Head of Service Strategy

Level: Head of 
Location: National with 4 days per month in Bedford
Application deadline: 23.55hrs 5th July 2026

Where leadership meets lasting national impact.

The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) exists to deliver a clear and compelling vision: better financial futures for everyone in need. As an arm’s-length body sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions, MaPS plays a central role in the UK’s financial wellbeing landscape, ensuring that people can access trusted guidance and the information they need to make confident financial decisions throughout their lives. Through its core functions of pensions guidance, debt advice, money guidance, consumer protection and strategy, MaPS brings together policy, delivery and innovation in service of a single national mission.

As part of that mission, MaPS is delivering a once-in-a-generation transformation in how people engage with their pensions.

The Pension Data Platform underpins pensions dashboards, enabling individuals to access all their pensions, securely and in one place, for the first time. As we move from programme delivery into live service, we are building the leadership capability to evolve and sustain a national digital infrastructure serving millions of users and thousands of pension schemes.
This role is about defining what comes next.

The role
As Head of Service Strategy, you will lead the long-term direction of the platform, ensuring its evolution is driven by clear policy outcomes, user needs and system-level thinking.

Reporting to the Service Owner, you will set the strategic roadmap for the service, translating policy intent into a coherent, future-facing plan for how the platform develops over time.

You will act as the bridge between government policy, user insight and digital delivery, ensuring that the platform remains relevant, inclusive and sustainable as the ecosystem matures.

What you will be responsible for
•    Strategic vision & roadmap – defining the 3–5 year direction for the platform, aligned to MaPS and wider government priorities
•    Policy to service translation – turning legislative change and policy intent into clear service outcomes and roadmap priorities
•    User-centred evolution – embedding user research and service design to ensure the platform meets the needs of all citizens
•    Ecosystem alignment – working with industry to ensure long-term compatibility between PDP and provider transformation
•    Backlog and prioritisation – shaping strategic priorities across product and service backlogs to maximise user and policy value
•    Service quality & performance – defining success measures, SLAs and impact frameworks for the live service

Your impact

You will ensure that the Pension Data Platform:
•    Evolves in line with policy, regulation and user needs
•    Delivers a coherent, high-quality experience across the ecosystem
•    Remains inclusive, accessible and future-proof
•    Balances innovation with stability in a live, regulated environment

Who we’re looking for
You will bring strong strategic leadership, a user-centred mindset and the ability to operate across complex public and industry landscapes.

Essential experience:
•    Leading strategy for large-scale digital services (ideally within a GDS or equivalent environment)
•    Translating policy or regulatory frameworks into digital products or services
•    Driving user-centred design and service transformation
•    Working across complex stakeholder environments spanning government, regulators and industry

Key skills:
•    Strategic thinking with the ability to define and communicate a clear long-term vision
•    Strong influencing and alignment skills across senior stakeholders
•    Ability to synthesise policy, user insight and technical constraints into coherent plans
•    Confidence operating in a high-profile, evolving national programme

Why join us
This is a rare opportunity to shape the future of a national digital infrastructure at scale.

You will define how pensions dashboards evolve over time, ensuring they continue to deliver value for millions of people, industry and government.

If you want to lead at the intersection of strategy, policy, user experience and digital delivery, and influence a service that will make a real difference to the lives of millions of people, helping them plan for retirement and improve their financial wellbeing, we would welcome a confidential conversation. Please contact GatenbySanderson:
Olivia Robinson, Associate Consultant: Olivia.robinson@gatenbysanderson.com
Khadeeja Khalid, Senior Researcher: Khadeeja.khalid@gatenbysanderson.com