Jayne Brady took up her role as Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service in September 2021 and is the first female and external appointment to this post in the institution’s 100-year history.
She is responsible for the strategic leadership and management of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, an organisation comprising of 24,000 staff and which manages an annual budget of over £20bn. Jayne serves as Secretary to the Northern Ireland Executive and is the most senior advisor to the First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland. She led the civil service during the two-year collapse of the NI government and played a key supporting role in its successful restoration in February 2024.
An engineer by profession, Jayne has spent 25+ years in the private sector in advanced technology. She has extensive board experience and a considerable track record of success in blue-chip corporations, start-ups and funding ecosystems both domestically and internationally.
Her previous roles include: Innovation Commissioner, Venture Capital Partner, and co-founder of an AI machine vision start-up.
Jayne has a strong, established professional network. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors, the Institution of Engineering and Technology and the Irish Academy of Engineers. She was also a member of the UK Government’s Innovation Expert Group which developed the 2021 Innovation Strategy and in 2020 was appointed as an Entrepreneurial Expert for Oxford University. Her contribution to the economy and innovation have been recognised both nationally and internationally, receiving an MBE in 2018 and an honorary doctorate from Queen’s University Belfast in 2019.
As one of Northern Ireland’s most senior leaders and public servants, Jayne is deeply committed to delivering economic and social development through bold and strategic innovation. Her passion is to enable communities to better realise sustainable pathways out of poverty, enhance their economic activity, and foster opportunity and inclusion.
Jayne is married and has three teenage children.