Government Actuary's Department
Head of Analytical Solutions
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10 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 4PU / Edinburgh Government Hub Queen Elizabeth House, Edinburgh EH8 8FT
Job Summary
You will lead GAD's Analytical Solutions Team (AST) of almost 90 staff, setting the vision, direction and operating model for the department's analytical capabilities and ensuring AST plays a central role in delivering GAD's 2030 Strategy.
As Head of AST, you will be accountable for developing a high-performing, innovative and collaborative team that enables GAD to deliver high-quality, impactful advice effectively across government. AST supports client work across the department, spanning the range of GAD services from pensions and investments to insurance, modelling and financial risk. You will ensure AST helps unlock value in GAD's core work through improved analytical methods, automation, technology and efficient delivery models, while also building the capabilities needed to support new and emerging areas of advice.
You will work closely with client-facing leaders across GAD, key clients, stakeholders and the external market to understand future demand, shape strategic priorities and ensure AST develops the people, tools, methodologies and capacity required to meet changing client needs. You will foster a culture that combines innovation with professional excellence, ensuring that analytical solutions are robust, practical and focused on delivering meaningful outcomes for clients.
Leading through a multidisciplinary leadership team, including the Deputy Heads responsible for actuarial and analytical capability, you will create an inclusive environment that encourages collaboration, continuous improvement and collective ownership of results. You will act as a senior ambassador for AST across GAD and externally, helping position GAD as a trusted and innovative partner in risk, finance and analytical decision-making.
Job Description
You will provide strategic, operational and professional leadership for AST, exercising oversight of performance and aligning the strategic direction to long-term goals for the department. Your responsibilities will include:
Strategy and Planning
- Defining and maintaining AST’s long-term operating model to effectively deliver to client team requirements.
- Develop the business plan and strategic goals for your team, aligned to the departmental strategy, and ensure these are delivered.
- Proactively engage with GAD client teams, stakeholders around the public sector and across the external market to ensure AST support can deliver to client needs.
- Ownership of AST strategic investment priorities.
Transformation and Operational Effectiveness
- Lead AST’s contribution to GAD-wide transformation programmes.
- Maintain a culture of continuous improvement within AST and support the wider transformation of GAD projects and processes.
- Ensure your team work collegiately and collaboratively, supporting organisational objectives.
- Ensuring that processes and structures deliver analysis that is robust, cost effective and tailored to client needs.
- Oversee engagement with client teams on novel or risky projects, ensuring appropriate ways of working and controls are established.
People and Professional Leadership
- Provide oversight, coach and support senior team members working to deliver the team's output. Support career development across the team, inspiring staff to reach their potential.
- Create and sustain an inclusive, supportive and high-performing culture across the team, ensuring effective leadership, talent management, workforce planning and colleague engagement.
- Working through the Deputy Heads and wider leadership team, build capability, develop future leaders and create an environment in which individuals at all career stages can thrive and contribute effectively.
- Build and maintain strong and influential relationships with senior stakeholders across the department.
- Establish a network of contacts across the public sector and professional industry networks.
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Responsibilities
You will provide strategic, operational and professional leadership for AST, exercising oversight of performance and aligning the strategic direction to long-term goals for the department. Your responsibilities will include:
Strategy and Planning
- Defining and maintaining AST’s long-term operating model to effectively deliver to client team requirements.
- Develop the business plan and strategic goals for your team, aligned to the departmental strategy, and ensure these are delivered.
- Proactively engage with GAD client teams, stakeholders around the public sector and across the external market to ensure AST support can deliver to client needs.
- Ownership of AST strategic investment priorities.
Transformation and Operational Effectiveness
- Lead AST’s contribution to GAD-wide transformation programmes.
- Maintain a culture of continuous improvement within AST and support the wider transformation of GAD projects and processes.
- Ensure your team work collegiately and collaboratively, supporting organisational objectives.
- Ensuring that processes and structures deliver analysis that is robust, cost effective and tailored to client needs.
- Oversee engagement with client teams on novel or risky projects, ensuring appropriate ways of working and controls are established.
People and Professional Leadership
- Provide oversight, coach and support senior team members working to deliver the team's output. Support career development across the team, inspiring staff to reach their potential.
- Create and sustain an inclusive, supportive and high-performing culture across the team, ensuring effective leadership, talent management, workforce planning and colleague engagement.
- Working through the Deputy Heads and wider leadership team, build capability, develop future leaders and create an environment in which individuals at all career stages can thrive and contribute effectively.
- Build and maintain strong and influential relationships with senior stakeholders across the department.
- Establish a network of contacts across the public sector and professional industry networks.
Person specification
- Key external stakeholders: Client organisations, professional industry networks
- Key internal stakeholders: the Executive Committee, Non-Executive Directors, Actuarial Directors, team leads, corporate functions and staff.
- The role holder will have responsibility for the fee income and delegated expenditure of AST, systems and controls.
- The role holder will be expected to be a role model for GAD standards, values and behaviours both within the department and in all external communication. They will have a Leadership Group role within the directorate and be expected to work collaboratively to fulfil collective management responsibilities.
- The role holder will be expected to liaise with relevant contacts in other teams to share experiences, develop common approaches and ensure consistency where appropriate to do so. They will be expected to proactively develop other members of the team as part of business as usual and have line management responsibilities.
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Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Changing and Improving
- Making Effective Decisions
- Leadership
- Communicating and Influencing
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (or international equivalent) (Essential)
- Knowledge and experience of providing actuarial advice across pensions, investments, insurance or risk (Essential)
- Knowledge of modern use of data analysis and AI (Essential)
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £141,109, Government Actuary's Department contributes £40,879 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
As well as competitive salaries, we offer a substantial package of benefits:
- Exceptional learning and development opportunities that you can explore alongside your day-to-day work.
- 25 days annual leave per year, increasing to 30 days after 5 years’ service. In addition, we offer 9 days public and privilege days leave per year (pro rata for part time staff)
- A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
- 5 days of paid volunteering leave
- Up to 9 months maternity leave on full pay + generous paternity and adoption leave
- Staff reward and recognition bonuses that operate throughout the year.
- Occupational sick pay
- Family-friendly policies such as help with caring responsibilities, special leave, generous paid maternity, paternity, and adoption leave.
- Access to employee assistance programme which offers staff 24/7 confidential support and resources such as counselling, debt guidance and management advice.
- The opportunity to join a trade union.
- A working culture which encourages inclusion and diversity.
- Salary advances for travel costs, including annual season tickets and cycle-to-work schemes.
- Access to the Edenred employee benefits system which offers discounts to popular retailers and access to various useful resources such as financial and savings advice.
- Complimentary BUPA health check.
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours and Technical skills.
As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete:
- A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you provide employment history that relates to the essential criteria, and that any gaps in employment history within the last 2 years are explained.
- A Personal statement of up to 500-words explaining how you meet the essential criteria for the role, with particular reference to the criteria provided in the person specification of the JD.
Your CV and Personal Statement will be used to assess the essential criteria listed in the job description.
During the interview you will be assessed on the experience and behaviours listed in the Person Specification and detailed in this advert. The interview will include a presentation, details of which will be sent to those invited to interview.
Application deadline: 1200 hrs on 07 September 2026
Shortlisting: By w/c 14 September 2026
Engagement Session: 21 September 2026
First Round Interviews: 23 and 24 September 2026
Final Round Interviews: 01 and 02 October 2026
Interview location: In office (Either London, E14 4PU or Edinburgh, EH8 8FT)
Please apply via our recruitment portal below.
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