Tom Foster
Biography
Tom has been a civil servant since 2009 when he joined the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Before then, he worked in various consulting and charity roles both in England and overseas. While working in DWP he did a range of roles, latterly working as a Service Owner supporting 18 of DWP’s services from the very small to the very large.
He joined the RPA in 2024 where he supported the expansion of SFI24 and the rollout of Higher Tier. As the Service Owner he leads teams who work to translate policy intent into services that work for farmers and RPA colleagues.
Grants Service Director
As Grants Service Director Tom oversees teams that delivers:
- policy and strategy influencing and alignment
- service design, build and test
- model Office and delivery readiness
- new service rollout to operational teams
- ongoing support and optimisation
His teams work closely with other business areas across RPA, Defra policy teams, and Defra’s Digital Design and Technology Service to make sure that RPA delivers the best end to end farming schemes and grants.