Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
Deputy Director for Government Cyber Services and Deputy Government CISO
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Job Title
This role is based in London. Travel will be required occasionally.
Job Summary
We are looking for an experienced and senior cyber security or digital and data professional to lead the Government Cyber Services team and support the Government CISO as one of the Deputy Government CISO’s. In this role you will be responsible for ensuring that central cyber capabilities are prioritised, designed, and adopted in ways that deliver measurable impact at scale. This role reports to the Director for the Government Cyber Unit.
As the Government Cyber Unit, our mission is to protect public services and the wider Government from cyber threats and non-malicious technology failures. The Government Cyber Action Plan (GCAP) sets out our approach to delivering this mission by achieving a radical shift in the pace of cyber and digital resilience transformation. We are responsible for delivering the central initiatives defined in the GCAP, as well as managing government-wide cyber risk on behalf of the DCMS Permanent Secretary. You will play a key role in government cyber security, taking decisions that affect the breadth of government and driving strategic improvement and change. You will need to be a confident, inspiring and inclusive leader, committed to the support and development of your staff.
Job Description
Lead Government Cyber Services as the central service function for GCAP delivery, setting direction for a coherent portfolio of scalable cyber services that are delivered once and well, meet user needs, and improve cyber and digital resilience across government and the wider public sector. The role is accountable for delivery across the following core areas:
Set The Cyber Services Strategy And Portfolio
- Define and maintain the Government Cyber Services portfolio, ensuring central services are prioritised against GCAP objectives, government-wide cyber risk, user need, and measurable security outcomes.
- Establish clear service ownership, roadmaps, standards and success measures so that services are coherent, scalable, value for money, and aligned to the wider Government Cyber Action Plan operating model.
Coordinate Access, Adoption And Demand
- Ensure government organisations can identify, access and adopt the right cyber services through clear routes to support, effective engagement, and practical implementation pathways.
- Shape demand across departments and the wider public sector, using evidence of risk, maturity and need to prioritise interventions where central services can deliver the greatest system-wide impact.
Develop Services Once And Well
- Lead the design, development and continuous improvement of common cyber services, products and technical capabilities that address common problems and reduce duplication across government.
- Embed user-centred, evidence-led and secure-by-design delivery practices, ensuring services are usable, technically credible, operationally sustainable and capable of being adopted at scale.
Measure Impact And Manage Performance
- Put in place portfolio-level performance, benefits and risk reporting that demonstrates whether services are improving resilience, reducing exposure and supporting GCAP delivery milestones.
- Use operational insight, service data and feedback from departments to refine priorities, address delivery blockers and hold service owners to account for outcomes, quality and adoption.
Influence The Wider Cyber System
- Work with departments, central functions, NCSC and other partners to ensure cyber services complement accountability, support, response and skills activity across GCAP.
- Represent the cyber services agenda with senior stakeholders, building confidence in the central offer and securing the collaboration needed to drive adoption across organisational boundaries.
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The Role-holder Will Also
- Act as a core member of GCU leadership team, providing input and challenge to strategic direction.
- Be an advocate for excellence in all things relating to leadership and people management.
- Deputise for the Director of the Government Cyber Unit as required.
- Participate in out-of-hours cover.
Person specification
Essential Criteria
We’re interested in people who have:
- Proven and excellent leadership skills to inspire, empower and motivate others.
- Significant experience delivering cyber security solutions or digital, data and technology services at a large organisational, public sector or national level.
- Compelling communication and influencing skills with a strong focus on relationship building, including the ability to clearly and simply explain technical details to non- technical audiences, and engage with senior stakeholders.
- An ability to form strong working relationships, influence senior stakeholders, and drive coordinated action across multiple organisations with different incentives, priorities and levels of cyber maturity.
- Proven experience of driving transformation across organisational boundaries to improve delivery, impact and performance.
- Significant experience building, developing, and managing diverse and high-performing teams
It’s Desirable That You Have
- Experience of working in national security or related environments.
- Experience working with and leading digital development teams that adhere to the Service Standard
- An in-depth understanding of cyber threats, vulnerabilities and mitigations.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Leadership
- Delivering at Pace
- Making Effective Decisions
- Changing and Improving
Salary and Benefits
Alongside your salary of £86,000, Department for Science, Innovation & Technology contributes £24,914 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).
BENEFITS
Whatever your role, we take your career and development seriously, and want to enable you to build a really successful career with the Department and wider Civil Service. It is crucial that our employees have the right skills to develop their careers and meet the challenges ahead.
You’ll Benefit From a Wide Range Of Training And Development Opportunities, Regular Performance And Development Reviews To Ensure This Development Is Ongoing. As a Civil Service Employee, You’ll Be Entitled To a Large Range Of Benefits. This Includes:
- Annual Leave and Bank Holiday Allowance
25 days annual leave on entry, increasing on a sliding scale to 30 days after 5 years’ service. This is in addition to 8 public holidays and one day’s leave for the King's birthday.
- Pension
A competitive contributory pension scheme that you can enter as soon as you join where we will make a significant contribution to the cost of your pension; where your contributions come out of your salary before any tax is taken; and where your pension will continue to provide valuable benefits for you and your family if you are too ill to continue to work or die before you retire.
- Flexible Working
Flexible working patterns and access to Flexible Working Schemes allowing you to vary your working day as long as you work your total hours.
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- Parental Leave
Generous paid maternity and paternity leave which is notably more than the statutory minimum offered by many other employers.
- Season Ticket & Bicycle Loan
Interest-free loans allowing you to spread the cost of an annual travel season ticket or a new bicycle.
- Onsite Facilities
The opportunity to use onsite facilities including staff canteens (where applicable).
- Sick Pay
Occupational sick pay.
- 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. Senior Civil Servant (SCS) staff are expected to aim for closer to 60% of the time at an office or non-home based location over the accounting period.
Any move to DSIT 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
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 and Experience.
SHORTLIST
Applications will be sifted to select those demonstrating the best fit with the post against the criteria set out in the person specification. Please ensure you keep this in mind when writing your CV and personal statement.
Please ensure your CV is a maximum of 2 A4 pages and your personal statement does not exceed 1,250 words.
The timeline later in this pack indicates the date by which a decision is expected to be made, and all candidates will be advised of the outcome as soon as possible thereafter.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview.
INTERVIEW
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend a panel interview to have a more in-depth discussion of your previous experience and professional competence in relation to the criteria set out in the Person Specification.
As part of the process there may be assessment of skills either by a presentation or simulated exercise with follow up questions. Full details of the requirements will be given to shortlisted candidates ahead of their interview.
Behaviours Being Assessed At Interview Are:
- Leadership
- Delivering at Pace
- Making Effective Decisions
- Changing and Improving
SELECTION AND FEEDBACK
Regardless of the outcome, we will notify all candidates as soon as possible, and will offer the opportunity to discuss feedback for all candidates who reached interview. A reserve list will be held for up to 12 months, which we may use to fill future suitable vacancies.
Expected Time Line
We will try and offer as much flexibility as we can, but it may not be possible to offer alternative dates for assessments or interviews. You are therefore asked to note
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