About the job

Job summary

Harnessing the game-changing power of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Defence AI Centre (DAIC) drives UK Defence's strategic advantage to safeguard UK national interests both at home and abroad.

As part of the DAIC, you’ll be a crucial member of a world-class, multi-disciplinary team at the forefront of ambitious, safe and responsible AI innovations. You’ll support our collaboration with international partners, government agencies, and industry leaders, to shape the future of AI for UK Defence.

Joining the DAIC is an opportunity to help pioneer cutting-edge AI solutions to real-world problems, directly impacting the security and protection of the UK. You'll be part of a dynamic, supportive team, contributing to work that's unparalleled in terms of scale and significance. Nowhere is AI innovation more important than Defence – and our team is at the heart of it.

Watch our video to find out more about the DAIC.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

Job description

Reporting to Head DAIC (as AI Talent Lead) and the Senior Leadership Team, this position will lead the talent and skills development for Artificial Intelligence in Defence and be a thought leader in wider Government.

This is a dynamic leadership role and you will be expected to: 

• engage across Defence, wider Government and external stakeholders to understand innovation, good practice and identify the breadth and depth of skills available. 

• work with partners in DSTL, industry and Academia, to ensure you understand the opportunities presented by AI and how you can develop and implement a skills and capability framework, to enhance and improve it’s adoption and implementation as a tool across Defence, to support strategic outcomes. 

• work closely with DAIC, Defence Digital, DSTL and DAU colleagues to understand AI good practice. 

• be at the heart of ensuring that Defence is an ‘AI Ready’ organisation, with the right people in the right place at the right time, harnessing the opportunities presented by AI to meet Defence strategic outcomes, in an efficient and effective way. 

You’ll need an innovative approach and curiosity about how new technologies can enhance Defence outcomes, above all, being motivated by the ambitious, safe and responsible use of AI in Defence. 

Joining us enables you to take advantage of our excellent benefits package, including flexible working, great discount schemes, generous leave allowance and a market-leading Civil Service pension. 

Our commitment to your development is fundamental. We’ll provide as many learning opportunities as we can, allowing you to gain industry recognised qualifications, as well as in-house training, within your field and beyond, supporting your development within the role from day 1. 

Responsibilities 

Lead development and adoption of the AI talent and skills capability in Defence by:

• Working across Defence, DSTL, wider government, Industry and Academia to understand existing AI Capability Frameworks, and how these can be adapted and adopted to support the requirement for and potential development of an AI Profession in Defence.

• Working with Digital Jobs Family leads to ensure that the AI Profession is set out in a way that it compatible with, and complementary to, existing digital skills frameworks.

• Working with Defence L&D professionals across civilian and military structures to ensure that appropriate learning opportunities are available, to create a Defence workforce with the right skills to develop and deliver AI solutions and be ‘Intelligent Customers’ in the field of AI.

• Supporting the recruitment of people in Defence with the right skills to embed AI now and in the future, as Defence seeks to deliver on its strategic objectives to be world-leading in the field of AI.

• Mapping out how people in Defence can grow, develop and progress within the AI community.

• Supporting closer industry engagement, including the provision of secondments, to ensure skills remain relevant and up-to-date.

• Supporting closer Academic engagement, including the provision of deep learning opportunities, to enhance the skills Defence can call upon. 

• Enabling a wider Defence understanding of the range of skills available to it, through the creation and maintenance of mechanisms to understand and map current skills within the civilian and military workforce.

• Supporting engagement and communication of the role of DAIC and the possible value of AI tools and techniques across Defence and partners across Government, industry and Academia.   

• Supporting wider DAIC implementation plans in a range of areas, as we develop a deeper understanding of where DAIC can maximise value to Defence.  

• Providing line management of a small team.

Person specification

In this role, you’ll need to use your experience of collaboratively designing and implementing plans, in order to develop a skills and capability framework through to adoption and implementation.

You’ll need excellent communication and relationship building skills, interacting with a range of internal and external organisations, including MOD colleagues, cross-Government partners, start-ups, SMEs, Academia and wider industry; mobilising, attracting, and engaging internal and external stakeholders.

Developing an understanding of the bigger picture, you’ll use industry perspectives and experiences to direct the specific activities that will help our outcomes become operational, adapting to a rapidly evolving, fast-paced environment.

Dependent on the business need, there is a requirement to travel to meetings within the UK, including the occasional overnight stay away from home (and potentially occasional overseas visits).

This role can be based at one of the following locations: Portsmouth (DSTL Portsdown West); Salisbury (DSTL Porton Down); Bristol (DE&S Abbey Wood); MOD Corsham, Wiltshire; MOD Main Building, Whitehall, London or Scale Space, White City, London.

Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working.  This is a non-contractual arrangement where all employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in an office, subject to local estates capacity.  Requirements to attend other locations for official business, or carry out detached duty in another MOD workplace, will also count towards this level of attendance. Applicants can request further information regarding how this may work in their team from the Vacancy Holder (see advert for contact details). DBS cannot respond to any questions about working arrangements.

The successful candidate is required to carry out all their duties from a UK location and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time. 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £57,670, Ministry of Defence contributes £15,570 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

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

To apply please complete the CV template provided on the CS Jobs dashboard. You will be assessed against your relevant, skills, knowledge and experience which demonstrates the essential criteria listed within this advert.

All applicants will also need to provide a personal statement (max. 1250 words) and it is essential that this includes evidence of the following essential criteria. Each one will be scored 1-7 and make up part of your overall score to assess your suitability to be invited to interview.

1. Tell us about your experience, knowledge or understanding of working in an AI environment. 

2. Describe your experience of leading and managing on capability development within an organisation, including talent management, recruitment and/or assessing learning opportunities. 

3. Tell us about your working experience or knowledge of creating and/or developing a framework.  

4. From your own knowledge and experience, demonstrate how you have worked collaboratively across a wide range of stakeholders.

Interviews 

We’ll assess you against these behaviours and technical skills during the interview process: 

Presentation

You will be asked to prepare and deliver a 10-minute (max) presentation on a role-related subject. Further details will be sent prior to interview. 

At interview you will be assessed against the following  Behaviours :

• Leadership 
• Communicating and Influencing 
• Working together 
• Developing Self & Others 

Technical skills 

• Maintaining Delivery Momentum 
• Planning 

The Digital, Data and Technology Profession Capability Framework used in this vacancy can be found at:  Delivery manager - Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework (ddat-capability-framework.service.gov.uk)

Learn more about these roles, and other opportunities at the DAIC, by joining senior members of the team at our upcoming Candidate Brief.

The Brief is being held on the 12th January, from 16:00 to 17:00 GMT, and we would love you to join to discuss these Product Manager roles and much more. To confirm your attendance, please email us at ukstratcomdd-hr-talentacqdel@mod.gov.uk with your name, email address, and the role you're interested in.

If you're considering multiple roles, we're also hosting another Brief on January 8th, from 17:30 to 18:30 GMT. Feel free to attend both these sessions to explore all the available DAIC opportunities that interest you.

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. There is a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. If you need to advise us that you need additional help or reasonable adjustments for the recruitment process, please contact: DBSCivPers-Resourcingteam3@mod.gov.uk 

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came into effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical.

The role currently being advertised has not been assessed as business critical and is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points based system. Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

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.