Chief Operating Officer (COO) Full Time

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) will provide strategic leadership, overseeing CO transformation (CO Future) as well as corporate functions across the Cabinet Office which include current major corporate change programmes (Shared Services, Technology and AI Adoption and Locations Strategy). You will be accountable for ensuring functional expertise and resources are in place to deliver the department’s strategic objectives.

Job description

The Chief Operating Officer will:

• Oversee departmental change and transformation, including delivery of CO Future, to create a more strategic, specialist and simpler department.
• Oversee significant corporate services transformation including onboarding to a new shared Finance and HR system (as part of x-government shared services strategy), consolidating corporate services resources, and exploiting opportunities to share services across departments including within the shared services cluster.
• Be accountable for and, along with the Finance Director, support the Permanent Secretary in their role as Accounting Officer with managing a £1.1 billion departmental budget.
• Create and lead on the department’s strategic plan, working with the Cabinet Office Executive Board to deliver on the strategic objectives, ensuring performance through the annual business plan is effective and efficient and implementing within the Cabinet Office the principles and practices established in the Civil Service Modernisation & Reform Programme.
• Oversee the department’s strategy on digital technology and AI adoption, integrating this effectively with our workforce and productivity priorities.
• Guarantee appropriate corporate governance for the organisation, ensuring this is in place and adequately supported, including providing assurance mechanisms and policies for meeting its obligations on data protection, departmental security, freedom of information, public and parliamentary correspondence.
• Hold strategic oversight of the department’s financial portfolio ensuring that a robust system of internal control is in place, including effective risk and resource management so that CO can manage within its settlement.
• Hold strategic oversight of the department’s people strategy policies and processes by ensuring that the HR functions are in place to deliver recruitment, succession planning, training, personal development of staff and other people priorities
• Oversee the CO Locations Programme which will deliver a great place to work where our people, located across the UK including in our key growth locations of Glasgow (2HQ) and York, are empowered to deliver the finest public services and better represent the people and places they serve.

Person specification

To help you succeed in this role, you will be able to demonstrate the following;

• Outstanding leadership skills, with the ability to set a compelling vision and build high performing diverse teams through developing capability and an inclusive culture.
• Experience of leading corporate strategies and culture change programmes in a complex, fast paced environment with challenging deadlines.
• Success in implementing large scale business transformation.
• Astute business awareness, understanding the changing context to manage risk and demonstrate the ability to reach sound judgements and decisions based on evidence and suitable to the business needs.

• Evidence of highly developed interpersonal and influencing skills with experience of developing and maintaining effective relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders to deliver results.
• Evidenced technical experience and capability in one or more professional areas of Finance, DDaT, HR or Commercial

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £130,000, Cabinet Office contributes £37,661 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

Selection process details

To apply, please complete the online application process by visiting CS jobs and submit your application online.  If you are unable to apply online please submit your application to craig.nannestad@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Either way, please send the following information by no later than 23:55, 17 November 2025

• Your CV, with educational and professional qualifications and full employment history, including an explanation of any gaps in your employment history, and details where possible of budgets and numbers of people
• A short covering statement of no more than two A4 sized pages (1000 words) explaining why this appointment interests you and how you can evidence your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the criteria in the ‘Person Specification’ section on page 6.
• A diversity monitoring form. All applicants are invited to complete this information to assist the Civil Service with monitoring its recruitment process. All data is reported in an anonymous and aggregate format and will not be seen by anyone assessing your application.
• A declaration of interest form.

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