Job summary
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.
Job details
Are you motivated by leading complex programmes and bringing together multiple strands of work to deliver something bigger? This is a great opportunity to take a central role in coordinating a high-profile programme that is shaping the future approach to geospatial services.
You’ll be part of the Government Digital Service (GDS) Geospatial team within the Data Economy Directorate, which works to unlock the value of data across the UK economy, supporting better public services, economic growth and innovation.
You’ll be at the heart of a fast-moving programme of work, bringing together policy, commercial, economic and delivery activity into a single, coherent plan. You’ll help teams stay aligned, manage dependencies, and drive progress towards key decisions and milestones.
You’ll join a collaborative and supportive team that works across government and with external partners to tackle complex challenges. We value openness, teamwork and clear thinking, and we support each other to succeed. We offer flexible working, a strong focus on wellbeing, and opportunities to develop your skills while working on work that has real national impact.
Key responsibilities
- Lead and coordinate the programme plan: bring together multiple strands of work into a clear, joined-up plan with shared milestones and priorities.
- Keep delivery on track: monitor progress, manage risks and dependencies, and support teams to resolve issues quickly and effectively.
- Support decision-making: prepare clear, concise updates and options for senior leaders to enable timely and informed decisions.
- Work across teams and partners: build strong relationships across government and with external partners, ensuring alignment and shared understanding.
- Drive collaboration and continuous improvement: help teams work effectively together, share learning and adapt as the programme develops.
- Shape the role around you: we recognise people bring different strengths. You’ll have the flexibility to focus on areas where you can add most value, while developing new skills and experience.
As a line manager, you will be responsible for working with your members of staff to define their objectives, as well as managing their development and performance.
Person specification
Essential criteria
- Demonstrable programme management qualifications (PRINCE2, MSP, APM, PMI) and experience delivering multi-year, multi stakeholder change with policy, commercial and technical strands.
- Proven ability to run complex approvals (SOC/OBC/FBC), synthesising economic analysis, commercial options, policy intent and user insight into decision ready artefacts.
- Skilled in building cross government partnerships and supplier/Arm's Length Body (ALB) relationships, with confident governance/reporting to SROs and senior boards.
- Excellent planning, RAID, dependency and critical path management across interlinked workstreams.
- Strong written and verbal communication, able to translate complex risks/issues into clear options and mitigation recommendations for senior decision makers.
Desirable criteria
- Knowledge of geospatial data/services, national data infrastructure and public task/shareholder frameworks.
- Experience integrating related national projects into a unified operating model.
- Familiarity with commercial structures for public data/services.
Qualifications
Project/Programme Management (PRINCE2, MSP, APM, PMI)
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Delivering at Pace
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Communicating and Influencing
- Working Together
We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:
- Delivering at Pace
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Communicating and Influencing
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- Business case Development
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £56,850, Department for Science, Innovation & Technology contributes £16,469 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology offers a competitive mix of benefits including:
- A culture of flexible working, such as job sharing, homeworking and compressed hours.
- Automatic enrolment into the Civil Service Pension Scheme, with an employer contribution of 28.97%.
- A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by 1 day per year up to a maximum of 30.
- An extensive range of learning & professional development opportunities, which all staff are actively encouraged to pursue.
- Access to a range of retail, travel and lifestyle employee discounts.
- A hybrid office/home based working model where staff will spend a norm of 40-60% of their time in the office (minimum of 40%) over a month with flex dependent on balancing business and individual need.
Office attendance
The Department operates a discretionary hybrid working policy, which provides for a combination of working hours from your place of work and from your home in the UK. The current expectation for staff is to attend the office or non-home-based location for 40-60% of the time over the accounting period.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.
As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV, personal statement and a number of behavioural statements and a technical skills example.
Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
Please use your personal statement (in no more than 500 words) to outline your relevant experience for this role against the essential criteria and key responsibilities.
Applications will be sifted on CV, behavioural statements, personal statement, and any technical skills required.
In the event of a large number of applicants, applications will be sifted on the personal statement only.
Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.
The interview will consist of behaviour-based questions.
Interviewees will be asked to deliver a presentation; further details will be provided nearer the time.
The link to the technical/professional competency framework that candidates will be assessed against, for their reference:
https://projectdelivery.gov.uk/government-projects-academy/project-delivery-capability-framework/
Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.
Reasonable Adjustment
We are proud to be a disability confident leader and we welcome applications from disabled candidates and candidates with long-term conditions.
Information about the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) and some examples of adjustments that we offer to disabled candidates and candidates with long-term health conditions during our recruitment process can be found in our DSIT Candidate Guidance. A DSIT Plain Text Version of the guidance is also available.
We encourage candidates to discuss their adjustment needs by emailing the job contact which can be found under the contact point for applicants' section.
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.
Additional information
If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.
New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.
A location-based reserve list of successful candidates will be kept for 12 months. Should another role become available within that period you may be offered this position.
Candidates who meet the minimum benchmark may be placed on a Reserve List for consideration for similar roles, including those at a lower grade. Candidates who narrowly miss the benchmark and are not placed on the Reserve List may still be considered for an offer in a similar role at a lower grade.
Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.
Any move to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.
DSIT does not normally offer full home working (i.e., working at home); but we do offer a variety of flexible working options (including occasionally working from home).
DSIT cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign.
DSIT holds a Visa sponsorship licence but this can only be used for certain roles and this campaign does not qualify.
In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf.
However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing [email protected] stating the job reference number in the subject heading.
Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.
A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.
Feedback
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.
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) (opens in a new window)
- 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 (opens in a new window)
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.
Diversity and Inclusion
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 (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.
The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
Recruitment team
Further information
Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the recruitment principles, and wish to make a complaint, then you should contact in the first instance [email protected] . If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages: Click here to visit Civil Service Commission/Complaints.
Attachments
DSIT T&Cs v1.2 Opens in new window (docx, 179kB)
