JOB SUMMARY

The AI Security Institute is the largest team in a government dedicated to understanding AI capabilities and risks in the world. We are based in the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT).
Our mission is to equip governments with an empirical understanding of the safety of advanced AI systems. We conduct research to understand the capabilities and impacts of advanced AI and develop and test risk mitigations. We focus on risks with security implications, including the potential of AI to assist with the development of chemical and biological weapons, how it can be used to carry out cyber-attacks, enable crimes such as fraud, and the possibility of loss of control.
The risks from AI are not sci-fi, they are urgent. By combining the agility of a tech start-up with the expertise and mission-driven focus of government, we’re building a unique and innovative organisation to prevent AI’s harms from impeding its potential.
Working at AISI is an incredible and exciting professional challenge and provides the opportunity to work with leading experts in the field of AI Safety and a wider multidisciplinary team from a broad range of personal and professional backgrounds. If you want a job with high agency, high impact, and exceptional opportunities to develop and grow – then AISI is the perfect place for you.

PROFESSIONAL REQUIREMENTS

You may already be a member of one of the analytical professions, whether the Government Statistician Group (GSG), Government Economic Service (GES), Government Social Research Service (GSR), Government Operational Research Service (GORS).
If you are not (i.e., coming from outside of government) you must be willing to be badged as part of the selection process, which is a requirement of the pay supplement this role attracts.
Each profession has its own badging requirements but generally consists of a 2:1 or higher undergraduate degree with a substantial technical element (e.g., economics, research methods, or statistics), or with relevant work experience. Those wishing to apply to either the Government Statistician Group or Government Social Research Service will need to sit online tests as part of the application process. You can find more information about the academic and experience requirements for each of the professions in the ‘qualifications’ section of this job advert.
If you are currently a badged analyst, please state this within your personal statement. If you are not, state which profession you would like to be badged as at the bottom of your personal statement, and support will be given for you to become badged.

QUALIFICATIONS

Please show the academic/experience requirements needed for each profession the candidate wishes to enter. This should say.
Please confirm whether you are a badged Government analyst, and if so, which profession you are badged as. This is either as a Government Social Researcher, Economist, Statistician or Operational Researcher.
If you are not currently badged, please state this and select which profession you would like to be badged for. Your academic history and CV should highlight the relevant experience for badging.
Each profession has its own academic / experience entry requirements. Badging is an additional short technical test based on the technical requirements for each profession.
For more information, reach out to bomi.okuyiga@dsit.gov.uk.
Technical competencies to be covered in badging:
You must be able to demonstrate that a) you satisfy the eligibility criteria and b) have the competence, at the required grade for one of the analytical professions.
The academic/experience and entry requirements for the different professions are listed below:
Eligibility requirements of the analytical professions can be found here:
Government Economic Service (GES):
To apply for full and associate GES membership, you must:
have a first or upper second-class honours degree in economics (or international equivalent), or a postgraduate degree in economics. If it is a joint degree, at least 50% of the course modules must be in economics.
have studied both macroeconomics and microeconomics.
Government Statistician Group (GSG):
For statistical posts, the accepted qualifications are:
a first-class or second-class honours degree in a numerate subject containing at least 25% taught statistical content (for example, Statistics, Mathematics, Economics, Sciences, Business Studies, Psychology, Geography, or similar)
OR
a higher degree, such as an MSc or PhD, in a subject containing formal statistical training (for example. Statistics, Mathematics, Economics, Sciences, Business Studies, Psychology, Geography, or similar)
For statistical data scientist posts, the accepted qualifications are:
a first- or second-class honours degree in a numerate discipline, computer science or IT equivalent which demonstrates core statistical skills.
OR
a higher degree, such as an MSc or PhD, in Data Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Physics (this is not a definitive list)
Alternatively, you could apply if you have worked in a statistical or data science field and are able to demonstrate continuous professional development (via a Continuous Professional Development (CPD) log book) in statistics or data science at the same level as a foundation degree or Higher National Diploma (HND) Level 5.
You could also apply if you have achieved or are on track to achieve a level 4 apprenticeship including at least two years in a statistical or data analysis field in government and are able to demonstrate continuous professional development in statistics or data analysis (via a CPD logbook signed off by a manager or mentor who are members of the statistical profession).
Government Social Research Service (GSR):
For qualification route, must hold an undergraduate degree at a minimum of 2:2. The degree must contain substantial social research methods training (comprising around one-third of modules taken in the course).
For professional experience route, must hold an undergraduate degree at a minimum of 2:2, in any subject, or a degree equivalent, plus have at least 4 years’ social research practice experience. Social research practice experience consists of experience working in a research agency, market research agency or specialist research team.
Government Operational Research Service (GORS):
You must have, or expect to have, a 2:1 or higher degree or degree apprenticeship in a highly numerate degree subject; or you must have, or expect to have, a 2:2 or higher degree and a highly numerate postgraduate degree.
Professional competency frameworks can be found here:
Government Operational Research Service -https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gors-professional-behaviours
Government Statistician Group -https://analysisfunction.civilservice.gov.uk/policy-store/competency-framework-for-the-government-statistician-group-gsg/
Government Social Research Service -https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-government-social-research-competency-framework
Government Economic Service -https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ges-technical-framework-2022

