Deputy Director, Data Maturity & Transformation
Job description
- Job grade: SCS Pay Band 1
- Contract type: Permanent
- Business area: Data Transformation
- Type of role: Digital, Information Technology
- Working pattern: Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time, Compressed hours
- Number of jobs available: 1
Location
About the job
Job summary
Help government make data part of everyday work.
Government has a data strategy, agreed standards and a growing set of shared platforms. What it doesn't yet have is a reliable way to make sure the whole public sector uses them in live services and everyday decisions, rather than leaving them on the shelf.
That's your job. You'll turn our data ambitions into habits that stick across departments, arm's-length bodies and the wider public sector. You'll do it by helping teams stand on their own feet, not by doing the work for them.
Why now?
Almost every department wants to use AI, but AI is only as good as the data behind it and the people using it. Data quality is patchy in places, ownership is often unclear, and confidence varies a lot from one team to the next. A central team can't fix that by doing the work for everyone forever, so we need departments that can carry on without us.
We already have a way to measure where we stand. The Data Maturity Assessment for Government covers 10 topics and six themes, and a new version is on its way. The hard part is turning what it tells us into real change.
We're not the only ones working on this. Other governments are investing in digital, data and AI skills for their whole public workforce, including mandatory basics for every officer. We want to match that.
Where you'll work
You'll be part of the Government Digital Service (GDS), the digital centre of government. We're home to GOV.UK and the Incubator for AI (i.AI), we lead the Government Digital and Data function, and we have more than 1,000 colleagues across London, Bristol and Manchester.
Job description
What you'll do
- Roll up your sleeves, then leave. Give departments short, hands-on help to adopt data standards, architectures and governance. You'll be the main link between central data teams and organisation’s across the Public Sector eco-system, and every piece of support should end with them owning the work with confidence.
- Back the places that matter most. You can't help everyone at once, so put your effort where the risk, the impact or the dependency is greatest. With Devolution a reality, we need to help the system mature and transform with data.
- Get government ready for AI. Improve the data capability, organisational readiness and capacity for change that real-world AI needs, so more departments can adopt it and scale it.
- Measure how mature we are. Lead a government-wide approach to data maturity and readiness, using one clear model across purpose, people, methods and tools, from data quality and interoperability to skills, culture and leadership. Then help departments turn what it shows into practical actions.
- Let the evidence steer the plan. Feed what you learn into the Strategic Data Roadmap, including priorities, investment and sequencing, and help decide where the centre steps in and where departments should lead.
- Grow people as well as platforms. Lead the development of data literacy, skills and communities of practice, and build change, adoption and learning into every data initiative. Help create a confident, professional data workforce with clear role expectations and skills pathways.
- Build once and reuse everywhere. Promote consistent approaches, so we end up with fewer bespoke solutions and less fragmentation. Support good practice across the data lifecycle, from quality and metadata to knowledge and information management, and develop reusable patterns and playbooks that scale across departments. Cover structured and unstructured data, including the metadata and retrieval that AI and decisions depend on in everyday workflows.
- Help teams in sensitive places. Support teams working in national security and other sensitive areas to apply agreed standards with confidence, where security and assurance requirements are higher.
- Turn insight into action. You're accountable for making sure what maturity and readiness work tells us leads to joined-up action across the system, so barriers come down and adoption speeds up.
- Lead a great team. Build and lead multidisciplinary enablement teams that deliver well and enjoy working together.
What success looks like
- One joined-up approach to data transformation across government, and faster take-up of the agreed standards and services.
- Better data maturity, literacy and confidence in departments, arm's-length bodies and local government, so staff at every level can use and manage data in their day jobs.
- Practical help that improves data quality, management and interoperability right at the source.
- Departments that are ready to use data and AI in operations, analysis and decisions, and that lean less on central support as time goes on.
- Strong communities of practice and learning pathways that keep improvement going after we step back.
- Proof that it has stuck: better use of data in live services and decisions, and a steady fall in reliance on central enablement.
