About the job

Job summary

Our priorities  

Optimise public R&D investment to support areas of relative UK strength and increase the level of private R&D to make our economy the most innovative in the world.  

Promote a diverse research and innovation system that connects discovery to new companies, growth and jobs – including by delivering world-class physical and digital infrastructure (such as gigabit broadband), making the UK the best place to start and grow a technology business and developing and attracting top talent.  

Put public services – including the NHS and schools – at the forefront of innovation, championing new ways of working and the development of in-house STEM capability to improve outcomes for people.  

Strengthen international collaboration on science and technology in line with the Integrated Review, and ensure our researchers are able to continue to work with leading scientists in Europe and around the world.  

Deliver legislative and regulatory reforms to drive competition and promote innovation, including the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill and our pro-innovation approach to regulating AI.  

Our Inclusive Environment  

We have an inclusive culture which makes the Department a brilliant place to work where our people feel valued 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 helps us be more innovative. 

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

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

We regularly run events where you can find out more about the department and tips for the application process. You can sign up for upcoming events here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/departmentforsciencetechnologyandinnovation?  

You can also follow our LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/dsitcareers/    

Job description

This role is within the Office for Life Sciences, which sits between the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. OLS has two fundamental roles: to accelerate NHS patient access to, and benefit from, the most exciting new medicines and medical technologies and to drive the growth of the British economy. OLS is an open, friendly and ambitious place to work: we want you to love your time in the Directorate; give you and your team the opportunity to lead ambitious, challenging pieces of work; and deliver discernible impact that makes a difference to patients, the public and an array of partners across the public and private sector.  We strongly welcome interest from, and provide a supportive working environment for, those from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds – and the hiring manager would be pleased to speak to any potentially interested applicants. This is an exciting opportunity to join the Office for Life Sciences. In this exciting new role, you will play a core role in supporting the delivery of the Life Sciences Healthcare Missions. This high profile programme focuses on key disease areas (Dementia, Cancer, Mental Health, Addiction and Obesity) that drive morbidity and mortality in the UK, have over £235m committed funding from Government, PM appointed Mission Chairs - and involve a wide range of the best scientists from the UK and globally. Reporting to the Head of Missions, you will deliver a range of cross-cutting projects across the Missions (esp. in advance of the upcoming Spending Review), and also be willing and able to roll-up your sleeves and get stuck in to support delivery of individual Missions or other bespoke projects. The Missions team sits within a wider OLS team that also cover the regulation, market access and deployment into the NHS of cutting edge new medicines and technologies, and it is possible you may also have opportunities to lead and/or work on high profile projects in this wider area.

Person specification

Key responsibilities will include:

1. Delivering cross-cutting projects and programmes to enable and support the delivery of the Healthcare Missions, with a particular focus on cross-cutting programmes and pieces of work.
2. Support and lead work for the team in preparing for the upcoming Election and Spending Review, ensuring rigorous plans and compelling strategic visions are in place.
3. Getting “stuck-in” on individual Missions as required to support their continued delivery.
4. Lead or support on wider or bespoke pieces of work across both the Deputy Director level Innovation and Growth team or the wider Office for Life Sciences.
5. Support wider corporate work to make OLS, and the two Departments which it reports into (DHSC and DSIT) to be the best places to work.

Skills and experience:

We do not have a preconceived idea of the candidate we are seeking to recruit for this role, but are generally looking for someone who has experience of:

1. Lead bespoke pieces of work in high profile areas – with an ability to deliver compelling analysis to work.
2. Be able to develop and present work with flair in writing, via presentations and orally.
3. The experience of leading teams, and also of being a great member of a wider team.
4. Be credible to present to individuals at the top of our respective organisations, and senior external stakeholders.
5. Experience of deploying programme and project management approaches, and working in a science-heavy environment are not a requirement, but would be of particular utility in this role.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £52,320, Department for Science, Innovation & Technology contributes £16,873 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, Strengths and Experience.

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV and behavioural statements. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

In the event of a large number of applicants, applications will be sifted on the lead behaviour statement (Leadership). 

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

Applications will be sifted on behavioural statements and CV. 

The interview will consist of behaviour and strength based questions.  

Interviewees will be asked to deliver a presentation; further details will be provided nearer the time. 

Sift and interview dates

Expected Timeline subject to change

Sift dates: w/c 13/05/2024

Interview dates: w/c 20/05/2024

Interview Location: MS Teams.

Candidates are asked to note the above timetable, exercising flexibility through the recruitment and selection process.

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.

We fully support adjustments throughout our recruitment process and we encourage candidates to discuss their adjustment needs by emailing the job contact which can be found under the contact point for applicants section.

We do not have an exhaustive list of adjustments that we support but just some examples include additional time to complete your application form, behaviour questions up to 72 hours prior to interview and having extra time at interview.

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.

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. Determine your eligibility https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

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 /Disclosure Scotland 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. 

For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email Info@disclosurescotland.co.uk

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. 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.