JOB DESCRIPTION

As the Deputy Director you’ll:

Lead an established team on spend control and service assessment management, ensuring high-quality delivery of digital programmes and projects across government.

• Design and deliver innovative, data-based approaches to monitoring departmental progress against the Blueprint for Modern Digital Government and driving greater accountability for outcome delivery and decision making across government. This will include oversight of and management of performance management approaches across Government, continuously improving and innovating in line with industry best practice.
• Implement a programme of work to transform the assurance function into a quicker, easier user experience for departments. You will lead on the design and delivery of digital tools to more efficiently deliver spend controls and better draw on the expertise of GDS service lines. Manage teams of advisors engaging with departments and create and maintain robust escalation processes to provide strategic oversight to the advice given.

• Build trusted relationships with senior Digital, Data and Technology leaders across departments, as well as with senior officials in GDS and DSIT. You will work regularly and closely with Ministers, articulating complex digital challenges clearly and compellingly, including on spend control.

• • Lead on ongoing functional engagement with HMT at major critical spending events such as Spending Reviews and ensure HMT and GDS are supported by expertise in Performance and Assurance.

NATIONALITY REQUIREMENTS

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements

THE GOVERNMENT DIGITAL SERVICE (GDS) IS THE DIGITAL CENTRE OF GOVERNMENT. WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR SETTING, LEADING AND DELIVERING THE VISION FOR A MODERN DIGITAL GOVERNMENT.

Our priorities are to drive a modern digital government, by:

• joining up public sector services
• harnessing the power of AI for the public good
• strengthening and extending our digital and data public infrastructure
• elevating leadership and investing in talent
• funding for outcomes and procuring for growth and innovation
• committing to transparency and driving accountability

We are home to the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (I.AI), the world-leading GOV.UK and at the forefront of coordinating the UK’s geospatial strategy and activity. We lead the Government Digital and Data function and champion the work of digital teams across government.
We’re part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and employ more than 1,000 people all over the UK, with hubs in Manchester, London and Bristol.
The Government Digital Service is where talent translates into impact. From your first day, you’ll be working with some of the world’s most highly-skilled digital professionals, all contributing their knowledge to make change on a national scale.
Join us for rewarding work that makes a difference across the UK. You’ll solve some of the nation’s highest-priority digital challenges, helping millions of people access services they need
You will be joining the Strategy and Assurance Directorate, which is responsible for defining the vision, strategy and ambition for government digital and data, including the role of the digital centre, as well as providing rigorous oversight of digital delivery through spend assurance and controls, and service assessments.

THE STANDARD SELECTION PROCESS FOR ROLES AT GDS CONSISTS OF:

• a simple application screening process - We only ask for a CV and cover letter of up to 750 words. Important tip - please ensure that your cover letter includes how you meet the skills and experience listed in the “person specification” section above;
• a video interview. Full details of the assessment process will be provided to shortlisted candidates.
  Depending on how many applications we get, there might also be an extra stage before the video interview, for example a phone interview or a technical exercise.
  While we value the use of AI technology to enhance our daily work, we also value the personal touch and urge applicants to write cover letters without the use of AI to emphasise their own unique experiences.
  In the event we receive a high volume of applications, we will conduct the initial sift against the CV.
  In the Civil Service, we use Success Profiles to evaluate your skills and ability. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, increases performance and improves diversity and inclusivity. We’ll be assessing your technical abilities, skills, experience and behaviours that are relevant to this role.

For this role we’ll be assessing you against the following Civil Service Behaviours:

• leadership
• delivering at pace
• managing a quality service
• communicating and influencing
• Making effective decisions

Recruitment Timeline
Sift completion:
Panel interviews:
Candidates that do not pass the interview but have demonstrated an acceptable standard may be considered for similar roles at a lower grade.
A reserve list will be held for a period of 12 months, from which further appointments can be made.
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service D&I Strategy.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
This role has a minimum assignment duration of 3 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise.
As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.