About the job

Job summary

This is a brilliant opportunity to contribute to the development and implementation of Smart Data, an innovative cross-government policy with wide reaching opportunities for businesses and consumers.

Smart Data is the secure sharing of consumer data, with their consent, to third parties to provide innovative services. Open Banking is currently considered the only live example of an arrangement comparable to a Smart Data; it enables consumers to use third party services to securely move and manage their money. Open Banking services are used by 9.7 million people in the UK and the ecosystem is worth more than £4 billion.

The Government has committed to enabling Smart Data schemes so that customers can ask for help from authorised third parties to better use the data about them. The aim is to drive innovative new money management and other services.

Beyond the possibilities enabled by Smart Data in Open Banking, other potential initiatives include, amongst many others:

• Supporting grid-level energy demands, and saving consumers money, by using energy data to recommend the most cost or energy efficient times and locations to charge their electric vehicles.
• Health benefits and cost and time savings for consumers by providing data-driven insights to help them plan more affordable and more nutritious grocery shopping.
• Wage increases for gig workers, by providing data to help workers choose the best platform and to improve gig workers’ access to finance.

The team works to coordinate activities across Whitehall and public and private sector organisations to further Smart Data in a number of priority sectors, including banking, financial services, and telecoms. This includes progressing Smart Data legislation and brokering agreement across government on the institutional arrangements to support the policy in the long term. 

Job description

The team is hiring for three roles, each with a specific Smart Data focus area and a wider stakeholder engagement and influencing responsibility. We are looking for:

• Smart Data Policy Lead – Legislation
• Smart Data Policy Lead – Stakeholders
• Smart Data Policy Lead – Innovation and Evidence

All successful candidates will also be expected to be a contribute to wider directorate and team work.

Responsibilities across the three roles include:

• Line management of up to two SEOs
• Engaging and influencing stakeholders, building and maintaining the community of industry and Whitehall stakeholders that are needed to drive forward Smart Data.
• Supporting Ministers in Parliamentary engagement, including providing last-minute oral briefings, and promptly responding to queries.
• Leading on commissions to further the policy area, including submissions and briefings.
• Continuous monitoring and regular reporting of deadlines, milestones, and risks of complex work streams.

Responsibilities specific to each of the three roles:

Smart Data Policy Lead – Legislation

• Representing Smart Data legislation at cross-Whitehall and external facing engagements
• Preparatory work ahead of and during all Parliamentary stages and negotiating for legislative consent with the devolved administrations.
• Proactively identifying opportunities for future sector schemes, and close collaboration with other government departments leading on regulations.

 Smart Data Policy Lead – Stakeholders

• Development of the engagement strategy for Smart Data, ensuring the right voices are brought in to contribute to conversations around policy development.
• Management of cross-Whitehall relationships, encouraging a cross-government approach to drive forward Smart Data.
• Lead on the Smart Data Council, the industry-led group which provides support and challenge to the government policy direction.  You will be working closely with the chair of the Council, providing a secretariat for meetings and overall strategy to ensure the government utilises the expertise that the Council provides.

 Smart Data Policy Lead – Innovation and Evidence

• Lead on the development of the evidence base for Smart Data
• Lead on the development and delivery of innovation-support projects, such as opportunities for innovators to prototype or pilot services that use Smart Data. This may include the potential delivery of the Smart Data Challenge Prize.
• Manage external delivery partners, including contract management.

Person specification

Essential criteria

• Making Effective Decisions - Experience of developing and delivering policy proposals; finding pragmatic solutions to policy challenges and evaluating different options.
• Seeing the Bigger Picture - Ability to synthesise complex policy information and communicate it clearly, while considering wider factors and seeing other people’s perspectives.
• Delivering at Pace - Strong organisational skills and experience in managing competing priorities, delivering high quality outcomes at pace, and proactively anticipating and planning for any issues in advance.
• Working Together - Ability to establish strong networks as an effective relationship builder, developing good working relationships between internal and external stakeholders.

 Desirable criteria

• For the legislation policy lead, experience of, or willingness to learn about, working on legislation and/or with the Parliament.
• Experience of working across and negotiations with government departments

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Seeing the Bigger Picture
• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £53,560, Department for Business and Trade contributes £14,461 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.

Interviews for this vacancy will be conducted virtually. We will, however, consider in-person interviews by exception.

Please ensure that you check your emails regularly as all updates from us will be sent to you this way.

To apply for this post, you will be asked to complete the following as part of the online application:   

• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Provide employment history that relates to the Essential 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.
• A Personal Statement of up to 1000 words, explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role in reference to the Essential criteria. 

After the closing date It is likely that the sift will take place 1-2 weeks after the closing date and interviews 3-5 weeks after the closing date though this is subject to change.

In the event that there is a high volume of applicants, a short sift will be conducted based on Personal Statement only. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

Reasonable Adjustments

We are committed to supporting candidates so they can perform at their best throughout the recruitment process. This includes making reasonable adjustments to our process. In order to request an adjustment: 

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section on the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. 

Alternatively contact the Government Recruitment Service at DBTrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Candidate Support

You may want to join a virtual Candidate Support Session. These sessions include helpful tips and advice on the recruitment process, from application to interview.  

Please see attached Candidate Pack for further information on: Diversity and Inclusion; Benefits; Learning and Development; Working Patterns and what we deliver as a department. 

Further Information:

• A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made. Reserve Lists will be for each location and appointments made in merit order based on location preferences.   
• Any move to the Department for Business and Trade from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments.
• The Department will not consider sponsoring a visa or issuing a Certificate of Sponsorship. We are unable to offer advice on any Visa and Immigration cases.  
• New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.  
• 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. Any applicant who has 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.  
• Terms and Conditions are attached.  Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.
• Please note – the successful candidate will be expected to remain in post for a minimum of 18 months before being released for another role.
• This role may be considered as a secondment opportunity. Please reach out to the hiring manager listed at the bottom of this advert to discuss.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service /Disclosure Scotland/Access NI 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 

For further information on the Access NI confidential checking service telephone: the Access NI Helpline on 0300 200 7888 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email accessni@ani.x.gsi.gov.uk

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.