Serious Fraud Office (UK)
Director of the Serious Fraud Office
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Director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO)
Job Summary
The Director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) plays a critical leadership role at the forefront of the UK’s fight against serious and complex economic crime. As head of a unique specialist agency, the Director is responsible for tackling the most significant cases of fraud, bribery and corruption, safeguarding the UK’s economic integrity and maintaining public confidence in the justice system.
The SFO occupies a unique position within the UK criminal justice landscape in that it both investigates and prosecutes its cases. It involves multidisciplinary case teams of lawyers, investigators, forensic accountants and other experts working together from the very outset of investigations. These are some of the most significant and challenging cases in any jurisdiction. They can involve powerful suspects and defendants, vast sums of money, thousands of victims, millions of documents, activity in many countries and the highest levels of public scrutiny.
The Director has ultimate accountability for the SFO’s operational and corporate functions, working closely with the rest of the Executive Committee which comprises the Chief Operating Officer, Director of Operations and Director of Legal Services. They also work with the SFO Board, including four non-executive directors, the Audit Risk and Assurance Committee and other governance structures.
To succeed in this role, you will need to lead the organisation through an ongoing period of change and maintain the momentum it has gained in recent years. First and foremost, the role requires good leadership, a clear vision and a strong ability to deliver results through a variety of teams.
The Director is also responsible for deciding which criminal investigations the SFO should open and which of those cases should be prosecuted. These decisions are supported by robust advice, including legal counsel, from the Executive Committee and operational staff.
They are accountable to the Attorney General for the exercise of their functions and accountable to Parliament, as Accounting Officer, for the expenditure of public funds.
Job Description
In this exciting, varied, and challenging role, the Director’s responsibilities include:
- Setting the direction and priorities of the SFO in collaboration with the senior leadership team.
- Being accountable for the overall performance of the SFO and ensuring its functions are delivered effectively.
- As Accounting Officer, working with the AGO to safeguard public funds while ensuring that the SFO is sufficiently resourced to take its cases through their entire lifecycle from intelligence referral to post-conviction asset recovery.
- Championing a culture of excellence, integrity and inclusion across the organisation, ensuring the SFO attracts, develops and retains exceptional talent and promotes continuous learning and improvement.
- Developing, strengthening and achieving results through constructive relationships with partners across Government, domestic and international law enforcement, the wider public sector, civil society and the private sector to support casework delivery and improve confidence in the SFO.
- Being the public face of the organisation, communicating the SFO’s work effectively to the press and social media audiences to generate interest, trust and support for the SFO’s work.
- Ensuring the SFO contributes to Government policy and strategy to tackle serious and complex economic crime, sharing their unique knowledge and expertise.
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Please see the attached candidate pack for more information.
Person Specification
To be appointed to this role, you will need to provide clear evidence of meeting the following criteria:
- Experience of effective executive level decision-making on both complex operational delivery and strategy, showing an ability to manage risk and make difficult decisions.
- Experience of challenging the status quo and of proactively instigating and leading change in an operational environment, including using technology to drive organisational efficiency and performance.
- Experience of building and maintaining effective relationships with stakeholders at the highest levels of seniority.
- Proven ability to engage staff at all levels of an organisation, delivering through high-performing teams of leaders across different disciplines.
- Experience of leading investigatory or legal functions in any of the following sectors: law enforcement, criminal or civil litigation, public sector organisations.
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £199,000, Serious Fraud Office contributes £57,650 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).
- 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%
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
Selection Process Details
Saxton Bampfylde Ltd is acting as an employment agency advisor to the Serious Fraud Office on this appointment. Candidates should apply for this role through Saxton Bampfylde’s website here using code OCCYA. If you are unable to apply online please submit your application to maria.dodson@saxbam.com.
Please send the following information by no later than 23:55 Friday 30 October.
- 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 ‘relevant experience’ section.
- Notification of any dates you are unable to accommodate within the indicative timetable set out above.
You will also be asked to complete a diversity monitoring form. Please note that references and open-source due diligence checks (including into social media accounts) may be undertaken for all short-listed candidates.
We expect the process for this role to be as follows:
- The closing date for applications will be 23:55pm Friday 30 October 2026
- A longlist of candidates will undertake preliminary interviews with Saxton Bampfylde between Monday 9 and Friday 20 November 2026
- Between Monday 30 November and Friday 11 December 2026 shortlisted candidates will then:
- Participate in a stakeholder engagement panel including SFO colleagues and other key partners
- Meet the Attorney General, the Rt Hon Ellie Reeves KC MP and the Solicitor General, Andy Slaughter KC MP
- Meet the SFO’s Non-Executive Directors
- Inputs from all of those steps will then form the basis of a panel interview, chaired by Tony Poulter OBE from the Civil Service Commission between Monday 14 December and Friday 18 December 2026
- Other panel members at the interview are expected to be:
- Michael Padfield, Acting Director General, AGO
- Claire Bassett, Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Board, SFO
- A representative from the senior leadership of the CPS
- A Permanent Secretary-level official from the Cabinet Office Senior Talent Committee
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Full details will be provided to shortlisted candidates and, recognising that there are a number of steps in the process, we will do our best to arrange the sessions in a way that works for you. We will conduct this process in face-to-face sessions, but if you need any adjustments do let us know.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is developed vetting (opens in a new window). See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.
Nationality Requirements
This Job Is Broadly Open To The Following Groups
- UK nationals
- nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
- individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
- Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.
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 (
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