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

ROLE DESCRIPTION

We are hiring for a G7 Senior Research Analyst role with management responsibility. This postholder will bring a socioeconomic and data-driven lens to understanding the consequences of rapidly advancing frontier AI capabilities, and the effectiveness of systems and policies designed to mitigate AI risks.

You will:

• build our evidence base and data landscape on the downstream social and economic impacts of advancing AI capabilities and their potential risks
• define new ways of using analytical tools and methods to measure the benefits of investing in AI safety/security activities
• develop strong working relationships with teams whose work has synergies with AISI Analysis. For example, the AISI Societal Resilience team exploring harms that could arise when AI is deployed and used in the real world, the AI Policy Directorate in DSIT and across wider government
• deliver analysis that shapes policy decisions on the proposed regulatory regime for AI

This role sits in the AISI Analysis Team. The team is currently led by a Grade 6 Economist, and made up of a Grade 7 Economist, a Grade 7 Social Researcher, and two SEO analysts. There is ample opportunity to deliver impact, work with high-profile stakeholders (including external academics), and dive into novel and innovative research. We are also actively testing how best to use AI in our day-to-day work.
The work of the AISI Analysis Team is highly collaborative. You will need to be comfortable engaging with stakeholders ranging from AI researchers and engineers building AISI’s empirical testing capabilities, through to policymakers wanting an evidence-based understanding of the socioeconomic impacts of advancing AI capabilities and risks. Being able to communicate your analysis widely, and developing it into clear next steps that influence strategy and policy decisions, is an integral part of this role.
This is a new position, giving the successful postholder the opportunity to shape the role around their experience and interests.
You can find out more about AISI on our website, www.aisi.gov.uk.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Scoping new analytical workstreams – from rapid reviews through to more in depth mixed methods research – to understand and articulate the socioeconomic impacts of advancing AI capabilities and their resulting risks. The postholder will get to define new research questions about the impacts of AI based on demand from policy customers and stakeholders, weigh up the pros and cons of possible methods to decide on the most effective analytical approach, and manage projects from end-to-end.
• Leading a data-driven approach to tracking society-wide outcomes resulting from advances in AI. For example, exploring the growth in commercial services and academic activity in the field of AI safety, trends in AI safety-related employment and the evolution of AI regulation/governance activities in AI developers and deployers. This is expected to be a mix of applying new approaches such as web scraping to gather primary data, and finding existing datasets to generate insights from.
• Developing and leading impact/value for money evaluation proposals that use experimental, quasi-experimental and mixed methods to demonstrate the impact of AISI’s discrete programmes of work, for example assessing the effectiveness of our Systemic Safety Grants and Challenge Fund
• Working side by side with policy stakeholders to use tools such as cost-benefit analysis (CBA) and scenario analysis to assess the impact of possible activities within the proposed regulatory regime for AI
• Leading and coaching junior analysts to contribute to work-strands of our analytical projects, setting their work programme and ensuring they have suitable development opportunities
• Communicating complex analytical findings in a way that is impactful and understood by a range of stakeholders of varying levels of seniority and backgrounds
• Building and maintaining strong, trusted relationships with stakeholders both inside and outside of AISI

The process for this role will be split across four stages, as follows:

• APPLICATION – Please submit a CV and Personal Statement which will be used to assess whether you have the relevant experience for the role. The personal statement (Max Limit: 750 words) should set out how your experiences meet the person specification. In the event of a large number of applications, we will sift on CV only (Sift Date: W/C April 14th)
• INTERVIEW 1: This will focus on relevant experience, giving you an opportunity to showcase your expertise. (Date: W/C April 28th)
• INTERVIEW 2: This will be a technical behavioural assessment, including an analytical task which will be set beforehand. Details of the task will be sent out in advance of this interview. (Date: W/C May 12th)
• INTERVIEW 3: This will give you an opportunity to meet a senior stakeholder to discuss the role, gain a broader perspective on the organisation, and discuss your motivation for joining AISI. (Date: W/C May 26th