The Cyber Policy & Supply Chain Team plays a critical role in achieving this aim, by ensuring government has the right policies and guidance in place to drive organisational resilience, as well as enhance cross-government collaboration and harness shared capabilities to deliver on the objectives in the Government Cyber Security Strategy.

The Government Cyber Unit functions as a convenor and coordinator for cyber security and resilience across the whole of the UK government, and the Cyber Policy & Supply Chain Team is no different. You will work with a wide variety of stakeholders, including central government departments, Arms Length Bodies (ALBs), the National Cyber Security Centre (a part of GCHQ), the Devolved Administrations, as well as industry and overseas partners.

The Government Cyber Unit's mission is to protect public services from cyber threats and digital resilience failures. We are working to achieve a step change in our cyber and digital resilience across government, through delivery of the Government Cyber Action Plan, and working closely with departments and national technical authorities including the National Cyber Security Centre to deliver. This is a challenging time to be working in cyber security and digital resilience, but we have an incredible opportunity to make a difference to people’s lives and promote national security by protecting the public services and national infrastructure they rely on. We work at the forefront of shaping the UK’s national response to emerging cyber and technology issues - from the increasingly complex range of state-sponsored cyber-attacks and supply chain compromises, through to the transformational benefits and security challenges of frontier AI and quantum computing.

We are committed to creating an inclusive and supportive working environment where people can learn, develop and do their best work. Continuous professional development and a focus on wellbeing is core to our unit culture. We welcome applications from candidates who share this ethos and are excited by our mission.

This role is in scope to be affected by the Machinery of Government change as Government Cyber Unit will be moved from DSIT to DCMS.

In this high-profile role, you will be working in the Cyber Policy & Supply Chain Team where you will help to deliver the Government Cyber Action Plan by directly shaping cyber security policy for government. In this role you will be delivering on the key ministerial priority for the UK to continue to be a leading cyber power, able to protect its Interests in a rapidly evolving technological landscape. The policy and guidance products you develop will have a real impact on increasing the cyber resilience of HMG, as the security community grapples with big picture issues like the threats and opportunities posed by emerging technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, quantum cryptography, and the increasing commercial availability of offensive cyber tools.

The Cyber Policy & Supply Chain Team plays a critical role in achieving this aim, by ensuring government has the right policies and guidance in place to drive organisational resilience, as well as enhance cross-government collaboration and harness shared capabilities to deliver on the objectives in the Government Cyber Security Strategy.

The Government Cyber Unit functions as a convenor and coordinator for cyber security and resilience across the whole of the UK government, and the Cyber Policy & Supply Chain Team is no different. You will work with a wide variety of stakeholders, including central government departments, Arms Length Bodies (ALBs), the National Cyber Security Centre (a part of GCHQ), the Devolved Administrations, as well as industry and overseas partners.

Person specification

As An HEO Cyber Policy Advisor You Will

• Support the development of policy, guidance and standards that underpin delivery of the Government Cyber Action Plan.
• Conduct research and analysis, drawing on stakeholder engagement, government assurance insights and other evidence to inform policy development.
• Help develop and maintain a programme of policy work that responds to government’s most pressing cyber security and digital resilience challenges.
• Manage discrete policy tasks and workstreams, including drafting clear advice, briefing and policy products for senior colleagues.
• Contribute to briefings for senior officials and ministers on strategic policy issues, as well as supporting more reactive policy responses as requests arise.
• Work closely with departments and partners to identify opportunities for join-up, build consensus and support effective implementation of policy and guidance.
• Support work on policy issues such as supply chain security, commercial security, incident management and emerging technology risks.
• Contribute to Legislative Development, Parliamentary Questions, ministerial correspondence and Freedom of Information requests, as required.
• Provide additional capacity for wider Government Cyber Unit work, including incident management and assurance activity, where needed.

Essential Criteria

• Strong capability to thrive in a dynamic, often fast-paced environment.
• Strong analytical and organisational skills, with an ability to use evidence from a range of sources to contribute to strategic policy decisions.
• Excellent communication skills with a proven ability to communicate complex information to diverse stakeholders, including senior officials.
• Effective stakeholder management skills, with an ability to proactively build strong working relationships with a wide range of people.
• Comfortable with working across a diverse range of subjects with the ability to pivot between work streams at short notice.
• Ability to drive work forwards independently, taking the initiative and identifying opportunities for improvement in policy areas.

Desirable Criteria

• Awareness of, and interest in, the UK's cyber security landscape and basic cyber security concepts.
• Experience or knowledge of policy development or national security work.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together
• Seeing the Big Picture

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Communicating and Influencing

Alongside your salary of £36,735, Department for Science, Innovation & Technology contributes £10,642 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

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.