Head of Strategy and Policy, GOV.UK

Job summary

The Government Digital Service (GDS) is the digital centre of government. We are responsible for setting, leading and delivering the vision for a modern digital government.

Our priorities are to drive a modern digital government, by:

1. joining up public sector services
2. harnessing the power of AI for the public good
3. strengthening and extending our digital and data public infrastructure
4. elevating leadership and investing in talent
5. funding for outcomes and procuring for growth and innovation
6. committing to transparency and driving accountability

We are home to the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (I.AI), the world-leading GOV.UK and at the forefront of coordinating the UK’s geospatial strategy and activity. We lead the Government Digital and Data function and champion the work of digital teams across government.

We’re part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and employ more than 1,000 people all over the UK, with hubs in Manchester, London and Bristol.

The Government Digital Service is where talent translates into impact. From your first day, you’ll be working with some of the world’s most highly-skilled digital professionals, all contributing their knowledge to make change on a national scale.

Within GDS, the Digital Products Group is responsible for running and evolving some of the UK government’s most critical digital products and platforms. This includes GOV.UK, the trusted source of authoritative government services and information. GOV.UK supports millions of individuals and businesses each week to find information and complete tasks that are essential to live, work and do business in the UK.

The GOV.UK website supports an average of 88m visits per month, making it one of the most used digital services in the UK. But GOV.UK is now much more than a web platform, reaching users through an increasing variety of channels including GOV.UK Social, GOV.UK App and GOV.UK Chat. Together these form a core part of the UK’s digital public infrastructure.

The Head of Strategy and Policy will play a leading role both within the GOV.UK directorate - a team of approaching 300 people, which delivers the GOV.UK Website, Social, Content, Publishing, Insights and Analytics. It will also work across Digital Products Group, leading our channel strategy and Proposition across the GOV.UK product suite. They will lead a multidisciplinary team of c.13 people, comprising strategy, policy, service design, research and evaluation.

Job description

As the Head of Strategy and Policy, GOV.UK, you will be responsible for:

Strategy

• working with the Senior Leadership Team to determine strategy for the GOV.UK directorate, as well as the multichannel strategy across the GOV.UK product suite
• working with the Heads of Product and Delivery to communicate and align the strategy with stakeholders, developing a compelling narrative and supporting materials, inspiring and motivate others to embrace and execute the strategy
• working with the Head of Programme to translate the strategy into business cases and secure funding for GOV.UK

Evaluation

• working with analysis colleagues, shape the development of the directorate's benefits model and evaluation strategy
• working with analysis colleagues, monitor and measure the progress and performance of the strategy via key metrics and recommend adjustments as needed

Policy

• leading the transformation of the GOV.UK Proposition - the policy for what must and must not go on GOV.UK - expanding from its current website focus to cover the full range of GOV.UK's channels and capabilities. This includes defining, agreeing, communicating and embedding the updated Proposition across government.
• leading the assurance and monitoring of exemption requests from other public sector bodies for the creation of new digital websites and channels
• overseeing all official correspondence and day to day policy work for the directorate, including parliamentary business and FOIs

Business relationship engagement

• managing and driving strategic engagement with priority stakeholders to ensure the directorate understands stakeholder needs and to enable delivery against the strategy in partnership with other government departments and external parties

Leadership

• leading a multidisciplinary team of user-centred design, policy, strategy, evaluation and engagement professionals, developing and supporting staff to be the best they can be and to achieve objectives
• acting as a valued and integral member of the GOV.UK Leadership team responsible for management of the GOV.UK directorate
• deputising for the Deputy Director for Strategy, Insights and Programme as required
• taking part in the out-of-hours on-call escalations rota for GOV.UK

Person specification

We’re interested in people who;

• have proven experience of setting and leading strategy in a complex, multi-stakeholder environment, with the ability to translate long‑term vision into clear priorities and deliverable plans for large‑scale digital public services
• have strong strategic judgement, including the ability to weigh evidence, manage risk, and advise senior leaders on trade‑offs in politically and operationally sensitive contexts.
• can demonstrable ability to build constructive relationships and exert influence across organisational and departmental boundaries, including with DSIT, GDS, policy teams, delivery organisations and external partners
• have credibility in engaging senior civil servants and teams, presenting complex issues clearly and persuasively to support collective decision‑making
• have experience of leading, motivating and developing multidisciplinary teams, creating clarity of purpose and a strong culture of collaboration, inclusion and continuous improvement
• have ability to set direction while empowering others, supporting professional development across policy, strategy, data and digital disciplines
• can demonstrate analytical rigour, pulling together strong evidence and testing assumptions with users, delivery partners and stakeholders
• are able to operate in an ambiguous and changing environment, identifying what's important and continuing to drive delivery
• are able to lead without authority, influencing and motivating peers and stakeholders to deliver outcomes and align plans
• have experience of shaping or implementing cross‑government strategies or operating models

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £69,675, Government Digital Service 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.

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 https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

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

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

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 750 words. Important tip - please ensure that your cover letter includes how you meet the skills and experience listed in the “person specification” section above
• a total of 60-minute video interview, including a 10-minute presentation task, followed by 5 minutes of questions on the task

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.

While we value the use of AI technology to enhance our daily work, we also value the personal touch and urge applicants to write cover letters without the use of AI to emphasise their own unique experiences.

In the event we receive a high volume of applications, we will conduct the initial sift against the lead criteria which is:

• having a proven experience of setting and leading strategy in a complex, multi-stakeholder environment, with the ability to translate long‑term vision into clear priorities and deliverable plans for large‑scale digital public services

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:

• working together
• making effective decisions
• leadership
• seeing the bigger picture
• communicating and influencing

Recruitment Timeline

Sift completion: 27/05/2026

Panel interviews: 3/06/2026 onwards

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.

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 security check (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.

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 : gdsrecruitment@dsit.gov.uk
• Email : gdsrecruitment@dsit.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : gdsrecruitment@dsit.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should contact gds-complaints@dsit.gov.uk in the first instance.

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.