Public Sector Resourcing
Chief AI Officer
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On behalf of the Department for Business and Trade, we are looking for a Chief AI Officer (Inside IR35) for a 12 Month hybrid contract up to 3 days per week in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh or Cardiff.
An active SC Clearance is an essential requirement for this role, as a minimum you must be willing & eligible to undergo checks. (Please note, due to the exceptional requirements of this position (short-term nature of this role and speed at which we require a postholder in situ) preference may be given to candidates who meet all of the essential criteria and hold active security clearance.)
Background
Within DDaT’s matrix management structure, the Chief AI Officer has responsibility for the delivery of the department’s AI portfolio. This role is very much about leading and delivering through others and proactively engaging with stakeholders across DBT to drive transformational change.
The role will also be part of DDaT’s senior management team (SMT), providing strategic leadership to the DDaT AI portfolio, and representing the portfolio in strategic cross-functional discussion, as well as taking corporate responsibility for collective leadership.
The Role
Delivery portfolio
The AI portfolio encompasses the delivery of digital infrastructure, products and services for the use by both external and internal users. The portfolio uses a mix of bought and built products, open source components and vendors to ensure DBT has a holistic view of what works through robust evaluation. Working through their portfolio the Chief AI Officer will be:
- Responsible for making sure that the department has infrastructure to support the future vision;
- Responsible, with product teams, for delivering external services such as funding finder on Business.gov.uk and business chat;
- Responsible, with product teams, for delivering internal services such as Ask DBT, DBT Assist and specialist tools within it;
- Ensuring successful adoption and use of commercial products including Copilot;
- Representing the department in cross government fora.
The portfolio also encompasses being the key partner in the FutureDBT transformation programme to support DBT becoming a simpler, faster, tech-enabled department, leading one of two key pillars of work in the programme.
You will be a vocal advocate for the portfolio, championing stakeholder engagement and helping teams across DBT to re-imagine their ways of working in light of the latest technical capabilities.
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You’ll look to continuously improve our practices and our culture across the portfolio. You’ll empower teams, including the wider portfolio team, to lay the foundations to deliver on an ambitious, long-term business plan for the portfolio; and unblock teams where necessary to allow them to deliver through a range of interventions. Your responsibilities will include supporting the organisation in delivery, developing the capabilities of your team, and representing the department across communities within government and the wider business community. You’ll ensure robust delivery practices are in place, looking to continuously improve our ways of working.
Candidate
The ideal candidate will bring extensive and demonstrable experience managing stakeholders, delivering through DDaT agile teams, creating the right environment for teams to thrive, and unblocking issues at the highest level. You will be able to lead throughout the digital service lifecycle and deliver at pace to high standards.
You may have a range of professional experience in any of the DDaT job families, but ideally experience with applying AI and associated technologies.
You will have a strategic mindset, strong leadership skills, ability to influence in all directions, and will be highly motivated and can motivate others.
Essential criteria:
- Experience managing, engaging and collaborating with a wide range of stakeholders to develop a shared vision;
- Experience empowering strong, agile, digital delivery teams to build new capability particularly in relation to AI and machine learning;
- Experience leading multiple teams to deliver portfolios of complex products;
- Experience with governance and/or standards compliance and/or ethics frameworks.
The ideal candidate will be developing a strong, ethical, authentic leadership style. It is desirable that the candidate can demonstrate the following characteristics:
• Purposeful. Sets strategic vision; focuses on now, whilst taking a longer-term view; prioritises work effectively; takes responsibility for outcomes.
• Transformational. Positive attitude towards change; innovative; efficient and focuses on value for money; champions continuous improvement.
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• Considered. A strategic problem solver; broad outlook on decision making; provide incisive advice to enable balanced decisions.
• Enabling. Continually develops capability, resilience, wellbeing, and performance; coaches and empowers individuals/teams to take ownership of their development; provides space for their teams to do their best; encourages risk and innovation.
• Inclusive. Actively promotes diversity and inclusion; creates conditions for psychological safety; surfaces and resolves ambiguities.
• Connected. Builds and maintains stakeholder relationships; enables a broad workforce to deliver outcomes and solve challenges; navigates political and social currents.
Please be aware that this role can only be worked within the UK and not Overseas.
Disability Confident
As a member of the Disability Confident Scheme, the Department for Business and Trade guarantees to interview all candidates who have a disability and who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of candidates who have a disability who meet all the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group. This scheme encourages candidates with a disability and/or neurodivergence to apply.
Armed Forces Covenant
The Dept for Business and Trade guarantees to interview veterans or spouses / partners of military personnel who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of ex-military candidates / military spouses or partners, who meet all of the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group. In exceptional circumstances, we may also need to apply the desirable criteria in our shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.
In applying for this role, you acknowledge the following "this role falls in scope of the Off Payroll Working in the Public Sector legislation. Any rates of payment quoted will reflect the gross rate per day for the assignment and will be subject to appropriate taxes and statutory costs. As such the payment to the intermediary and your income resulting from this contract will be different".
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