Data Governance Lead

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 andprocuringfor 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.

The Data Governance Team, as part of the GDS Product, Strategy, Planning and Performance directorate, provides specialist expertise and leadership across the Government Digital Service. GDS has specialist data protection requirements and needs extensive data governance controls to be designed and incorporated into product development. Strong privacy controls designed and built from the outset maintain users' confidence in the digital services delivered by GDS.

The Data Governance team has an excellent track record for their enabling and pragmatic attitudes to support delivery teams in achieving GDS’s strategic objectives at a fast pace whilst balancing robust data protection compliance. The postholder will lead on delivering data protection excellence across GDS products such as the GOV.UK web platform, App, GOV.UK One Login, data analytics and GOV.UK Chat.

As a Data Governance Lead (Data Protection), you will:

Leadership:

• line manage and play an active role in the Data Governance leadership team

Data protection compliance:

• design and implement privacy and data protection controls for the products and processes GDS creates, including the delivery of Data Protection Impact Assessments to ensure the GDS Product Group complies with data protection law by delivering flexible and pragmatic governance practices that enable delivery at pace

Privacy by design and risk management:

• lead and deliver high quality Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs), Privacy Notices and Records of Processing Activities for new projects at pace

Training and awareness:

• oversee training to ensure GDS staff understand data protection obligations and best practices, fostering a culture of data privacy at all levels

Excellent communication and relationship management:

• work closely with GDS colleagues to build trust. Deliver high quality written and verbal briefings to all levels, including delivery managers and senior management. Explain technical detail to non technical staff

External stakeholder engagement:

• work closely with external stakeholders such as the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and privacy groups to ensure compliance and address queries

Support the deputy head and head of data governance:

• provide proactive support to the heads to manage and lead on compliance, identify risks, the development of data governance strategies and deliver strategic objectives

Workload management and prioritisation:

• prioritise your time effectively to manage a high volume, fast paced and frequently evolving workload. Manage workloads to ensure that priorities align with strategic and team objectives and that deadlines are met

Cutting edge technologies:

• provide expert advice and direction on complex and novel forms of processing, especially on AI. Balance legal requirements against the need to deliver innovative solutions to benefit the public, supporting timely delivery of demanding GDS targets

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)

The standard selection process for roles at GDS consists of:

• a simple application screening process - we only ask for a CV, responses to 2 knockout questions and a security check question Important tip - please ensure that your responses include how you meet the skills and experience listed in the “person specification” section above
• if you make it through the sift, you will be invited to a 20 minute screening call
• successful candidates will then be asked to attend a 45 minute video interview

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 event we receive a high volume of applications, we will conduct the initial sift against the lead criteria which is:

• have Data Protection & Privacy qualifications - holding a relevant privacy qualification such as IAPP (CIPP/E, CIPM) or BCS (ISEB), or have relevant experience

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
• working together
• communicating and influencing
• delivery at pace

We’ll also be assessing your experience and specialist technical skills against the following skills defined in the Government Digital and Data Capability Framework for the Data Governance Manager role:

• data ethics and privacy
• enabling and informing risk-based decisions

Recruitment Timeline

This is a rolling campaign, and applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis.

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.

Sponsorship

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.

Security:

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check.

Please note that this role requires SC clearance, which would normally need 5 years’ UK residency in the past 5 years. This is not an absolute requirement, but supplementary checks may be needed where individuals have not lived in the UK for that period. This may mean your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible.

For meaningful checks to be carried out, you will need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time, to enable appropriate checks to be carried out and produce a result which provides the required level of assurance. Whilst a lack of UK residency in itself is not necessarily a bar to a security clearance, and expectation of UK residency may range from 3 to 5 years. Failure to meet the residency requirements needed for the role may result in the withdrawal of provisional jobs offers.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.