About the role

Home Office Digital designs, builds and runs the technology and services that deliver, at scale, some of the UK’s most critical and well-used public services.  The engineering capability plays a critical part in every part of the Home Office in delivering its mission from how we secure the border and control immigration to issues passports and reducing and preventing crime, supporting these services that impact millions of people every year.

The Home Office Digital estate consists of more than 600 systems, enabling critical services such as;

• 13 million Electronic Travel Authorisations since launch
• 3 million visa applications annually
• 130 million border checks each year
• 7 million passport applications annually
• 140 million police checks on people, vehicles, and property

You will work closely with the Chief Data Officer to translate strategic priorities into tangible outcomes, ensuring that data programmes deliver measurable improvements in operational performance, decision-making and service delivery. You will sit within the Digital & Innovation Group and be part of the wider Data and Innovation leadership community, working closely with senior leaders across Digital, Data, Technology, Analysis and Operational functions.

We are recruiting for two roles:

1.Deputy Director – Data Modernisation: We are enhancing and modernising the departments Data Services and Analytics capabilities to provide the single source within the department and inter-department and enable AI deployment at scale. The Deputy Director will lead the DSA modernisation program which will include implementation of some 3rd party market leading packages to accelerate delivery, simplifying the data technology landscape, ensuring data held in front line tools (like excel sheets) feeds into cloud-based systems and enables self-serve analytics for Director Generals and other senior stakeholders.

2.Deputy Director – Data Innovation: There are several opportunities for rapid improvement in our data landscape by deploying automation at scale, leveraging AI as appropriate. These can be within business areas, technology teams and corporate teams. The Deputy Director will lead a rapid action team to solve quick wins at pace will unlock significant cost and improvement opportunities for the Home Office. This team will also experiment and incubate long term strategic capability issues where a rapid fix is not possible. This will include research & development engagements with 3rd party market leaders on specific topics including corporates, academia, other government departments etc.

Job description

Responsibilities 

The responsibilities of both roles will include:

• Lead the delivery of the Home Office’s strategic data transformation portfolio, ensuring programmes and initiatives deliver measurable operational outcomes and value.
• Drive data programs to unlock short term value at pace while shaping long term strategy.
• Drive complex cross-government data programmes that support critical operational priorities, including Foreign National Offender management, public protection, border security and immigration services.
• Translate the strategic vision established by the Chief Data Officer into deliverable programmes, products and capabilities that improve decision-making, service delivery and operational performance.
• Lead engagement with government departments, law enforcement partners and wider public sector organisations to improve data sharing, interoperability and the effective use of data across organisational boundaries.
• Remove barriers to data sharing and exploitation by coordinating business, operational, policy, legal and technology stakeholders to deliver sustainable solutions.
• Lead multidisciplinary teams and suppliers responsible for delivering data platforms, products and services that support Home Office priorities.
• Ensure robust governance, assurance and benefits realisation across major data programmes, maintaining appropriate standards for security, resilience and compliance.
• Support the delivery of AI-enabled capabilities by establishing strong data foundations, quality standards and governance arrangements.
• Provide regular reporting and assurance to the Chief Data Officer and senior governance forums on programme performance, risks, dependencies and outcomes.
• Champion a data-driven culture across the Home Office, promoting collaboration and maximising the value of departmental data assets.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

The successful candidate will need to demonstrate their knowledge, experience, capability and behavioural approach to a high standard against the following key criteria:

• An accomplished senior data leader with a strong track record of influencing, negotiating and building trusted relationships across functions, organisational boundaries, and at board and executive level.
• Significant experience leading complex programmes to deliver cross-boundary outcomes, spanning multiple stakeholders, governance structures and operational priorities, improving data sharing and delivering outcomes across organisational boundaries in regulatory, public service or similarly complex environments.
• Deep understanding of complex operational data environments and the challenges of managing, sharing, integrating and extracting value from data across law enforcement, criminal justice, border, immigration or comparable operational systems.
• Proven strategic expertise across data, analytics and AI, encompassing data management, quality, governance, architecture, integration, reporting, analytics, cloud technologies and the wider technology landscape, together with strong market knowledge of suppliers and industry developments.
• Exceptional leadership and people management capability, with a record of building high-performing, inclusive teams, leading through others, driving improvement and delivery at pace, and achieving outcomes within complex and fast-moving environments.
• Outstanding stakeholder engagement and communication skills, with the credibility to align senior operational, policy, analytical and technology communities and translate complex technical and operational issues into clear advice for boards, senior leaders and executive stakeholders.

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