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Data Governance Officer

Civil Service

Job Description

Job summary

The Government Digital Service (GDS) is the digital centre of government we are responsible for setting, leading and delivering the vision for a modern digital government.

Our priorities are to drive a modern digital government, by:

  1. joining up public sector services
  1. harnessing the power of AI for the public good
  1. strengthening and extending our digital and data public infrastructure
  1. elevating leadership and investing in talent
  1. funding for outcomes and procuring for growth and innovation
  1. committing to transparency and driving accountability

We lead the Government Digital and Data function and champion the work of digital teams across government.

The Government Digital Service is where talent translates into impact. From your first day, youll be working with some of the worlds most highly-skilled digital professionals, all contributing their knowledge to make change on a national scale.

Join us for rewarding work that makes a difference across the UK. You'll solve some of the nations highest-priority digital challenges, helping millions of people access services they need.

The right person will join a well-motivated and dynamic multi disciplined team working to deliver on our commitments and roadmap.

If this sounds like the next role for you on your career journey then wed love to hear from you.

Find out more at the GDS Blog .

Former DSIT recruitment campaigns are continuing as usual, but candidates should be aware that following the Governments 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

The Data Governance Team, as part of the Digital Products Directorate, provides specialist expertise and leadership across the Government Digital Service. GDS has specialist data protection and information management requirements and requires extensive data governance controls to be designed and incorporated into product development.

Digital Products Directorate is seeking to recruit a Data Governance Operations Officer to help the team deliver data governance and privacy excellence across GDS products and services including GOV.UK and One Login, which is one of the most innovative and exciting programmes in government. The role is aligned to the Data Governance Manager role on the Government Digital and Data (GDaD) Capability Framework, which is performed at working level. You do not need to arrive as a fully formed data governance specialist: we will support you to build capability against the full set of working-level skills in post.

You will play a critical role in ensuring that data protection and information management compliance is embedded into the programme to enable GDS to protect public data and manage its information assets, whilst enabling innovative digital solutions.

You will build outstanding relationships with the programme team to help embed privacy by design and uphold the highest standards. This role provides an exciting opportunity to become a key part of one of the most impactful programmes in government.

This is a development role. You should have a genuine interest in data protection and information management and a foundational understanding of why they matter, but you are not expected to be an expert at the point of appointment. You will work with close support from the Data Governance and Privacy Leads and the Knowledge and Information Management Lead, and will be given structured development, training and hands-on casework to upskill at pace in both areas.

As a Data Governance Operations Officer, you will support:

  • data Protection and Information Management Compliance: Support the Data Governance and Privacy Leads, and the Knowledge and Information Management Lead, to ensure GDS products and services comply with data protection and information management law. With guidance from the Leads, you will apply the GDS data governance framework and internal governance standards, support Data Protection Impact Assessments and lawful, proportionate processing, and monitor adherence through casework, registers and accurate record-keeping delivering flexible and pragmatic data governance practices that enable delivery at pace
  • data Subject Rights management: Support the end-to-end management of Data Subject Rights (DSR) requests, as defined under UK GDPR and DPA 2018, ensuring timely, legally compliant, and high-quality responses, upholding privacy rights of data subjects
  • data breach management: Support in the end-to-end management of actual or suspected personal data breaches in line with GDS policy and UK GDPR/DPA 2018 requirements, ensuring timely investigation, containment, risk assessment, and reporting to the Data Governance and Privacy Lead, senior management, and the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) where legally required. You will apply risk assessment throughout casework, helping assess whether risks are acceptable or require escalation, escalating to the Leads where appropriate, so that decisions are proportionate and risk-based
  • triage and Case Management: Manage and monitor the Data Governance Team inboxes for incoming data protection and information management queries and requests. Facilitate an effective triage and allocation system to ensure all work is promptly and appropriately assigned, tracked, and actioned by the relevant team member or escalated to the Data Governance and Privacy Lead or Knowledge and Information Management Lead, maintaining detailed records of case progression and outcomes
  • information assets and the data life cycle: Support the safe handling, retention and secure disposal of personal data across the data life cycle, helping GDS manage its information assets in line with legal and records management obligations, and improve life cycle practice through casework and lessons learned
  • excellent Communication and Relationship Management: Work positively with colleagues across the Data Governance team and with delivery, legal and policy teams, supporting them in the execution of their tasks and in their development of high-quality advice and guidance. With support, you will learn to translate complex legal and technical compliance requirements into plain English for non-technical audiences, present case and risk information clearly to inform decisions, and manage differing stakeholder perspectives so that compliance keeps pace with delivery. You will be a trusted partner in keeping the work of the team in progress and ensure that decision making is recorded
  • support the Data Governance and Privacy Leads and/or the Knowledge and Information Management Lead: Provide proactive support to the Data Governance and Privacy Leads to manage compliance, identify risks and deliver strategic objectives. You will contribute to advocacy for the introduction of privacy enhancing technologies and techniques, such as pseudonymisation and other privacy-preserving approaches, recognising where new tools and approaches improve the efficiency and quality of data governance. You will identify opportunities to improve data, privacy and information management literacy across the organisation, and help ensure governance practices keep pace with evolving legislative and user needs

Person specification

Were interested in people who have:

  • workload management and delivery focus Proven ability to manage competing priorities, maintain control of a varied workload and meet statutory or operational deadlines. Experience of working effectively in ...

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