Head of Private Office, - AI Security Institute
Department for Science, Innovation & Technology Head of Private Office, - AI Security Institute
Description
- Job grade: Grade 7
- Contract type: Fixed term, Loan
- Length of employment: 24 Months
- Business area: DSIT - Artificial Intelligence
- Type of role: Other
- Working pattern: Flexible working, Full-time
- Number of jobs available: 1
Location
About the job
Job summary
The AI Security Institute (AISI) is the largest team in a government dedicated to understanding AI capabilities and risks in the world.
Our mission is to equip governments with an empirical understanding of the safety of advanced AI systems. We conduct research to understand the capabilities and impacts of advanced AI, and develop and test risk mitigations. We focus on risks with security implications, including the potential of AI to assist with the development of chemical and biological weapons, how it can be used to carry out cyber-attacks, enable crimes such as fraud, and the possibility of loss of control.
The risks from AI are not sci-fi, they are urgent. By combining the agility of a tech start-up with the expertise and mission-driven focus of government, we’re building a unique and innovative organisation to prevent AI’s harms from impeding its potential.
Job description
This is an exciting opportunity to lead Private Office at the AI Security Institute — one of the UK government's most high-profile and fastest-growing teams, at the centre of how the UK and the world responds to the risks of frontier AI.
Private Office is the engine room that keeps AISI's senior leadership running effectively. As Head of Private Office, you will lead the team of Private Secretaries supporting the Director, Strategy Director and Deputy Directors, and be personally accountable for the overall quality, consistency and impact of that support.
This is a role with real scope to shape how AISI's leadership operates. Beyond running an excellent function, you will have the opportunity to become a trusted strategic adviser to the Director and senior team — helping shape how priorities are set, how decisions get made, and how the organisation runs as it continues to scale at pace.
The role has four core strands:
- Driving excellence in Private Office — ensuring the function delivers consistently high-quality, resilient support across AISI's leadership team
- Building out the function — introducing tools (including AI), processes and ways of working that make Private Office more effective and scalable
- Developing the team — leading onboarding and development of Private Secretaries, and keeping resourcing and structure under review as the function's needs evolve
- Being a strategic sounding board — contributing your own judgement and advice to the Director and senior team on priorities, decisions and how the organisation runs, drawing on your unique vantage point across the top of AISI
Key responsibilities
Leading the function:
- Own the overall quality and consistency of support provided by Private Office, setting clear standards and ensuring they are met
- Manage and develop the team of Private Secretaries, including coaching, feedback and cover planning, and building a culture that takes pride in operational excellence
- Act as the point of escalation for complex, sensitive or cross-cutting issues that individual Private Secretaries can't resolve alone
Continuous improvement and tools:
- Identify and implement opportunities to improve how Private Office operates, from streamlining processes to introducing AI tools and other technology
- Build scalable systems, ways of working and resourcing that will serve AISI as it continues to grow
Developing the team:
- Own onboarding for new Private Office joiners, ensuring they're set up to succeed quickly
- Support the ongoing development of Private Secretaries, helping them build the skills and judgement to grow within their roles
Strategic sounding board:
- Use your vantage point across AISI's leadership to spot patterns, risks and opportunities that individual Private Secretaries may not see from within a single portfolio, and ensure leadership's collective priorities — not just individual asks — are tracked and delivered
- Act as a trusted sounding board to the Director and senior team — contributing your own judgement and advice on priorities, sensitive issues, and how the leadership group functions as a whole
Person specification
Essential criteria
- Experience in HMG private office, supporting HMG principals or leadership teams, or a similar high-performing operational environment, with a track record of excellent delivery
- Experience managing and developing a team, with the ability to coach others to a high standard
- Strong judgement in prioritising competing demands, and solving problems calmly under pressure
- A track record of improving how a team or function operates — introducing new tools or processes that raised standards
- Clear, confident communication, able to convey complex information succinctly to senior stakeholders and build trusted relationships at the most senior levels
- Discretion, sound judgement and resilience in a fast-changing, ambiguous environment
- Experience navigating Whitehall to achieve/deliver objectives
Desirable criteria
- Experience using or implementing AI tools to improve operational efficiency
- An understanding of AI safety and its importance in addressing the risks and challenges associated with frontier AI technologies
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Delivering at Pace
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Communicating and Influencing
Benefits
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology offers a competitive mix of benefits including:
- A culture of flexible working, such as job sharing, homeworking and compressed hours.
- Automatic enrolment into the Civil Service Pension Scheme, with an employer contribution of 28.97%.
- A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by 1 day per year up to a maximum of 30.
- An extensive range of learning & professional development opportunities, which all staff are actively encouraged to pursue.
- Access to a range of retail, travel and lifestyle employee discounts.
Office attendance
The Department operates a discretionary hybrid working policy, which provides for a combination of working hours from your place of work and from your home in the UK. The current expectation for staff is to attend the office or non-home based location for 40-60% of the time over the accounting period.
Things you need to know
Artificial intelligence
Selection process details
As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV and personal statement.
Please use your personal statement (in no more than 500 words) to explain your motivation and how you meet the criteria for this role, including relevant past experience.
In the event of a large number of applicants, applications will be sifted on the personal statement alone.
Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.
Interview 1: Experience and motivation
Interview 2: Task-based exercise and behaviours (task details will be sent before the interview).
Interview 3: Final interview with AISI executive team.
Sift and interview dates
Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.
Further Information
Existing Civil Servants and applicants from accredited NDPBs are eligible to apply,and can 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.
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.
Reasonable Adjustment
We are proud to be a disability confident leader and we welcome applications from disabled candidates and candidates with long-term conditions.
Information about the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) and some examples of adjustments that we offer to disabled candidates and candidates with long-term health conditions during our recruitment process can be found in our DSIT Candidate Guidance. A DSIT Plain Text Version of the guidance is also available.
We encourage candidates to discuss their adjustment needs by emailing the job contact which can be found under the contact point for applicants section.
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.
New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.
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.
Candidates who meet the minimum benchmark may be placed on a Reserve List for consideration for similar roles, including those at a lower grade. Candidates who narrowly miss the benchmark and are not placed on the Reserve List may still be considered for an offer in a similar role at a lower grade.
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; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.
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 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 National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website.
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
See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
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
Working for the Civil Service
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).
Diversity and Inclusion
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : Sarah Jackson
- Email : Sarah.Jackson3@dsit.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : Farah.Chowdhury@dsit.gov.uk
Further information
Attachments
| DSIT T&Cs v1.2 Opens in new window (docx, 179kB) |
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