About the job

Job summary

The AI Safety Institute (AISI) is the closest thing to a start up in government. The Talent team are looking to create the best recruitment service within government, moving quickly and efficiently to attract the best talent within AI Safety globally. This is not your normal Civil Service team – we have built a reputation for getting things done, challenging the status quo, and navigating ambiguity. 

The Talent team are responsible for ensuring that the best and brightest talent joins and stays with the AI Safety Institute. You’ll have the opportunity to work with some of the best AI safety researchers and engineers globally. You’ll be responsible for; streamlining processes and procedures, building out an onboarding journey that rivals the best in government and private industry, managing an enthusiastic team of end-to-end recruiters, and finding creative ways to source and onboard talent in a highly complex environment.

We have developed some of the most advanced operating procedures in government and are the cornerstone of AISI's establishment, constantly challenging the status quo and setting best practice. In the Talent team, you will get the opportunity to build a team from the ground up; work on a prime ministerial priority in an environment that encourages innovation and creativity; and collaborate and learn from an outstanding group of people including senior alumni from some of the world leading AI labs, tech start-ups and the Civil Service.

Job description

What you'll do

As a Resourcing Operations Lead, you will be part of the Talent team’s senior leadership team, leading a team responsible for managing the operational delivery of both resourcing and onboarding processes to scale and grow the AI Safety Institute. This includes but is not limited to:

• Resourcing and Onboarding Process: you’ll review and develop a recruitment and onboarding process which takes the best of the Civil Service and private sector processes to ensure we have an efficient and effective way to bring the best talent into the organisation
• Senior Leadership: you’ll be a visible, proactive and empathetic senior leader who has experience of managing high performing teams in a resourcing environment
• Build the team: you will be involved in building out and developing a small team to deliver AISI’s resource requirements
• Talent Management: as the AISI grows, you will be involved in designing and delivering talent management schemes and strategies to ensure we retain and grow our staff

Person specification

Who you are - essential skills and experience

• End to end recruitment and onboarding process: you’ll have managed an end to end recruitment process; from sourcing for new applications through to welcoming new starters on their first day
• A solution-oriented self-starter: you will have demonstrable evidence that you are highly inquisitive, astute and innovative in the face of complex HR and operational problems. You will have a track record of finding new ways of getting things done with an open and impartial mindset and an ability to provide constructive challenge
• Talent Management: You will have some experience or interest in developing talent management schemes and initiatives to ensure we build our workforce and retain key talent
• Leadership: you will have led and developed a high performing team, ensuring key deliverables are met while you develop and grow the skills and ability of your team
• Prioritisation: a proven ability to make decisions confidently in ambiguous circumstances and effectively support a team in navigating competing priorities and remain calm and resilient under pressure.
• Stakeholder Management: you will be experienced in building strong relationships with key stakeholders with a demonstrable ability to tailor your approach and communication style. You’ll be motivated by delivering an outstanding customer experience
• Presenting Data: You’ll be able to work with large, complex data sets, synthesising information to present to Senior Leaders within AISI
• Tech: you will have an interest AI and the tech industry, and/or the potential ramifications of AI for policy and society.

Desirable criteria

• Scaling: experience of working within a start-up/high growth environment
• CIPD qualification

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £52,320, Department for Science, Innovation & Technology contributes £14,126 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.

To apply for this role, please select 'Apply Now' at the bottom of this advert.

Application:

To apply for this post, please send us the following documents no later than 23:55 - Wednesday 13th March via the CS Jobs portal:

• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you provide employment history that relates to the essential and desirable criteria, and that any gaps in employment history within the last 2 years are explained. The CV should not exceed more than 2 x A4 pages and you should insert your CV into the "Job History" section on Civil Service Jobs on the Civil Service Jobs application form.
  
  
• A Personal Statement (max 500 words) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role in reference to the essential requirements highlighted. You may also choose to reference the desirable skills listed.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Sift:

For the shortlist, we will assess your experience and select applicants demonstrating the best fit for the role by considering the evidence provided in your application.

Interview:

During the interview, you will be asked Behaviour based questions to demonstrate, how you meet each of the Essential skills listed in the job advert

For Behaviours, use the link here to understand the expectations at the grade of role you are applying for: Level 4 – G6 and G7. 

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. 

You may be asked to prepare and present a short presentation with details provided to you prior to interview. You may also be asked for a fireside chat with a member of the senior leadership team following your interview.

Further Information

This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying.

Existing Civil Servants and applicants from accredited NDPBs are eligible to apply, but will only be considered on loan basis (Civil Servants) or secondment (accredited NDPBs). Prior agreement to be released on a loan basis must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant. This includes grade on return.

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.

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.