Government Digital and Data Pay and Reward Lead
Government Digital Service
Apply before 11:55 pm on Thursday 13th February 2025
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About the job
Job summary
The Government Digital Service (GDS) is the digital centre of government - setting, leading and delivering the vision for a modern digital government. GDS is responsible for setting the digital strategy for government.
Join the Workforce and Capability team, where our mission is to ensure the government possesses the necessary talent to drive digital transformation and overcome the challenges ahead. We're dedicated to enhancing the government's capacity to attract, recruit, nurture, and retain top tier digital and data professionals.
As part of the Workforce and Transformation Directorate, you’ll help shape the future of digital strategy and capabilities, providing vital insights that support cross departmental policies, standards, and strategies.
We're entrusted with devising strategies and delivering results for a community of 30,000+ digital innovators, aspiring talent, and the broader civil service. Our commitment extends to fostering an inclusive, supportive, and dynamic culture where individuals thrive and excel.
Our priority within the Pay Team:
- A unified Digital and Data career and reward framework for government. Design and facilitate cross government adoption of a unified Digital and Data career and remuneration framework that partners standardised role profiles, skill requirements and skill assessments for Digital and Data professionals with a competitive pay framework that is applied across government.
Job description
You will develop the Digital and Data Pay Framework, designing strategic amendments to our current pay, and wider reward, arrangements for both SCS roles, and delegated grades, to support the changing needs of the profession across government. Your role will shape the evolving roadmap for a digitally driven government, empowering civil servants to achieve more in house and reduce the reliance on contractors and consultancies.
You will promote, advise and support departments to adopt, or expand their use of, the Pay Framework and support their implementation programmes.
This is an exciting opportunity to be at the forefront of designing and delivering the whole reward framework for our future ambitions of growing up to 40,000 Digital and Data professionals across government. Your work is part of the Digital and Data Workforce and Capability Team.
This role may evolve to include line management responsibilities, as part of the future development and growth of the team.
As Reward Lead you will:
- Design and develop reward strategy for the profession to reflect changing business models for the delivery of digital and data services
- Design, develop and maintain the Digital and Data Pay Framework for both delegated grades and SCS; including reviewing and amending the pay group structure and membership as new roles join the profession
- Encourage, support and help departments to adopt, or widen their use of, the Pay Framework
- Work with government people group to review and approve department business cases (using templates you create) to adopt the framework, to develop, modify and update the framework, and to introduce changes if necessary
- Use market pay data, and your knowledge of wider reward best-practice in the UK, to keep pay and reward practice competitive
- Work with the wider Digital and Data Workforce Strategy and Transformation team to ensure that policy proposals are data driven, that the employee value proposition is competitive and that remuneration is factored in as a key consideration in the Digital and Data strategic workforce plan and sourcing strategy
- Develop and lead communication and consultation with GPG, departments, senior leaders and the head of profession on digital and data reward matters; from helping to shape emerging thinking, through to effective implementation of agreed changes.
Person specification
We’re seeking a highly experienced pay and reward professional. You'll thrive on navigating ambiguity, developing and driving strategic thinking. You will need to be able to
- lead and inform strategic thinking on the role of reward to support the government's long term digital strategy.
- work with and analyse data; drafting and evaluating business cases whilst also drafting and reviewing other complex papers
- Communicate complex matters effectively, in writing and in-person, at many levels
Essential Knowledge and Experience
We're interested in people who have:
- Proven success at solving complex pay and reward challenges.
- Advanced knowledge of reward frameworks, tools, and best practice, with demonstrable experience driving strategic implementation.
- External pay benchmarking experience and using data analytics to shape evidence-based strategy.
- A proven track record of leading high level projects in environments defined by ambiguity, competing priorities, and tight deadlines, ideally within digital and data or comparable sectors.
- Exceptional critical thinking skills, with the ability to analyse complex problems, challenge assumptions, and develop forward thinking strategies.
- Communication and influencing skills, with a history of engaging and building credibility with senior leaders and stakeholders at all levels.
Benefits
The benefits of working at GDS
There are many benefits of working at GDS, including:
- flexible hybrid working with flexi-time and the option to work part-time or condensed hours
- a Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
- 25 days of annual leave, increasing by a day each year up to a maximum of 30 days
- an extra day off for The King’s birthday
- an in-year bonus scheme to recognise high performance
- career progression and coaching, including a training budget for personal development
- paid volunteering leave
- a focus on wellbeing with access to an employee assistance programme
- job satisfaction from making government services easier to use and more inclusive for people across the UK
- advances on pay, including for travel season tickets
- death in service benefits
- cycle to work scheme and facilities
- access to children's holiday play schemes across different locations in central London
- access to an employee discounts scheme
- 10 learning days per year
- volunteering opportunities (5 special leave days per year)
- access to a suite of learning activities through Civil Service learning
GDS offers hybrid working for all employees. This means that everyone does some working from home and also spends some time in their local office. You’ll agree to your hybrid working arrangement with your line manager in line with your preferences and business needs.
Any move to Government Digital Service 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. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk
Things you need to know
Selection process details
This role is being advertised with Manchester or Bristol as a location. There is an exception to this, if a current London-based member of staff from Cabinet Office applies, and is successful, they would retain their London base for pay and allowance purposes.
The standard selection process for roles at GDS consists of:
- a simple application screening process - We only ask for a CV and for you to answer 3 application questions.
- A written task, details of the written task will be sent through 48 hours prior to interview for shortlisted, to be submitted the day of interview.
- a 60 minute video interview
Depending on how many applications we get, there might also be an extra stage before the video interview, for example a phone interview or a technical exercise.
In the event we receive a high volume of applications, we will conduct the initial sift against the lead criteria which is:
- Please give an example of a complex pay and reward challenge you successfully resolved. Detail what you did and what was the outcome?
In the Civil Service, we use Success Profiles to evaluate your skills and ability. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, increases performance and improves diversity and inclusivity. We’ll be assessing your technical abilities, skills, experience and behaviours that are relevant to this role.
For this role we’ll be assessing you against the following Civil Service Behaviours:
- Seeing the Bigger Picture
- Communicating and Influencing
- Making Effective Decisions
The experience we will be assessing at interview will be:
- Proven success at solving complex pay and reward challenges
Recruitment Timeline
Role closes: Thursday 13th February
Sift completion: Friday 21st February
Panel interviews: Week Commencing 3rd March
Candidates that do not pass the interview but have demonstrated an acceptable standard may be considered for similar roles at a lower grade.
A reserve list will be held for a period of 12 months, from which further appointments can be made.
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service D&I Strategy.
Please note that this role requires SC clearance, which would normally need 5 years’ UK residency in the past 5 years. This is not an absolute requirement, but supplementary checks may be needed where individuals have not lived in the UK for that period. This may mean your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible.
You may be aware that there are plans for the Government Digital Service (GDS) to move into the Department of Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT). This move is to bring together the digital transformation of public services into one core department. The move itself will offer huge opportunities whilst allowing DSIT to lead the way and drive forward the new Government's digital agenda.
As the announcement is relatively new, we are awaiting more detailed information. Therefore, we encourage you to apply for this role, and will keep you informed with updated information throughout the application process.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
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Working for the Civil Service
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
Diversity and Inclusion
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : gds-recruitment@digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk
- Email : gds-recruitment@digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : gds-recruitment@digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk
Further information
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive you can contact the Civil Service Commission by email: info@csc.gov.uk Or in writing: Civil Service Commission, Room G/8 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ.
