Operations Manager

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.

Join us for rewarding work that makes a difference across the UK. You'll solve some of the nation’s highest-priority digital challenges, helping millions of people access services they need.

Job description

The Operations team sits at the heart of the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (i.AI), part of the Government Digital Service (GDS) within DSIT. The team works closely with senior leaders and multidisciplinary delivery teams to ensure the effective delivery of core operational, financial and business functions that enable i.AI to operate at pace.

i.AI is a delivery focused organisation, building and testing practical AI solutions to improve public services, as set out on ai.gov.uk. This creates a demanding and fast-moving operational environment, requiring strong judgement, flexibility and collaboration.

The Operations team provides essential support across finance, people, governance and business management, working collectively to share delivery, provide cover and respond to changing priorities. The role is key to the smooth running of i.AI and, where required, supporting activity across the wider GDS AI Group.

What will the successful candidate be doing?

The successful candidate will support the smooth and effective running of i.AI, with a primary focus on finance management alongside wider operational support. This will involve working closely and collaboratively with corporate and governance functions including Finance, Commercial, HR, Digital and others.

A key aspect of the role is leading on the management of the team’s finances, including tracking spend and comparing it against budget and forecast to ensure the team remains on track. You will maintain robust financial records, foster transparency, and build strong collaborative relationships with Finance and HR Business Partners, leveraging them to help unblock issues. This is a strong opportunity for a proactive self-starter to establish, improve and embed effective finance and operational processes.

The role sits within a wider operations function, and the postholder will work closely with other operations colleagues to deliver shared priorities across finance, people, governance and business support. While the role has a primary finance focus, the successful candidate will contribute to broader operational activity and provide cover and support across the operations team where required.

The role will also support the team’s day‑to‑day operations, including managing and improving operational processes. As a growing team within a relatively new departmental setting, there will be opportunities to contribute to shaping ways of working and team culture.

We are a busy and demanding operations team supporting live delivery in a fast‑moving environment. Work is shared across the team, and success depends on collaboration, reliability and supporting one another to manage changing priorities.

Person specification

Key responsibilities will include:

• Ensuring the smooth and efficient running of i.AI’s operations, with a particular focus on robust financial management.
• Leading efficient financial management across the team, including budget management, forecasting, reconciliation, raising purchase orders, calculating accruals, and providing clear overviews of spend against forecast.
• Maintaining a close working relationship with the Finance Business Partner to ensure financial information is accurate, timely and aligned with wider departmental requirements.
• Providing input to financial returns and commissions, including Business Planning and Spending Review activity.
• Supporting and improving core business management structures and processes, acting as a key interface with corporate functions including Finance, HR, Commercial and Legal.
• Working as part of the wider operations team, contributing to and supporting delivery across core operations functions (such as finance, people, governance and business support), including providing cover, surge support and shared ownership of operational priorities.
• Supporting commercial processes and engagement with central digital and corporate functions to ensure the team has the equipment and services required to operate effectively.
• Managing shared team inboxes, responding to queries and helping to ensure a high quality, responsive service.
• Working flexibly to support emerging priorities and unforeseen work, as required.
• Being flexible in providing operational and financial support across the wider GDS AI Group (not solely i.AI), where business priorities require.
• Leading by example and encouraging a culture of continuous improvement across finance and operational processes.

Essential Criteria

• Demonstrable experience of financial and budget management. You can balance cost versus value, report on financial delivery, monitor budgets and forecasts, and understand how and when to escalate issues. You are confident explaining financial information to a range of stakeholders.
• Operational delivery. You have a proven track record of managing multiple competing priorities while maintaining delivery and providing an excellent customer experience.
• Collaboration. You work effectively with others, build strong relationships, and use initiative to identify and resolve issues within team dynamics.
• Experience of working with corporate finance processes in central government or a large, complex organisational setting.
• Exceptional organisational skills, with the ability to prioritise effectively, manage detail accurately and work at pace.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience of working as part of a business or operations function, supporting senior leaders with advice, analysis or briefing on finance, people or operational issues.
• Experience of operating in complex or fast moving environments with a diverse range of stakeholders.
• Experience contributing to business planning, budget setting or fiscal exercises (for example Business Planning or Spending Review activity).
• Experience of improving or embedding operational or financial processes in a changing environment.

Behaviours

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing
• Changing and Improving

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £42,382, Department for Science, Innovation & Technology contributes £12,278 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

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.

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, 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.

Applications will be sifted on a role-specific question, CV, and personal statement.

In the event of a large number of applicants, applications will be sifted on the role-specific question.

Please use your personal statement (in no more than 750 words) to set out how your skills and experience meet the essential criteria for this role.

The interview will consist of behaviour and strength-based questions.

Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

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 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.

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.

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 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.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.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 : Jacob Matthewson-Divine
• Email : Jacob.MatthewsonDivine@dsit.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, 179kB)