About the job

Job summary

International Scientific Report on the Safety of Advanced AI 

The International Scientific Report on the Safety of Advanced AI is a landmark project. It represents the first time that the world has come together to collaborate on synthesising the latest science on the capabilities and risks of advanced AI. It will be used by policymakers around the globe to ensure that humanity can reap the benefits of AI by mitigating the risks. 

The long-term vision for the report is to establish it as the most valuable source of information for policymakers around the world on the capabilities and risks of advanced AI, much as the IPCC has done so for climate change. The first report is a groundbreaking proof-of-concept of a long-term project which will come to have enormous benefit to the way governments worldwide develop AI policy. 

The risks arising from AI are inherently global in nature and action to address them requires international cooperation. Countries represented at the Bletchley Park AI Safety Summit committed to support the development of an international, independent, and inclusive report on the capabilities and risks of advanced AI. 

The UK commissioned Yoshua Bengio, a Turing Award-winning AI academic and member of the UN’s Scientific Advisory Board, to Chair the Report. He is supported by a diverse group of leading AI academics and is advised by an Expert Advisory Panel comprising representatives from countries attending the Summit and other partner countries. 

The intention of the Report is to facilitate a shared science-based understanding of the risks associated with advanced AI and to sustain that understanding as capabilities continue to increase, through its narrowly defined scope to review the latest, cutting-edge, research on the risks and capabilities of frontier AI models. 

The interim report was published in May 2024. At the continuation of Safety discussions at the AI Seoul Summit, countries reaffirmed their support to producing a final report. We must now work towards publishing a final report (to be published ahead of the next AI Summit in France), while developing a strategy for its long-term future. 

Job description

What you’ll do 

We are recruiting for two leads for the report. One to lead on delivery and engagement for the final report, and another to lead on strategy development for the report’s long-term future. 

Key responsibilities for the delivery & engagement lead include: 

• Overseeing report delivery. You will manage a small multidisciplinary team, ensuring that clear deadlines are set and communicated, and that processes are in place to deliver a high-quality Report in time for the France AI Safety Summit. 
• Manage the relationships with the Chair and his team in Mila (in Canada), the international Expert Advisory Panel, and the Writing Group. Run the Expert Advisory Panel meetings.  
• Lead on drafting aspects of the Report, reviewing content and suggestions provided by various interlocutors; as well as key stakeholders across Whitehall (e.g. No10).  
• Ensuring the report facilitates a shared and balanced science-based understanding of the risks associated with advanced AI, thus maintaining its credibility and independence. 
• Lead on Report publication, working with comms and branding teams ahead of the France Summit. 

Key responsibilities for the strategy lead include: 

• Develop a vision, objectives, and strategy for building international scientific consensus on AI safety. 
• Develop and agree objectives for an independent scientific report on advanced AI risks and capabilities over a long-term (5+ year period). 
• Develop approach to maximising the impact of the report and related initiatives, with key stakeholders such as policymakers worldwide. Including raising awareness of the report and engaging with governments and companies worldwide to ensure close collaboration and support of the report and related initiatives. 
• Develop strategic options for the long-term future of international efforts to establish the science on advanced AI risks and capabilities, considering the objectives and views of a range of internal and external stakeholders, and working in tandem with DSIT international teams (e.g. AI policy directorate international team). 
• Work closely with international partners to understand, input into and support their proposals on related issues. 
• Supporting report delivery team around report publication periods. 

Person specification

Who you are 

For both roles: 

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate and build rapport at all levels, building and maintaining productive working relationships. You may have experience in diplomacy or working internationally. Communicating and influencing to achieve outcomes will be key.  
• Able to work effectively at pace, make decisions in the face of competing priorities, and remain calm and resilient under pressure. 

• Proactive and willing to set direction in an ambiguous environment. 
• Start-up mindset / entrepreneurial approach; this will involve navigating in a lot of uncertainty, being quick to adapt, taking a 'trial and get feedback quickly' approach to a lot of pieces of work 
• You have a focus on continuous improvement of self and service, with an appetite to work with others to simplify processes and increase efficiency. 
• Desirable: Experience in AI safety/governance, or on international report drafting/delivery. 

 

For the delivery role: 

• A track record of delivering complex projects with multiple stakeholders and interests. 
• Experience in managing the competing interests of a wide range of global stakeholder groups. 

For the strategy role: 

• Experience in developing long-term objectives and strategies in complex environments with varying stakeholder interests. 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £55,805, Department for Science, Innovation & Technology contributes £15,067 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 and Experience.

Success Profiles: Application and Interview stage 

How to apply 

You’ll need to submit an anonymised CV and Statement of Suitability as part of your application. You will not be considered if you do not provide both.  

Your CV should be no more than 2 pages long and should show us your work history and previous experience. It should be well structured, succinct and written in clear language. 

Your Statement of Suitability should be no more than 500 words and should give us examples of how your skills and experience match those needed for this role. Consider giving an example for each bullet point, in the ‘Who you are’ section and use work you have completed to demonstrate how you meet each one. 

