Director General, Customer Services Group, Director General, UK Visas and Immigration, and Director General, His Majesty's Passport Office

Joanna Rowland

Biography

Joanna took up her role as Director General for the Customer Services Group at the Home Office on 8 January 2024.

Joanna had previously served as Director General for Transformation at HMRC, heading the Transformation Business Group since November 2020.

Before that she headed the HMRC programme and project management profession and became interim Director General for COVID-19 response in August 2020, leading the implementation of the Chancellor’s packages to support businesses and jobs such as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

As Head of the Project Delivery Profession for HMRC, Joanna led HMRC’s Transformation Portfolio and a number of critical programmes, including Making Tax Digital for Business.

Before joining HMRC, Joanna delivered several government major projects including the Criminal Justice Efficiency Programme at the Ministry of Justice, and worked as a Programme Director in the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.

Prior to this Joanna enjoyed a successful career in policing, in senior operational and policy roles.

Director General, Customer Services Group

Home Office

Director General, UK Visas and Immigration

Responsible for making millions of decisions every year about who has the right to visit or stay in the country, with a firm emphasis on national security and a culture of customer satisfaction for people who come here legally.

UK Visas and Immigration and Home Office

Director General, His Majesty's Passport Office

Responsible for the issuing of over 6 million passports each year to British citizens and other British nationals, ensuring that the integrity of the British passport is protected at all times.

HM Passport Office and Home Office

Previous roles in government

  • Director General for Transformation
  • Director General, COVID-19 Response Unit