Deputy Director of Digital Standards and Inclusive Design (CDO/CIO-level, SCS1) - 3 months - MCR

Deputy Director of Digital Standards and Inclusive Design (CDO/CIO-level, SCS1) - 3 months - Manchester (Hybrid) - £875-£985 per day Inside IR35

A central government department is refreshing the GDS Service Standard, moving it beyond compliance for individual GOV.UK transactions towards a broader framework for digital public-service redesign and transformation, and is seeking a Deputy Director to lead this work. This is a highly visible role sitting within Government Digital Enablement, working across departmental boundaries to bring legitimacy to the refreshed standards while continuing to support the formal assurance and gated process through which services such as passport applications demonstrate compliance before going live. You'll lead an immediate team of approximately 15, predominantly technical specialists, and will be expected to carve out a clear, confident role for the service standard landscape as it becomes increasingly complex.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the refresh of the GDS Service Standard, moving it from individual transaction compliance towards a broader digital public-service redesign framework
• Maintain the formal assurance and gated process through which government services demonstrate compliance before going live
• Bring together stakeholders from across government and wider public services to build legitimacy and broader adoption for the refreshed standards
• Build, lead and motivate a senior, predominantly technical team of around 15 specialists
• Balance strategy, policy and programme delivery planning, with a demonstrable track record of delivery at pace
• Champion accessibility and accessible user design as part of the standards refresh
• Act as a confident, visible communicator and thought leader across an increasingly complex service standard landscape
• Engage senior stakeholders across departments to identify and develop service standard and accessibility opportunities

Ideal Candidate:

• Significant experience leading large-scale, digital-enabled change programmes, combining service redesign, cultural shift and transformative outcomes
• Direct, lived experience of putting services through the service standard, with evidence of actions implemented, timescales and tangible outcomes
• Breadth of experience across government or the public sector (central or local) - candidates who have worked across multiple departments or bodies are preferred over single-department tenure
• Strong line management experience, able to get the best from multidisciplinary teams
• Working knowledge of service standards and strong public sector knowledge, without needing to learn this from scratch
• Understanding of accessibility and accessible user design
• Strong stakeholder management, analysis and communication skills, and the ability to work at pace
• Candidates without any government or public sector experience will not be considered

Desirable Experience:

• Backgrounds titled Chief Digital Officer, Chief Digital Information Officer, CIO, or Transformation Programme Director are all strongly encouraged to apply
• Evidence of delivering complex change programmes with a strategy-to-delivery track record
• Knowledge of service design methodology and the wider digital policy landscape

TL;DR
Job Title: Deputy Director of Digital Standards and Inclusive Design (CDO/CIO-level)
Grade: SCS1
Contract Length: 3 months (potential 1-month extension, TBC)
Location: Manchester (Hybrid, ~2 days/week minimum onsite, some flexibility to attend more frequently); travel to London roughly every 2 weeks to monthly
Rate: £875-£985 per day
IR35 Status: Inside IR35
Start Date: ASAP
Clearance: BPSS