About the job

Job summary

In December 2021 Baroness Heather Hallett, a retired Appeal Court judge, was appointed by the Prime Minister as Chair of the independent public inquiry into the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The UK Covid-19 Inquiry was formally established with full powers under the Inquiries Act 2005 in June 2022. The Inquiry sits independently of the Government with the Cabinet Office acting as the sponsoring department. 

Following an initial set up phase the Inquiry began hearing evidence in May 2023. We are now looking for an energetic and collaborative senior leader to join the excellent team that is delivering the Inquiry.

This is an exciting role, offering the opportunity to lead an innovative team, in fast moving circumstances, to ensure lessons are learned from the UK response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Further information about the Inquiry can be found on the UK Covid-19 Inquiry website.

Conflicts of interest

Please note that candidates invited to interview will be invited to declare any actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interests which could affect the independence of the Inquiry, in confidence, to the senior conflicts of interest recruiting manager. This may include current or prior work undertaken on the COVID-19 pandemic response. Decisions on any potential conflict of interest will be made before an appointment to the role is confirmed.

Job description

The Team

The Head of Evidence and Information Management will lead a team of 10 staff who are responsible for ensuring that all the relevant material reviewed over the course of the Inquiry is made available to core participants in line with the Inquiry Act and Rules, that the Inquiry complies with GDPR, the Data Protection Act and ECHR Article 8 in handling significant volumes of sensitive material, and that the Inquiry’s official report and records are archived in line with the Act and Rules.  

In addition to evidence and information management experience at a senior level, the successful candidate must be flexible and innovative: ensuring that the Inquiry complies with public sector data-management best practice, but also with the ability to handle the specific challenges of this Inquiry. 

The postholder requires an understanding of political impact to support the Inquiry’s statutory office holders and senior team in navigating the expectations of both individual and corporate core participants.

Reporting to the Information and Programme Director, this role sits within the Inquiry’s Programme and Information Management Services Directorate, which covers a range of corporate functions including Planning & Delivery, Governance & Assurance, Evidence and Information Management and Private Office. 

This is an exciting opportunity to lead inclusive and innovative teams in an organisation where you will be supported to challenge yourself in often ambiguous circumstances. The team works in a flexible, collaborative manner to learn and support each other as we undertake one of the most publicly anticipated inquiries in UK history.

Some of the key responsibilities include and are not limited to:

Evidence Management:

• Enable the Inquiry’s counsel and legal team to interrogate vast quantities of evidential material from multiple providers, in an organised manner, ensuring evidential continuity; and to disclose and publish relevant materials in support of Core Participant (CP) access, hearings, and report publication.
• Strategic and secure management of the Inquiry’s evidence management system and transfer platform, including leading a team coordinating with Material Providers (MPs), providing assurance where necessary, in order to efficiently obtain potentially evidential material
  

Contract Management:

• Provide effective management of contracts within the responsibility of evidence management, in order that the Inquiry processes are efficient, the Inquiry gets good value for money, does not cost the public more than is necessary, and the work is completed to targets.

Information Management:

• Ensure the Inquiry record is managed effectively and securely, in line with The Inquiries Act 2005, The Inquiry Rules 2006, Public Records Act 1958, Data Protection Act 2018 & UK GDPR, and having regard to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
• Lead a team of information management professionals to develop and maintain policies and procedures.
• Lead culture change initiatives designed to develop the required skills to demonstrate Information Management best practice.
• Conducting audits where necessary; support the legal team to encourage the record is maintained efficiently.
• Promote awareness of Information Management good practice by developing communications and providing training.

Leadership & Building Capability:

• Contribute to the Programme and Information Management senior leadership team.
• Build the information/evidence management function; instilling a positive, capable, and supportive ethos and role modelling the Inquiry’s values.
• Continue to develop the Inquiry’s positive data and information management culture.

Person specification

Essential Criteria:

• Strong leadership skills, including previous leadership experience in a public Inquiry or organisation requiring similar levels of data review and preservation to deliver excellent outcomes.
• Excellent technical knowledge of Information Management Principles, practice and technology, Records Management and Risk, including the proven ability to provide training and guidance.
• An understanding of Data Protection, including GDPR and DPA 2018.
• Problem-solving attitude, including experience of providing innovative, technical solutions and managing large datasets.
• Effective communicator, able to engage with different audiences and colleagues at all levels, including at the most senior, and ability to build relationships across functions.
• Experience managing and delivering through contracts to provide the best value for the organisation and the taxpayer.

Desirable Criteria:

• Experience of working in an Inquiry, investigation or legal context.
• Qualifications or accreditation in a field relevant to the role.

Additional information:

A minimum 60% of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace. Although requirements to attend other locations for official business will also count towards this level of attendance.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £64,700, Cabinet Office contributes £17,469 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 Strengths and Experience.

Application process

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.

A personal statement of no more than a 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 requirements highlighted. You may also choose to reference the desirable skills listed.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the personal statement. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

Selection process

During the blended interview you will be assessed against your experience and strength based questions, the strength questions are ones in which we wish to gain your initial response. There may also be a short presentation, the details of which will be shared ahead of the interview.

Expected timeline (subject to change)

Expected sift date – w/c 20th May 2024
Expected interview date/s – w/c 3rd June 2024
Interview location - Remote - Video - Google Meets

Further information

Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Any move to Cabinet Office 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 at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

Please note that this role requires SC clearance, which would normally need 5 years UK residency in the past 5 years. This is not an absolute requirement, but supplementary checks may be needed where individuals have not lived in the UK for that period. This may mean your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible.

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

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

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

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

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.

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.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

Reasonable adjustments

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. 

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: 

• Contact Government Recruitment Service via cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs. 
• Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

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

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.