Public Sector
Are you ready to RAAC?
England’s Department for Education is
advertising a role paying up to £200,000 a year to lead a new digital and
infrastructure group overseeing school buildings and maintenance, as well as technology and data.
Its Director General, Digital and
Infrastructure, will lead the technology function of
around 1,800 staff, develop a new strategy covering digital services, data, and artificial intelligence, and lead work on a unique identifier
for children and other learners in England. Scotland, Wales, and
Northern Ireland run education services on a devolved basis.
The successful candidate will also
implement a new strategy for “the education estate” of schools,
colleges, nurseries, and children’s homes. The job ad warns the function “carries
some of the highest levels of risk and accountability in the
department – including life-and-death decisions on safety,” citing ongoing work to remove unsafe reinforced
autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) from schools.
“I am looking for a leader who is
motivated by impact – someone who is able to combine their digital
and data expertise with their drive to improve outcomes for children
and young people,” writes the department’s permanent secretary, Susan Acland-Hood, in a briefing document with the advert. “Whilst
you do not need to be an expert on education policy, you need to be
curious and committed to rapidly building your understanding of the
latest evidence, system, and policy landscape.”
The department is willing to base the
job in Bristol, Cambridge, Coventry, Darlington, London, Manchester,
Nottingham, or Sheffield, although those who do not work in the
capital will need to go there frequently. Applications close on June 1.
Several other departments have
recently advertised digital director-general posts, the civil service
job category just below permanent secretary (equivalent to chief
executive). In January, England’s Department of Health and Social Care
advertised the role of director general for technology, digital and
data with a salary of up to £285,000 a year.
In February, the Ministry of Defence offered £270,000 to £300,000
for its chief digital and information
officer job. And in April, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
advertised for three directors-general, one paid £174,000 and the
other two paying between £200,000 and £260,000 annually. ®