The honest bit
Departments start from very different places, and you can't order them to change. You'll make progress by being useful, so expect to spend a lot of your time listening, persuading, showing the opportunities and removing blockers.
Person specification
This role is for you if...
You've changed how a big, complicated organisation works with data, technology or skills, and you did it by bringing people with you rather than giving orders. You can tell us what actually changed. You'll thrive in this role if you have:
- Led organisational change or built capability at scale, with strong experience of both and evidence that behaviour moved.
- Worked with data, digital or technology teams in a complex organisation.
- Influenced without formal authority, and built trust with senior stakeholders along the way.
- Turned strategy and standards into practical ways of working that people actually adopt, and explained complex ideas confidently to non-technical audiences.
- Led with a delivery focus, and kept things moving when the picture was unclear.
- Used data maturity models, readiness checks or capability assessments to plan and prioritise a transformation.
Benefits
There are many benefits of working at GDS, including:
- flexible hybrid working with flexi-time and the option to work part-time or condensed hours
- a Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 28.97%
- 25 days of annual leave, increasing by a day each year up to a maximum of 30 days
- an extra day off for the King’s birthday
- an in-year bonus scheme to recognise high performance
- career progression and coaching, including a training budget for personal development
- a focus on wellbeing with access to an employee assistance programme
- job satisfaction from making government services easier to use and more inclusive for people across the UK
- advances on pay, including for travel season tickets
- death in service benefits
- cycle to work scheme and facilities
- access to an employee discounts scheme
- 10 learning days per year
- volunteering opportunities (5 special leave days per year)
- access to a suite of learning activities through Civil Service learning
Any move to Government Digital Service 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
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.
DSIT does not normally offer full home working (i.e. working at home); but we do offer a variety of flexible working options (including occasionally working from home).
Things you need to know
Artificial intelligence
Selection process details
The standard selection process for roles at GDS consists of:
- a simple application screening process - We only ask for a CV and cover letter of up to 1250 words. Important tip - please ensure that your cover letter includes how you meet the skills and experience listed in the “person specification” section above
Depending on how many applications we get, there might also be an extra stage before the video interview, for example a phone interview or a technical exercise.
In the Civil Service, we use Success Profiles to evaluate your skills and ability. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, increases performance and improves diversity and inclusivity. We’ll be assessing your technical abilities, skills, experience and behaviours that are relevant to this role.
For this role we’ll be assessing you against the following Civil Service Behaviours:
- seeing the bigger picture
- leadership
- working together
Recruitment Timeline
Closing date: 23.55 30th November 2026
Sift completion: 8th December 2026
Global Resourcing Interviews: 10th – 18th December 2026
Panel interviews: W/C 25th January 2026
Candidates that do not pass the interview but have demonstrated an acceptable standard may be considered for similar roles at a lower grade.
A reserve list will be held for a period of 12 months, from which further appointments can be made.
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 D&I Strategy.
Sponsorship
DSIT cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign. DSIT holds a Visa sponsorship licence but this can only be used for certain roles and this campaign does not qualify.
Security: SC Clearance
Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check.
Please note that this role requires SC clearance, which would normally need 5 years’ UK residency in the past 5 years. This is not an absolute requirement, but supplementary checks may be needed where individuals have not lived in the UK for that period. This may mean your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible.
For meaningful checks to be carried out, you will need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time, to enable appropriate checks to be carried out and produce a result which provides the required level of assurance. Whilst a lack of UK residency in itself is not necessarily a bar to a security clearance, and expectation of UK residency may range from 3 to 5 years. Failure to meet the residency requirements needed for the role may result in the withdrawal of provisional jobs offers.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.
Security
See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
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) (opens in a new window)
- 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
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
Diversity and Inclusion
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : Tom King
- Email : DSIT-Maturity@global-resourcing.com
- Telephone : 020 8253 1806
Recruitment team
- Email : DSIT-Maturity@global-resourcing.com
Further information
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive you can contact the Civil Service Commission by email: info@csc.gov.uk Or in writing: Civil Service Commission, Room G/8 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ.
Follow link to apply
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