About the job

Job summary

The Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is responsible for safeguarding our natural environment, supporting our world-leading food and farming industry and sustaining a thriving rural economy. Our broad remit means we play a major role in people’s day-to-day life, from the food we eat, and the air we breathe, to the water we drink. Everyone who works with us or in one of our agencies and public bodies has a part to play in achieving our vision of ‘creating a great place for people to live’. The work we do impacts the lives of everyone living in the UK.

As the Chief Digital Officer, you will be joining us at a really exciting time to be leading the way with Defra's digital team. We provide digital services used by millions of people, as well as IT services to a department of over 30,000 staff. We have over £300m to invest in technology over the next 18 months, and an ambitious digital transformation strategy driving future investment after that. 

This isn't just about technology – the role will work across the Department and ALBs to develop a more product and service centric approach to delivery. It is a digital role with a particular focus on business transformation, fundamentally changing the way we do business and delivering outcomes essential to the department's ambitious and inspiring 25-year Environment Plan. That means significant change to Defra's core capabilities and future operating model that you will work with our senior leaders to deliver.

You will shape Defra's approach to prioritising a £300m plus investment portfolio, as well as developing our strategic business case for continuing this investment in future years - including driving the discussion of how Defra can exploit innovative technologies such as automation and Artificial Intelligence and beyond.

Job description

Key Responsibilities:

• Set the strategic direction for Defra's digital and data services working with senior leadership across the Department to shape strategic priorities to unlock opportunities for digital adoption, 
• Supporting the CDIO, overseeing the strategic direction of Defra's Digital, Data and Technology function, including proposing future operating models to deliver our strategy and respond to changing circumstances.
• Work with Arm's Length Bodies to help them optimise the delivery of services, using digital and data, gain approval for and initiate executable proposals for business, and digital transition and transformation, based on business needs, digital capabilities and strategic drivers. 
• Agree how Defra will monitor, govern, and improve its digital services using service ownership and product management approaches to ensure continuous improvement.
• Lead the recruitment and embedding of a sustainable digital capability across the Department, and a complementary culture change strategy to widen all staff’s awareness of digital approaches and tools. 
• Continue to develop and evolve our digital and data operating model, including how DDTS in best designed to deliver the Departments priorities.
• Lead on Defra's engagement with the Central Digital and Data Office and Government Digital Service on issues of Digital Sustainability, capability and service transformation. 
• Work with colleagues across government to develop principles, standards and common approaches that support the Government’s Transformation Strategy.  
• Ensure that the Defra Digital journey is built on our data, resulting on data driven organisation, enabling automation and evidence-based decision making 

Person specification

• Exceptional leadership skills, with a proven ability to create a compelling vision to motivate teams in a pressurised, large-scale environment 
• Demonstrate experience of transformational digital service improvement in complex organisations 
• The ability to create a high-performance, innovative, culture that is transformation focused, inclusive and diverse 
• The credibility and gravitas to influence stakeholders at the most senior levels and work collaboratively across boundaries to maximize strategic outcomes

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £135,000, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs contributes £36,450 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

How to Apply:

Global Resourcing has been selected to assist with these opportunities. To apply, applicants must submit the required information to DEFRA-Digital@global-resourcing.com

• An up to date and relevant CV setting out your career history with responsibilities and achievements.
• A statement of suitability (no longer than 2 pages of A4) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience meet the essential criteria in the person specification.
• A completed Diversity Monitoring Form

Contact Information:

Should you like to discuss the role in more detail before submitting an application, please contact our chosen executive search provider, Global Resourcing, by emailing DEFRA-Digital@global-resourcing.comor by calling 020 8253 1806.

Additional Information:

Defra is committed to making the civil service more inclusive and recognises the value of the use of Diversity in its recruitment panels. Helping candidates, particularly those from diverse backgrounds, to feel comfortable and at ease during the interview process, to reduce bias and increase the objectiveness of decisions. In line with the Civil Service’s Inclusive Board initiative, we aim to ensure that, as well as being gender diverse, Defra’s interview panels for Senior Civil Service will include at least one panellist who is from an ethnic minority background and/or has a physical or non-physical disability.

More detailed information can be found on the Civil Service Commission website:

https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk

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 counter-terrorist 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.