Head of Adoption (Financial Services and Property)

At DSIT were all about improving peoples lives by maximising the potential of science & technology.

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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.

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We do all this to enable the Governments 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 peoples lives. Whether its 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 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.

Digital identities underpin millions of transactions across the UK every day from proving your age in a pub to buy alcohol, to proving your identity in order to open a bank account. This role sits within the Office for Digital Identities and Attributes (OfDIA) (www.gov.uk/ofdia) which sets the standards, governance and legislative framework that allow organisations and individuals to use digital identities with confidence and leads the governments work to enable the widespread adoption of digital identity solutions.

OfDIA sets the standards that determine what good digital identity looks like, through the Digital Verification Services Trust Framework. This work is central to shaping how digital identity services operate, protect users, and defend against fraud. OfDIA also runs the UKs official register of accredited Digital Verification Services, granting the UK Trust Mark to providers that meet the bar for trust, security and resilience, with cyber security built in by design.

OfDIA is a friendly and high performing deputy directorate and a great place to work. We welcome applications from people with different professional backgrounds and experiences. You do not need to be a technical specialist to succeed in this role. What matters is your willingness to learn, to help others develop, and to build the capability needed to deliver high quality work in a rapidly changing area.

Key responsibilities:

You will lead one of two G7 teams in the Digital Identity Market Adoption team. Your objective will be to enable the widespread use of trusted digital identities in use cases connected to the financial services sector, sectors regulated by the Money Laundering Regulations (MLRs), and the property sector. We have a plan for how this can be achieved, but it needs refining, extending, shaping and delivering. You will also play a leading role in the coordination of OfDIAs ambitious stakeholder engagement operation.

This is an exciting and fast paced role for a confident G7 which will offer plenty of opportunities to demonstrate and build leadership skills, as well as skills in policy development, working with regulations, and high impact external stakeholder engagement.

In this role, you will:

Lead work to develop guidance for the 16 sectors governed by the MLRs which explains how they can incorporate the use of trusted digital verification services into their identity checking processes. This will involve work with OGDs, lawyers, regulators and external stakeholders like banks that are regulated by the MLRs

Identify and develop other proposals to encourage adoption of the trusted digital verification services across the financial services sector. This could involve working with HMT, HMRC and others, and supporting legislative, regulatory or guidance changes.

Lead work to explore how OfDIA can best influence the adoption of digital ID checking in the property-buying process. This will require working with the G6 and DD into OGDs, and with regulators and property sector stakeholders

Work with the G6 manager to refresh OfDIAs processes for delivering regular, impactful engagement across OGDs and into industry aimed at gathering insights on priorities and challenges for digital identity adoption and driving progress across OfDIAs key portfolios.

Line manage 2x SEO.

As a line manager, you will be responsible for working with your members of staff to define their objectives, as well as managing their development and performance.

Essential Criteria

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to express complex information clearly and tailor content to the appropriate audience
• Strong networking and engagement skills that enable you to build and maintain collaborative and positive relationships with both internal and external stakeholders
• Demonstrable experience of working in a fast-paced environment, managing competing priorities and delivering high-quality work to challenging timelines
• Ability to evaluate complex information, including data, and use it to develop evidence-based policy
• It is unusual that all candidates will meet all the criteria. If your skills and experience look slightly different from what we have identified and you think you can bring value to the role and the team, we strongly encourage you to apply.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience or understanding of digital identity policy