Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
Onboarding Lead- i.AI
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Job Summary
The Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (i.AI) is the UK government’s engine room for building products that shape national outcomes. We will be building tools used daily by thousands of civil servants, directly impacting millions of citizens. We take on the hardest problems in government, backed directly by No10, and solve them with a small, high-performing team. Our work is shaping how government adopts AI in practice; through what we build, who we hire, and the standards we set.
Job Description
The central Recruitment Operations team across i.AI and AISI is responsible for attracting, selecting and onboarding the exceptional technical and policy talent needed to deliver on our mission. We are a small, high-performing team that enables the organisation we support to hire and retain the world-class engineers and policy professionals who do the work that matters.
The team covers end-to-end recruitment for all of the AI Security Institute and the i.AI incubator, as well as onboarding, process improvement and operational delivery.
We work closely with Hiring Managers, the People Team, GRS, and a range of internal and external stakeholders. The team is building out its infrastructure and processes as the organisation scales rapidly.
This is an exciting time to join Recruitment Operations focussing on the Incubator for AI. We are building something from scratch, and the person in this role will have genuine scope to shape how i.AI onboards its people — with a direct and visible impact on the experience of every new joiner.
Person Specification
Essential Criteria
- Experience managing complex HR, onboarding or people operations processes — including cases with non-standard requirements (e.g. visa, security clearance, contractor arrangements)
- Strong organisational skills — able to manage multiple cases, deadlines and stakeholders simultaneously without losing accuracy or pace
- Process improvement mindset — comfortable identifying inefficiencies, designing solutions and building guidance that reduces manual effort
- Excellent written communication skills — able to produce clear, accessible guidance and documentation for a range of audiences
- Strong stakeholder management — able to work confidently with candidates, hiring managers, HR teams and external partners
- High level of discretion and sensitivity — this role involves handling complex personal circumstances, pay cases and sensitive information
- Self-starter — able to work independently and make sound judgements without close supervision
Preferred Criteria
- Experience working with visa, immigration or security clearance processes in a government or large organisation context
- Familiarity with government recruitment systems such as GRS, Civil Service Jobs or equivalent ATS platforms
- Experience facilitating workshops or cross-team process improvement initiatives
- Understanding of Civil Service HR frameworks, pay policies and contractor/secondee arrangements
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Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Working Together
- Managing a Quality Service
- Delivering at Pace
Salary and Benefits
Alongside your salary of £44,620, Department for Science, Innovation & Technology contributes £12,926 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.
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.
- An extensive range of learning & professional development opportunities, which all staff are actively encouraged to pursue.
- Access to a range of retail, travel and lifestyle employee discounts.
- A hybrid office/home based working model where staff will spend a norm of 40-60% of their time in the office (minimum of 40%) over a month with flex dependent on balancing business and individual need.
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.
Selection Process Details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.
As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV and personal statement.
Sift: Applications will be assessed on CV and personal statement.
Interview
- Stage 1: Experience Interview
- Stage 2 — Structured Interview: Shortlisted candidates will be invited to a structured interview assessing experience and behaviours against the person specification. The interview will include a short exercise or presentation element — details to be confirmed at shortlisting stage.
- Stage 3 – SCS Leadership Panel
Further Information
Former DSIT recruitment campaigns are continuing as usual, but candidates should be aware that following the Government’s announcement on the changes to some civil service departments, roles will be subject to the machinery of government moves and will ultimately be in one of the new departments. We will provide more information if you are selected for a role.
Please be aware the levels of national security clearance are changing which may impact on the level needed for this role by the time of appointment. All efforts will be made to keep candidates informed of any changes and what that will mean in terms of vetting criteria.
Reasonable Adjustment
We are proud to be a disability confident leader and we welcome applications from disabled candidates and candidates with long-term conditions.
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Security
Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard checks.
Nationality Requirements
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)
- 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
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles.
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.
Diversity and Inclusion
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 Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.
Contact Point for Applicants
Job Contact
Name: Sian McGrowder
Email: Sian.McGrowder@dsit.gov.uk
Recruitment Team
Email: Farah.chowdhury@dsit.gov.uk
Further information
Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the recruitment principles, and wish to make a complaint, then you should contact in the first instance DSITrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages: Click here to visit Civil Service Commission/Complaints.
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