Sir David Normington KCB - Permanent Secretary, Home Office

As Permanent Secretary, I chair the Home Office Board and am responsible for the overall running of a department which has over 27,000 employees and an annual expenditure of over £10 billion. I also sit on the Civil Service Steering Board, which seeks to set the overall direction of the Civil Service. I have a particular interest in leadership development and am also a member of the Senior Leadership Committee.

Last updated - 12th December 2008

My background

The first 22 years of my civil service career were spent in the Department for Employment. In 1995 I became Director General for Schools and later, Permanent Secretary, at the newly-formed Department for Education and Skills. I’ve been in my current role since January 2006. A closer examination of my career path through the Civil Service shows it follows the principles of Professional Skills for Government - long before it was thought of!

Career highlight

I got a great buzz early in my career from managing a local office in East London, setting up the first-ever youth training scheme. At a senior level, I enjoyed particularly as Director General for Schools, being involved in raising standards in schools.

Looking forward

All my working hours are spent on trying to create a Home Office which has the confidence of the public and in which staff are proud to work. This is the biggest challenge of my career so far. But I believe achieving it is important to the security of the country and to the reputation of the Civil Service.