Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
Senior Policy Advisor
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Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Darlington, Edinburgh, London, Salford
Job Summary
At DSIT we’re all about improving people’s lives by maximising the potential of science & technology.
We accelerate innovation, investment and productivity through world-class science, research and development.
We use technology for good by ensuring new and existing technologies are safely developed and deployed across the UK, with the benefits more widely shared.
We are driving forward a modern digital government which gives citizens a more satisfying experience and their time back.
We do all this to enable the Government’s 5 national missions: kickstarting economic growth, making Britain a clean energy superpower, taking back our streets, breaking down barriers to opportunity and building an NHS fit for the future.
Above all, we focus on improving people’s lives. Whether it’s researching new treatments for disease, developing better batteries, reducing burdens through better public services, keeping children safe online, and much more, outcomes for citizens are at the heart of what we do.
Our Inclusive Environment
We offer flexible working benefits, employee well-being support and a great pension. We are enormously proud to be a Disability Confident Leader employer. We support candidates with adjustments throughout our recruitment process. Information about disability confidence and just some examples of the adjustments that you can request can be found in the reasonable adjustment section below.
Please note
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. This work remains of high importance to the civil service, and we thank you for your continued interest.
Job Description
Digital identities underpin millions of transactions across the UK every day – from proving your age in a pub to buy alcohol, to proving your identity in order to open a bank account. These roles sit within the Office for Digital Identities and Attributes (OfDIA) (www.gov.uk/ofdia) which sets the standards, governance and legislative framework that allow organisations and individuals to use digital identities with confidence and leads the government’s work to enable the widespread adoption of digital identity solutions.
OfDIA sets the standards that determine what ‘good’ digital identity looks like, through the Digital Verification Services Trust Framework. This work is central to shaping how digital identity services operate, protect users, and defend against fraud. OfDIA also runs the UK’s official register of accredited Digital Verification Services, granting the UK Trust Mark to providers that meet the bar for trust, security and resilience, with cyber security built in by design.
OfDIA is a friendly and high performing deputy directorate and a great place to work. We are growing in order to meet our statutory responsibilities and this involves creating some exciting new roles for Senior Policy Advisors. The roles will sit in different parts of the OfDIA team but will require similar skills. We really welcome applications from people with different professional backgrounds and experiences.
You do not need to be a technical specialist to succeed in any of these roles. What matters is your willingness to learn, to help others develop, and to build the capability needed to deliver high quality work in a rapidly changing area.
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Digital identities underpin millions of transactions across the UK every day – from proving your age in a pub to buy alcohol, to proving your identity in order to open a bank account. These roles sit within the Office for Digital Identities and Attributes (OfDIA) (www.gov.uk/ofdia) which sets the standards, governance and legislative framework that allow organisations and individuals to use digital identities with confidence and leads the government’s work to enable the widespread adoption of digital identity solutions.
OfDIA sets the standards that determine what ‘good’ digital identity looks like, through the Digital Verification Services Trust Framework. This work is central to shaping how digital identity services operate, protect users, and defend against fraud. OfDIA also runs the UK’s official register of accredited Digital Verification Services, granting the UK Trust Mark to providers that meet the bar for trust, security and resilience, with cyber security built in by design.
OfDIA is a friendly and high performing deputy directorate and a great place to work. We are growing in order to meet our statutory responsibilities and this involves creating some exciting new roles for Senior Policy Advisors. The roles will sit in different parts of the OfDIA team but will require similar skills. We really welcome applications from people with different professional backgrounds and experiences.
You do not need to be a technical specialist to succeed in any of these roles. What matters is your willingness to learn, to help others develop, and to build the capability needed to deliver high quality work in a rapidly changing area.
Person specification
Below is a short summary of each of the four roles we are aiming to fill through this recruitment campaign. They are all super-interesting and rewarding opportunities and we will be assessing candidates for each role against the same criteria (see Essential and Desirable Criteria below), but we recognise that candidates will be interested in some details about what each role will involve on a day-to-day basis.
Senior Policy Advisor, DVS and trust services strategy team
This is an opportunity to play an important role in OfDIA’s strategy and policy development. You will work across both digital identity policy and trust services (trust services are tools like e-signatures that help people and organisations trust online transactions and documents). You will work closely with policy colleagues, analysts and lawyers, engage with external stakeholders, contribute to building OfDIA’s understanding of the digital identity and trust services market, and help shape the policy content and messages underpinning OfDIA’s strategic communications.
Senior Policy Advisor, Adoption team (age-related sectors)
In this role, you will be working on the development and delivery of OfDIA's approach to enabling digital identity adoption across age-restricted sectors of the UK economy. These use cases include alcohol and other retail products like high caffeine energy drinks, tobacco and vapes, social media and gambling. The job will allow you to build experience in working with lawyers and other government departments on new legislation, and external stakeholder engagement, including with industry bodies and devolved governments.
Senior Policy Advisor, Future Regulatory Model team
This is an opportunity to play an important role in shaping the future operating and governance model for OfDIA. You will help develop evidence-based options for how OfDIA's functions should be delivered in the future, working across policy, legal, analytical and operational teams to assess potential models and support strategic decision-making.
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Senior Policy Advisor, Information Gateway team
In this role, you will work across government and engage with industry to drive use of the information gateway power, which allows public authorities to share information with digital verification services. You will gain experience of policy development, working with analysts and lawyers to design policy that considers impact on businesses. Key skills are communicating and influencing, making effective decisions and working together.
Essential Criteria
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to express complex information clearly and tailor content to the appropriate audience
- Strong networking and engagement skills to build and maintain collaborative and positive relationships with both internal and external stakeholders
- Demonstrable experience of working in a fast-paced environment, managing competing priorities and delivering high-quality work to challenging timelines
- Ability to evaluate complex information, including data, and use it to develop evidence-based policy
Desirable Criteria
- Experience and understanding of digital identity and/or trust services policy.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Communicating and Influencing
- Delivering at Pace
- Making Effective Decisions
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. 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.
- 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.
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.
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, Strengths and Experience.
As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV and personal statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
Please use your personal statement (in no more than 750 words) to explain how your
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