengthens UK-KSA relations, and delivers an exceptional visitor and stakeholder experience.

Key responsibilities include strategic stakeholder engagement across Whitehall and the embassy network, procurement strategy and commercial delivery in collaboration with the DBT Commercial team, operational planning, communications, private sector investment, and supplier management. The role requires clear communication and oversight of the creative direction of the UK Pavilion visitor experience and events programme, ensuring alignment with the UK’s strategy and messaging.

The successful candidate will direct a team to ensure efficient completion of critical milestones for the Pavilion’s opening in October 2030, while promoting civil service values across the team.

Experience
- Proven leadership in delivering large-scale, public-facing international events, including oversight of creative design, event operations, and management of hospitality and retail offerings.
- Strong experience managing complex commercial deliverables, including high-value procurements, sponsorships, and brand partnerships.
- Demonstrated ability to deliver through collaboration and partnership in complex environments with senior stakeholders, showing high personal impact and judgement.
- Strong financial acumen with experience in contract and supplier management, overseeing large budgets and supplier ecosystems.

About you
- Excellent interpersonal, communication, and influencing skills, capable of building effective relationships and articulating complex issues clearly to diverse audiences.
- Outstanding people leader with a proven track record of inspiring and motivating large, dispersed, multidisciplinary teams.
- Experience establishing high-performance, collaborative cultures, including during periods of significant pressure and uncertainty.
- Solutions-focused problem solver with strong strategic stakeholder engagement skills.
- Ability to lead workforce planning and champion capability-building across multidisciplinary teams.
- Commitment to promoting civil service values and fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, psychological safety, and high performance.

Qualifications
Not explicitly stated; however, extensive senior leadership experience in relevant fields is essential.