Head of Government Cyber Implementation

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.

Find Out More

We regularly run events where you can find out more about the department and tips for the application and interview process. You can sign up for upcoming events here: https://forms.office.com/e/Jae3B4w7xm

You can also follow our LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/dsitcareers/

Job description

The Government Cyber Unit (GCU) leads the government's approach to managing cyber security risk across departments and arm's-length bodies. The Government Cyber Action Plan (GCAP) sets the framework; the challenge now is turning strategy into changed behaviour across a complex, federated system. This is an opportunity to join GCU at a pivotal moment, as the unit moves from strategy-setting to delivery under the GCAP.

The Head of Implementation leads a multidisciplinary team that develops and delivers strategic solutions to the highest-priority systemic cyber risks facing government. This means understanding the policy landscape, diagnosing where and why departments are struggling to meet cyber security expectations, and designing targeted interventions that address root causes — not just symptoms. It requires someone equally comfortable shaping strategy and driving delivery, who can translate system-level insight into practical action within the reality of limited central authority.

The role operates through a team of specialist G7 leads, each owning solutions development in their domain. The Head of Implementation sets strategic direction, ensures coherence across the portfolio, and creates the conditions for those leads to drive work with autonomy and confidence. This is a leadership role that succeeds through empowerment, not control.

This role sits within the Cyber Solutions directorate, alongside Partnering & Communications, Technical Advisory, Security Engineering, and Programmes. The postholder reports to the Deputy Director for Cyber Solutions and is a member of the Solutions senior management team. They will deputise for the DD as required.

1. Develop strategic solutions to priority systemic cyber risks

Lead the analysis of systemic cyber risk across government, drawing on GovAssure findings, departmental engagement, and cross-government intelligence to identify where targeted central intervention can make the most difference. Design solution approaches that address root causes — whether those are technical, organisational, capability, or policy barriers — and build the case for action with senior stakeholders.

2. Empower and develop a team of specialist G7 leads

The Implementation team covers a broad and deep set of priority issues. The postholder's primary leadership task is to enable G7 leads to drive solutions development in their respective domains with real ownership and autonomy. This means setting clear strategic direction, providing coaching and support, removing blockers, ensuring coherence across the portfolio, and trusting the team to lead. The breadth of the team's impact depends on this model working well.

3. Drive prioritisation and portfolio discipline

Work with the Accountability directorate (GovAssure, departmental engagement) to maintain a prioritised pipeline of implementation opportunities aligned to GCAP milestones. Ensure the portfolio is actively managed — not everything that could be done should be done — with clear rationale for what is selected, what is deferred, and what is stopped.

4. Coordinate cross-GCU delivery on priority interventions

Implementation work routinely requires TAG expertise, Partnering relationships, and Programmes capacity. The postholder is responsible for marshalling these contributions without owning them — operating as a credible peer within the Solutions SMT and across GCU more broadly.

5. Build the evidence base for what works

Ensure interventions have documented hypotheses, measurable success criteria, and structured learning outputs. Feed findings back into GCU's policy development and operating model so that future prioritisation and solution design improve over time.

6. Deputise for the DD Cyber Solutions

Represent the directorate at senior governance forums, contribute to GCU-wide strategy and policy development, and support the DD in managing the Solutions portfolio and senior stakeholder relationships. This includes participation in the GCU on-call rota.

As a line manager, you will be responsible for working with your members of staff to define their objectives, as well as managing their development and performance.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Cyber security or digital resilience experience — the postholder must be credible with CISOs and technical teams on both the strategic and implementation dimensions of cyber risk
• Experience developing policy or strategic solutions to complex, systemic problems — not just delivering predefined projects, but diagnosing barriers and designing responses that work across organisational boundaries
• A track record of empowering teams — evidence of leading through delegation, coaching, and trust rather than directive management; enabling specialists to own and drive work in their domains
• Skilled at prioritisation under constraint — evidence of making explicit trade-offs about what to do and what to stop, with a track record of managing a portfolio with entry/exit discipline
• Clear, direct communication — able to explain complex cyber and policy challenges to senior non-technical audiences and to translate strategic direction into actionable plans

Desirable Criteria

• Experience working within or alongside central government assurance or standards functions (e.g., GovAssure, NCSC, departmental cyber teams)
• Familiarity with the Government Cyber Security Strategy and GCAP delivery landscape
• Experience with agile or iterative delivery methodologies in a governance-heavy context

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Leadership
• Changing and Improving
• Working Together

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £69,675, Department for Science, Innovation & Technology contributes £20,184 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.
• 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.

Things you need to know

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.

Applications will be sifted on CV and Personal Statement.

In the event of a large number of applicants, applications may be sifted on the CV only.

The interview will consist of behaviour questions.

Interviewees will be asked to deliver a presentation; further details will be provided nearer the time.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

Further Information

Reasonable Adjustment

We are proud to be a disability confident leader and we welcome applications from disabled candidates and candidates with long-term conditions.

Information about the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) and some examples of adjustments that we offer to disabled candidates and candidates with long-term health conditions during our recruitment process can be found in our DSIT Candidate Guidance. A DSIT Plain Text Version of the guidance is also available.

We encourage candidates to discuss their adjustment needs by emailing the job contact which can be found under the contact point for applicants section.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

A location based reserve list of successful candidates will be kept for 12 months. Should another role become available within that period you may be offered this position.

Candidates who meet the minimum benchmark may be placed on a Reserve List for consideration for similar roles, including those at a lower grade. Candidates who narrowly miss the benchmark and are not placed on the Reserve List may still be considered for an offer in a similar role at a lower grade.

Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.

Any move to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology 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; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

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).

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.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service /Disclosure Scotland on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email Info@disclosurescotland.co.uk

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website.

Feedback

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is developed vetting (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) 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) (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

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window).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 theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Recruitment Support
• Email : recruitmentsupport@ics.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : dsitresourcing.grs@cabinetoffice.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.

Attachments

DSIT T&Cs v1.2 Opens in new window (docx, 61kB)