Dr. Owen Jackson

Owen is Deputy Director, Implementation for the Geospatial Commission – responsible for delivering the set of programmes and interventions required to unlock the value from the UK’s geospatial data.  He is the Portfolio Director for the Commission, and SRO for specific elements of the Portfolio.  As the Cabinet Office’s Head of Profession for Science and Engineering, he is responsible for championing the Profession and ensuring it meets the needs of scientists and engineers in the Cabinet Office.

Prior to this role in the Commission, he was an Assistant Director in the Civil Contingencies Secretariat in the Cabinet Office.  The Secretariat ensures the UK is planning for, preventing where possible, able to respond to and recover from any natural hazards or man-made threats.  While there he led teams responsible for short-term horizon scanning and managing the UK Government’s central crisis management response functions (COBR), international engagement with bilateral and multilateral partners, and a network of resilience advisers based in UK Embassies overseas. 

He has also served as a Deputy Director in the Northern Ireland Office responsible for the legacy of the Troubles, as the Private Secretary to the Deputy National Security Adviser, and has had other roles in defence sales and in the Government Office for Science.  Prior to joining the Civil Service he was a research microbiologist.