• Details

Reference number

397441

Salary

£67,250 - £79,440

National: £67,250 - £75,575 London: £71,525 - £79,440

A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

GBP

Job grade

Grade 6

Contract type

Permanent
Loan
Secondment

Length of employment

24 Months

Business area

DSIT - Digital, Technologies and Telecoms

Type of role

Human Resources
Policy

Working pattern

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

Number of jobs available

1

Contents

• Location
• About the job
• Benefits
• Things you need to know
• Apply and further information

Location

Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Darlington, Edinburgh, London, Manchester

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 and security 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. Working at AISI is an incredible and exciting professional challenge and provides the opportunity to work with leading experts in the field of AI Safety and a wider multidisciplinary team from a broad range of personal and professional backgrounds.

None of this is possible without building a team consisting of world leading researchers and engineers from AI companies, builders from start-ups, and brilliant civil servants. The people we hire are the AISI’s greatest asset.

Creating an organisation of this nature presents unique opportunity but comes with significant challenge. We have already developed some of the most advanced operating procedures in government, constantly challenging the status quo whilst also genuinely reinventing best practice.

The Head of People will be at the heart of the AISI’s success.

This is a new role and new team that will be responsible for owning and implementing programmes and systems that will scale and grow the employee experience at AISI. We want to make AISI the best place to work in Government: this role will be critical to achieving this mission.

You will be an integral member of the team impacting the design and implementation of AISI people strategy. You will work closely with the wider senior management team to enable the AISI to deliver its strategic priorities. The postholder will be an effective and dynamic HR professional with a proven track record of contributing to an inclusive, values-driven, high performing culture.

This role will report to the Deputy Director for Talent & Operations and will be a trusted member of the Senior Management Team for the organisation. The role will naturally evolve over time as the organisation matures and you identify and pursue opportunities to enhance the service and support required by the team.

Person specification

To be successful in this role, you must demonstrate the ability to think strategically and creatively. The team are genuinely trying to do something innovative, so the post holder will need to draw on their expertise and experience as a creative HR professional to think outside of the box, working closely with colleagues across the wider HR functions and key XWH stakeholders including Government Recruitment Services, the Government People Group, and the Civil Service Commission to help tackle our challenges around people policy design, process optimisation, retention and progression, and organisation culture. This is a fast-paced environment, and any individual must be able to work dynamically and effectively independently, and often with uncertainty.

As the Head of People, you will be responsible for facilitating all aspects related to people in the AI Security Institute, including but not limited to:

• You will take ownership of the full People Experience journey including, on-boarding, talent management.
• Partner with senior leadership to understand organisational goals and develop people strategies that support these objectives including expert advice on organisational design, strategic workforce planning, talent management, and succession planning as well as strategic People initiatives that improve organisational effectiveness and employee engagement.
• Work closely with the Talent Team to help attract and retain top talent, including the development, optimisation and implementation of on-boarding processes with the aim of bettering those of leading private sector organisations in this field.
• Develop and implement Pay & Progression strategies to ensure competitive, fair, and transparent career paths within the AISI for technical and non-technical staff.
• Develop and implement performance management processes, along with the facilitation of career development activities for technical and non-technical staff.
• Support change management efforts as the organisation grows and scales as we prepare for being placed onto a statutory footing. This will include providing critical technical HR/employment oversight to ensure the AISI remains the best place to work, ensuring effective communication with teams and employees about any changes during a transition period.
• Working closely with the special projects team and corporate work strands to foster a positive and inclusive organisational culture aligned with organisational values by developing and implementing employee engagement initiatives to improve morale and productivity including DEI strategies and programs.

Essential criteria

• Proven ability to lead and manage teams across diverse HR portfolios.
• Demonstration of designing and implementing innovative HR people policies that meet strategic organisation objectives.
• Deep understanding of pay and progression.
• Expert in strategic workforce planning for scaling organisations.
• In-depth understanding of People best practices, with the ability to move seamlessly from strategy development to execution.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to build relationships at all levels of the department and with colleagues across the wider function.
• Strategic thinker with a track record of aligning HR initiatives to current workforce needs and long-term business goals, delivering innovative people solutions.
• Proven track record of delivering results in a dynamic and fast-paced environment, sensibly navigating ambiguity where necessary.
• High level of integrity and ability to use good judgement.
• Analytical mindset with proficiency in HR analytics and data-driven decision-making.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to convey complex information clearly and concisely to a range of audiences.

Desirable criteria

• An understanding or awareness of negotiating secondments.
• An understanding or awareness of managing global talent, including visa sponsorship requirements.

Qualifications

Candidates should hold, or be willing to obtain, Chartered MCIPD.

Behaviours

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

• Leadership
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Working Together

Benefits

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.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles , and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

Please provide a CV and an additional document that will be used as a cover letter.

• The CV must set out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you provide employment history that relates to the Essential criteria.
• Include answers to the following 3 questions in your cover letter
• Why have you applied to join the AI Security Institute? (200 words)
• What have you achieved that is unusual for your peer group? (300 words) – interpret ‘unusual’ however you wish
• What important truth do very few people agree with you on? (100 words)

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

For the shortlist, we will assess your experience and select applicants demonstrating the best fit for the role by considering the evidence provided in your CV and cover letter against the essential criteria.

Sift and interview dates

Sift date is April 14th 2025.

Successful candidates will participate in a 3 stage Interview process.

• Interview 1: Week commencing April 14th
• Assessed on experience
• Interview 2: Week commencing April 21st
• Assessed on Presentation and Behaviours
• Interview 3: Week commencing April 29th
• Assessed on Behaviours

Following the Interviews, you may be asked to participate in a fireside chat with a senior member of the team.

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.

Reasonable Adjustment

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.

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.

Vetting

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

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 .

See our vetting charter .

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard 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)
• 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

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code 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 .

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.

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Peter Anstey
• Email : peter.anstey@dsit.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : dsitresourcing.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information