Selection process  

It will not be possible to provide feedback to applicants who are unsuccessful at the application stage. 

Interview  

The interview will be a blend of questions about Behaviours and Strengths needed for the role.  

The following behaviours will be tested:  

• Managing a Quality Service (lead behaviour) 
• Delivering at Pace 
• Seeing the Big Picture 
• Working Together 

For Behaviours, use the link here to understand the expectations at the grade of role you are applying for: Level 4 – G7. You can find out definitions of Strengths here.  

We highly recommend learning about Success Profiles and using the Situation, Task, Action, Result and Reflection (STARR) framework when structuring your answers. In your examples you should include evidence on ‘how’ you demonstrated the requirements and the impact of your work, as well as ‘what’ you did. 

Interviews will take place via MS Teams from w/c 17 June. 

For Further Information 

If you have any queries about the role, or wish to discuss, please contact baz.acar@dsit.gov.uk. 

DSIT  

Are you ready to be a part of something extraordinary? The Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) is a new department on a mission to propel the UK to the forefront of global scientific and technological advancement. 

What We're About: 

• Innovation that changes lives: We're not here to just maintain the status quo. We're driving innovations that will not only transform lives but also fuel economic growth. 
• Unleashing talent and infrastructure: We're building bridges to success, from talent programs to cutting-edge digital and physical infrastructure, all to fortify our economy, security, and public services. 
• Investing in the future: Our commitment to R&D funding is unwavering, ensuring that we're always pushing the boundaries of what's possible. 

If you're excited about being at the forefront of innovation, passionate about making a real impact, and ready to be a part of something extraordinary, join us. Together, we're shaping a future that will leave a legacy for generations to come. 
 

Our Inclusive Environment   

We are building an inclusive culture to make the Department a brilliant place to work where our people feel valued, have a voice and can be their authentic selves. We value difference and diversity, not only because we believe it is the right thing to do, but because it will help us be more innovative and make better decisions.   

We offer first-class flexible working benefits, excellent employee well-being support and a great pension. We are fortunate to have a range of excellent staff networks and are proud to be a Disability Confident Leader employer. We will support talented people from all backgrounds to build a career and thrive.  

We actively welcome applications from anyone who shares our commitment to inclusion. We will fully support candidates with a disability or long-term condition who require adjustments in our recruitment process. 

 

AI Safety Institute 

Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) over the last decade have been impactful, rapid, and unpredictable. Today, harnessing AI is an opportunity that could be transformational for the UK and the rest of the world. Advanced AI systems have the potential to drive economic growth and productivity, boost health and wellbeing, improve public services, and increase security. 

But advanced AI systems also pose significant risks. AI can be misused – this could include using AI to generate disinformation, conduct sophisticated cyberattacks or help develop chemical weapons. AI can cause societal harms – there have been examples of AI chatbots encouraging harmful actions, promoting skewed or radical views, and providing biased advice. AI generated content that is highly realistic but false could reduce public trust in information. Some experts are concerned that humanity could lose control of advanced systems, with potentially catastrophic and permanent consequences. We will only unlock the benefits of AI if we can manage these risks. At present, our ability to develop powerful systems outpaces our ability to make them safe. The first step is to better understand the capabilities and risks of these advanced AI systems. This will then inform our regulatory framework for AI, so we ensure AI is developed and deployed safely and responsibly. 

The UK is taking a leading role in driving this conversation forward internationally. We launched the AI Safety Institute – the first state body dedicated to the safety of advanced AI, investing more than any other nation - and hosted the world’s first major AI Safety Summit. 

The Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute (AISI) advances the world’s knowledge of AI safety by carefully examining, evaluating, and testing new types of AI, so that we understand what each new model is capable of. It conducts fundamental research on how to keep people safe in the face of fast and unpredictable progress in AI. The Institute makes its work available to the world, enabling an effective global response to the opportunities and risks of advanced AI. 

What we Value: 

• Diverse Perspectives: We believe that a range of experiences and backgrounds is essential to our success. We welcome individuals from underrepresented groups to join us in this crucial mission. 
• Collaborative Spirit: We thrive on teamwork and open collaboration, valuing every contribution, big or small. 
• Innovation and Impact: We are dedicated to making a real-world difference in the field of frontier AI safety and capability, and we encourage innovative thinking and bold ideas. 

This is a once-in-a-generation moment, and these roles will sit at the heart of the team. Joining the team represents a unique opportunity to deliver the vision for a constantly evolving area of UK policy. We are looking for applicants with an enthusiasm for supporting the Institute’s mission while embodying our values. 

Vetting

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the following page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demystifying-vetting

Please be aware the levels of national security clearance are changing which may impact on the level needed for this role by the time of appointment. All efforts will be made to keep candidates informed of any changes and what that will mean in terms of vetting criteria. For more information please See our vetting charter

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.