Head of App & AI Programme Delivery
Government Digital Service
Apply before 10:00 am on Tuesday 1st October 2024
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About the job
Job summary
GDS exists to help government make brilliant public services that empower people in the UK. We work at the very centre of government to drive digital transformation, focused on users. We build and maintain common platforms, products and tools for others to use and create great public services that are accessible, inclusive and easy to use. We also work with departments to identify patterns, share learning and create change to make government more efficient.
Our teams are organised around delivering on our priorities. These are:
- making it easier for people to find what they are looking for on GOV.UK
- building common service platforms to make it simpler and cheaper to build quality digital services
- promoting agile, user-centred design practices both in the UK and across the world
Job description
You will be leading the programme and portfolio function for GOV.UK App and Ai at a critical time. We have an ambitious new strategy and you will be responsible for overseeing efforts to scale GOV.UK’s capabilities ensuring that we are managing our growth, benefits, strategic dependencies and outcomes appropriately and sustainably. You’ll be critical to enabling innovation and delivery; setting direction to design and implement processes, systems and structures that will enable us to deliver our vision.
- you will lead the programme’s App and Ai strategic planning and processes to assure programme outcomes and dependencies
- you will be responsible for monitoring and reporting overall progress against strategic plans
- you will maintain and evolve our governance model, identifying opportunities to embed transparency, innovation and accountability, and to ensure high-quality and timely decisions. This includes feeding into wider government governance structures and approaches as appropriate
- you will be accountable for our procurement strategy to unlock delivery of GOV.UK’s ambitious plans, as well as a robust procurement pipeline, working closely with GDS’s commercial team and central PMO.
- the successful candidate will be expected to confidently build strong relationships with key stakeholders across GDS and other government departments. They will routinely need to communicate credibly and authentically to senior audiences.
Person specification
We’re looking for someone who can demonstrate a high level of programme and portfolio management skills and experience, with strong influencing skills. You’ll be an individual with strong interpersonal skills, used to managing senior stakeholders and accustomed both to adjusting programmes and initiating change. You will be able to demonstrate a strong ability to deliver successfully in complex, large, uncertain, and highly visible problem spaces.
We’re interested in people who can demonstrate:
- strategic planning and delivery: you can shape and amend a new strategic plan alongside delivery of significant current operational delivery. You’ve undertaken strategic planning, working with a range of stakeholders, to develop outputs that can be understood by technical and non-technical audiences
- financial management: demonstrable experience of monitoring, managing and reporting on a significant, multi-million pound budget, including overseeing financial forecasting, budget monitoring and spend
- communicating between the technical and non-technical: have a track record of communicating between complex stakeholder groups, using influence and awareness to balance key priorities. You also have a thorough understanding and experience of collaborating with the variety of disciplines involved in digital and programme delivery. e.g. product management, policy, service design, user research, engagement, economist, commercial and legal
- agile and lean delivery practices: have the ability to oversee the programme delivery of complex products and services and programmes that are being discovered, defined and delivered by multiple teams within a multi-faceted and changing context, and which have technical and/or political risks, using different delivery methodologies (lean/agile/waterfall)
- making a process work: You’re experienced at governing, creating and aligning teams, implementing the most effective programme and team structures for delivery and team health. You are confident to challenge and empower others to improve organisational processes where these impact the pace of delivery
- strong commercial management skills: have experience of organising and leading procurement across a large programme of activity; an understanding of commercial, supplier and dependency management; and ensuring that commercial contracts and suppliers are held to account for their timeliness, value and quality
- leadership and influencing others: you can form, collaborate and lead a senior team, taking an open and sharing attitude and are comfortable with uncertainty, accountability and with being the escalation point for internal and external issues. You have the motivation to influence and make positive changes to the organisation
Benefits
The benefits of working at GDS
There are many benefits of working at GDS, including:
- flexible hybrid working with flexi-time and the option to work part-time or condensed hours
- a Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
- 25 days of annual leave, increasing by a day each year up to a maximum of 30 days
- an extra day off for The King’s birthday
- an in-year bonus scheme to recognise high performance
- career progression and coaching, including a training budget for personal development
- paid volunteering leave
- a focus on wellbeing with access to an employee assistance programme
- job satisfaction from making government services easier to use and more inclusive for people across the UK
- advances on pay, including for travel season tickets
- death in service benefits
- cycle to work scheme and facilities
- access to an employee discounts scheme
- 10 learning days per year
- volunteering opportunities (5 special leave days per year)
- access to a suite of learning activities through Civil Service learning
GDS offers hybrid working for all employees. This means that everyone does some working from home and also spends some time in their local office. You’ll agree to your hybrid working arrangement with your line manager in line with your preferences and business needs.
Any move to Government Digital Service 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. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk
Things you need to know
Selection process details
This role is being advertised with Manchester or Bristol as a location. There is an exception to this, if a current London-based member of staff from GDS applies, and is successful, they would retain their London base for pay and allowance purposes.
The standard selection process for roles at GDS consists of:
- a simple application screening process - We only ask for a CV and for you to answer 3 application questions
- a 60 minute video interview. Candidate invited to the interview will be asked to give a presentation. Full details of the presentation will be made available to all shortlisted candidates at a later date.
Whilst we value the use of AI technology to enhance our daily work, we also value the personal touch and urge applicants to write responses without the use of AI to emphasise their own unique experiences.
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.
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
- Seeing the big picture
- Changing and improving
- Delivering at pace
We’ll also be assessing your experience and specialist technical skills against the following skills defined in the Government digital and Data Profession Capability Framework for the Head of Delivery Management role:
- Agile and lean practices
- Commercial management
- Communicating between the technical and non-technical
- Financial management
- Life cycle perspective
- Maintaining delivery momentum
- Making a process work
- Planning
- Team dynamics and collaboration
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.
You may be aware that there are plans for the Government Digital Service (GDS) & the Central Digital & Data Office (CDDO) to move into the Department of Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT). This move is to bring together the digital transformation of public services into one core department. The move itself will offer huge opportunities whilst allowing DSIT to lead the way and drive forward the new Government's digital agenda.
As the announcement is relatively new, we are awaiting more detailed information. Therefore, we encourage you to apply for this role, and will keep you informed with updated information throughout the application process.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
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Working for the Civil Service
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).
Diversity and Inclusion
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : gds-recruitment@digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk
- Email : gds-recruitment@digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : gds-recruitment@digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk
Further information
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive you can contact the Civil Service Commission by email: info@csc.gov.uk Or in writing: Civil Service Commission, Room G/8 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ.
