Cabinet Office hunts digital & data chief for £190k role

The Cabinet Office has kicked off the hunt for a new chief digital officer for the UK Government, the most senior role in digital, data and technology in Whitehall and commanding an salary of £190,000, nearly £30,000 more than the Prime Minister.

Leading a team of around 200 specialists and SMEs in the Central Digital & Data Office, it is a director general level job, reporting up to Civil Service chief operating officer Alex Chisholm.

The new CDO will succeed Joanna Davinson, who took on the role on an interim basis in April last year as part of restructure of the digital, data and technology function.

According to the job spec, the CDO will be “responsible for shaping and delivering HMG’s digital, data and technology transformation to deliver better services (and ultimately outcomes) for UK citizens, for improving data-driven decision-making across Government, and for managing technology related risks”.

The spec adds: “The scope of this transformation includes digitising end to end services, overhauling Government’s legacy IT systems, establishing cross government enterprise architecture, updating our approach to data and analytics, strengthening our cyber security, and upgrading our digital, data and tech talent and skills.

“Your wider accountability will be as leader and professional head of HM Government’s 20,000 strong digital, data and tech community. In this role you will also have overall responsibility for delivering the change required to maintain our position as a world leader in digital Government.”

The role can be based in Bristol, London, or Manchester with travel to other offices as required as well as face to face meetings on a regular basis in Whitehall and Whitechapel.

The Cabinet Office is aiming to complete the interview process for the job by the last week of April.