UK jobs. Bigger possibilities.

Senior Policy Advisor

On-site in London·Added today (last checked 16 Oct)

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT)

12 open roles

Apply

Overview

Salary: £48,540 - £53,970 a year
About £3,210 - £3,490 a month after tax.
Closing date: Apply by Tuesday 27 October
Holiday: 25 days holiday
Pension: 28.97% employer pension

Skills

Project Management

Nice to have

Accounting

The role

Apply before 11:55 pm on Tuesday 27th October 2026

Details

Reference number

485533

Salary

£45,740 - £53,970

SEO - National: £45,740 - £50,835; London: £48,540 - £53,970 (pro rata for part-time working)

A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

GBP

Job grade

Senior Executive Officer

Contract type

Permanent

Business area

DSIT - Digital, Technologies and Telecoms - Digital Inclusion & Skills

Type of role

Policy

Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time

Number of jobs available

Location

Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Darlington, Edinburgh, London, Salford

About the job

Job summary

DSIT

At DSIT we're all about improving people's lives by maximising the potential of science & technology.

We accelerate innovation, investment and productivity through world-class science, research and development.

We use technology for good by ensuring new and existing technologies are safely developed and deployed across the UK, with the benefits more widely shared.

We are driving forward a modern digital government which gives citizens a more satisfying experience and their time back.

We do all this to enable the Government's 5 national missions: kickstarting economic growth, making Britain a clean energy superpower, taking back our streets, breaking down barriers to opportunity and building an NHS fit for the future.

Above all, we focus on improving people's lives. Whether it's researching new treatments for disease, developing better batteries, reducing burdens through better public services, keeping children safe online, and much more, outcomes for citizens are at the heart of what we do.

Our Inclusive Environment

We offer flexible working benefits, employee well-being support and a great pension. We are enormously proud to be a Disability Confident Leader employer. We support candidates with adjustments throughout our recruitment process. Information about disability confidence and just some examples of the adjustments that you can request can be found in the reasonable adjustment section below.

Please note

Former DSIT recruitment campaigns are continuing as usual, but candidates should be aware that following the Government's announcement on the changes to some civil service departments, roles will be subject to the machinery of government moves and will ultimately be in one of the new departments. We will provide more information if you are selected for a role. This work remains of high importance to the civil service, and we thank you for your continued interest.

Job description

As a Senior Policy Adviser, you will provide the strong programme coordination and delivery focus needed to keep the Essential Digital Skills (EDS) programme on track. EDS is a high-profile and fast-moving area of policy concerned with helping people across the UK build the digital skills they need for life and work. Alongside the core policy work, you will lead the design and delivery of pilot projects that test and demonstrate the benefits of upskilling people in essential digital and AI skills, building the evidence base to inform future policy.

You will be part of a small team responsible for promoting and building momentum behind a newly refreshed, government-owned national framework that sets the standard for essential digital skills. Reporting to the Grade 7 leading the EDS programme, you will work closely with policy, analytical, communications and delivery colleagues across government and externally.

The role offers a unique opportunity to combine policy development, programme delivery and stakeholder engagement in an area of growing ministerial and public interest. It carries real commercial and financial responsibility from the outset, including managing budgets, shaping tenders and working with Commercial colleagues and delivery partners, alongside exposure to senior decision-makers and meaningful ownership of policy and programme delivery.

Person specification

Key Responsibilities

- Champion the Essential Digital Skills Framework across the department and wider government. You'll build it into strategies, submissions, speeches and briefings, work with AI skills and media literacy colleagues, and check Skills for Life campaign material for accuracy.
- Design and run pilot projects with partners inside and outside government, and gather evidence on what works.
- Work with councils, mayoral authorities and the devolved governments to understand what local areas need to use the Framework.
- Manage the budget, track spending, coordinate procurement and advise on priorities when funding is tight.
- Spot new trends in digital skills, AI, online safety and digital public services, in the UK and abroad, and suggest future policy options.

Essential Criteria

- A proven ability to lead complex, multi-strand work in a fast-moving environment, maintaining clear plans, managing risks and dependencies, and delivering agreed milestones with limited supervision.

- Experience of managing budgets and commercial processes, including drafting tenders or other commercial documentation and managing supplier or delivery partner relationships, or clear evidence of the organisational and analytical skills to take this on quickly.

- Sound judgement and the confidence to form a view, set out clear options and recommendations for senior colleagues and decision-makers, including ministers, and escalate the right issues and programme risks at the right time.

- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to produce concise briefings, submissions and papers and to explain complex material to a range of audiences including ministers, senior officials and external partners.

- Strong relationship-building and influencing skills across organisational boundaries, including other government departments, local and devolved government, industry, civil society and academia.

Desirable Criteria

- Knowledge of digital inclusion, essential digital skills, adult skills, education or employment support policy.

- Experience of working with local authorities, mayoral combined authorities or the devolved governments.

- Experience of taking a framework, product or piece of guidance from publication through to adoption and evaluation.

- Project management certification (e.g. PRINCE2, PMP, Agile PM).

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

Communicating and Influencing
Delivering at Pace
Seeing the Big Picture
Working Together

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £45,740, Department for Science, Innovation & Technology contributes £13,250 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

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

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

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

Applications will be sifted on CV and Personal Statement.

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

The interview will consist of behaviour questions.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

Further Information

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 basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.

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.

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).

Apply and further information

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

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. .

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 : Matt Crow
Email : Matt.Crow@dsit.gov.uk

Recruitment team

Email : dsitresourcing.grs@cabinetoffice.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.