Description
As a Senior Policy Adviser, you will provide strong programme coordination and delivery focus to keep the Essential Digital Skills (EDS) programme on track.
The EDS programme 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.
Key Responsibilities
- Champion the Essential Digital Skills Framework across the department and wider government.
- 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).
Benefits
- Salary of £45,740 - £53,970 per year
- 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.