Birmingham, Cardiff, Darlington, Edinburgh, London, Manchester

Job Summary

The AI Security Institute (AISI) is the largest team in any government dedicated to understanding AI capabilities and risks.

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

About Talent & Operations DD Group

AISI’s Talent & Operations team is the core unit responsible for making AISI a world-class research and operating environment that can deliver impactful technical work at high velocity. The T&O team delivers critical contributions as a multiplier on the rest of the organisation’s impact.

About The Role

The Head of Business Operations will identify, design and deliver transformation projects that enable AISI to operate with clarity and speed. Operating as a senior strategic partner to the Deputy Director for Talent & Operations, this role will analyse business operations challenges, design solutions and deliver them end-to-end. The ideal candidate will bring skills in analysis, process improvement, systems thinking and team leadership matched with exceptional energy, integrity and responsibility in their work style.

This role is not a traditional project or programme management position in government and there is no one-size-fits-all delivery/governance methodology that the postholder is expected to follow. The successful candidate will demonstrate high agency behaviours, taking the initiative in a fast-moving organisation to generate momentum and create impact quickly.

This role covers a diverse portfolio of projects that deliver immense impact for AISI’s staff, spanning areas like estates planning, systems improvement projects and supporting the delivery of new technical capabilities.

You will work closely with teams across AISI to identify friction points and implement scalable solutions that increase organisational efficiency. As a leader, you will build and empower a high-performing team that operates autonomously, stepping in to unblock progress when needed, whether through strong problem-solving skills or by leveraging your networks to resolve challenges. You will also secure senior sponsorship and foster strong relationships across DSIT and the wider government to support the delivery of complex change initiatives.

What You’ll Be Doing

Lead lean operational transformation projects in a fast-paced delivery environment. Set clear scope, identify key stakeholders, establish success metrics and measure project outcomes. Gather feedback, iterate on approaches, and ensure continuous improvement throughout each project cycle.
Lead and manage complex change initiatives across AISI, ensuring that change is planned, communicated, and delivered effectively. You will anticipate resistance, support staff through transitions, and embed new ways of working so that change is sustained and impactful.
Strengthen organisational systems and deliver an exceptional diagnostic capability to guide your interventions, improving data-driven decision-making across operations.
Develop clear project roadmaps with measurable milestones and provide regular progress reporting to senior leadership.
Design, embed, and continuously improve AISI’s business operations playbook, including progress review rhythms, decision-making processes, and delivery frameworks.
Build and empower a high-performing team that operates autonomously, stepping in to unblock progress when needed, whether through strong problem-solving skills or leveraging government networks to resolve challenges.
Recruit, develop, and retain exceptional people: manage, coach and inspire a high-performing team. Foster a culture of growth and continuous learning, ensuring the right skills and capabilities are in place to deliver on organisational priorities.
Build strong cross-government relationships to unblock dependencies, secure buy-in, and accelerate delivery.

What You’ll Be Doing

Lead lean operational transformation projects in a fast-paced delivery environment. Set clear scope, identify key stakeholders, establish success metrics and measure project outcomes. Gather feedback, iterate on approaches, and ensure continuous improvement throughout each project cycle.
Lead and manage complex change initiatives across AISI, ensuring that change is planned, communicated, and delivered effectively. You will anticipate resistance, support staff through transitions, and embed new ways of working so that change is sustained and impactful.
Strengthen organisational systems and deliver an exceptional diagnostic capability to guide your interventions, improving data-driven decision-making across operations.
Develop clear project roadmaps with measurable milestones and provide regular progress reporting to senior leadership.
Design, embed, and continuously improve AISI’s business operations playbook, including progress review rhythms, decision-making processes, and delivery frameworks.
Build and empower a high-performing team that operates autonomously, stepping in to unblock progress when needed, whether through strong problem-solving skills or leveraging government networks to resolve challenges.
Recruit, develop, and retain exceptional people: manage, coach and inspire a high-performing team. Foster a culture of growth and continuous learning, ensuring the right skills and capabilities are in place to deliver on organisational priorities.
Build strong cross-government relationships to unblock dependencies, secure buy-in, and accelerate delivery.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

Deep experience leading organisational change and transformation projects in complex environments, having outsized impacts with limited resources.
Demonstrable experience in managing, developing and retaining high-performing teams. You bring a proven track record of selecting, recruiting, coaching, managing and retaining exceptional people who deliver on your team’s mission.
Proven ability to develop and implement new operating models in fast-paced, ambiguous environments where your interventions preserved/promoted organisational velocity.
Exceptional organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously at pace.
Strong stakeholder management, including building relationships across government or similarly complex stakeholder environments.
Experience securing senior sponsorship and navigating cross-functional priorities.
Expertise in change management, including communication, engagement, and adoption planning.
Strong systems thinking and analytical skills, with the ability to identify root cause issues and design scalable operational improvements.

Desirable criteria

Experience working in central government.
Experience operating in analytical, research-driven, or technical organisations.
Exposure to agile or sprint-based delivery models.
Understanding of AI-related policy, technology, or organisational risks.

Alongside your salary of £67,250, Department for Science, Innovation & Technology contributes £19,482 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

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.
A hybrid office/home based working model where staff will spend a norm of 40-60% of their time in the office (minimum of 40%) over a month with flex dependent on balancing business and individual need.

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.

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV and personal statement.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Please use your personal statement (in no more than 750 words) to explain how you meet the essential criteria for this role. You should reference specific examples from your previous experience.

Application: Sift on CV and personal statement.

In the event of a large number of applicants, applications will be sifted on the CV alone.

Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

Interview 1: Scenario-based exercise, comprising a presentation and follow-up questions (task details will be sent before the interview).

Interview 2: 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.

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website.

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 /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

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

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.

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.

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.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job Contact :

Name : Jordan Holland
Email : Jordan.Holland2@dsit.gov.uk

Recruitment team

Email : Georgia.Stone@dsit.gov.uk

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the recruitment principles, and wish to make a complaint, then you should contact in the first instance DSITrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk . If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages: Click here to visit Civil Service Commission/Complaints.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology Jobs

Head of Business Operations - AI Security Institute