David Hill

Director General, Strategy and Water at Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)

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Director General, Strategy and Water, Defra
Policy Leaders Fellow, Centre for Science and Policy

David Hill is Director General for Strategy and Water at Defra. He joined the department in December 2018 as Director of Environmental Quality, became Director General for Environment, Rural and Marine in December 2019, then was Director General for Environment until June 2024.

Prior to joining Defra, David was Director of Strategic Commissioning and Policy at Essex County Council, leading the authority’s work on place-based interventions and sustainable growth. David has held a number of senior roles in various Government Departments including Director of Apprenticeships in DfE/BIS from 2015 to 2017 where he was SRO for the Apprenticeship Reform programme; Director of Strategy and Communications in DCLG, and a member of the DCLG Board, from 2013 to 2015; and Principal Private Secretary to the Communities Secretary from 2011 to 2013. Earlier in his career David coordinated UK international climate change strategy in preparation for the COPs in Copenhagen and Cancun.

Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)

Director General, Strategy and Water

  • 6 February 2024, 4pm

    Nature recovery networks

    In partnership with National Highways, CSaP organised a Policy Workshop on Nature recovery netwoeks and habitat connectivity in the UK. You can download the report from our website.

  • In news articles

    Behaviour change and sustainability

    CSaP in collaboration with Professor Charles Kennel, Director Emeritus at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, delivered the 2022 series of climate change seminars hosted by Christ’s College, Cambridge. The second seminar chaired by Dr Rob Doubleday – CSaP Executive Director – explored how behavioural science can inform policymaking to improve sustainability and help reach net zero.