Darren Tierney
Biography
Darren became Permanent Secretary at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in August 2025. Prior to this, he was Director General, Propriety and Constitution Group, holding that role since March 2023. Before this, he joined the Cabinet Office as Director General, Propriety & Ethics in March 2021.
Before joining the Cabinet Office, Darren served as Director of Strategy, from 2016 to 2019, in the Department for International Trade (DIT) and then as Director General for Global Trade and Investment from 2019 to 2021. Before working at DIT, Darren held a number of different roles in the Civil Service, including nine years at the Ministry of Justice where he was responsible for a range of civil and criminal justice policy, including stints as Director of Youth Justice policy and as Principal Private Secretary to the Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke.
Darren spent the early part of his career working on a range of policy roles in transport and housing after studying business administration and modern languages at Queen’s University Belfast.
Previous roles in government
- Director General, Propriety and Constitution Group, Cabinet Office, 2023 to 2025
- Director General, Propriety & Ethics, Cabinet Office, 2021 to 2023
- Director General, Global Trade and Investment, Department for International Trade, 2019 to 2021
- Director of Strategy, Department for International Trade, 2016 to 2019
- Interim Director General of Prison Policy, Ministry of Justice, 2016
- Director of Civil Service Efficiency, Cabinet Office, 2015-2016
- Varied roles, including Director of Youth Justice Policy and Principal Private Secretary to the Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke, Ministry of Justice, 2007-2016
Permanent Secretary, Office for National Statistics
As Permanent Secretary, Darren is responsible for the day-to-day running of the organisation, including leading ONS’s organisational transformation following the Sir Robert Devereux review. As Chair of the Executive Committee (ExCo), Darren sets the strategic direction of ONS and oversees the production and dissemination of ONS’s portfolio of statistics. As Accounting Officer, Darren is accountable for delivery of ONS’s function, performance and value to Parliament.