Job Description

Head of Technology

Salary: £78k – £90k (depending on experience)

Location: Wales. Remote but will be expected to attend some in person meetings.

Term: This is a permanent role for the remainder of this Senedd term (until 2026) with an option to extend in future.

This role is also available as a secondment for Welsh public sector employees. Please follow your own organisation’s policy on informing and getting permission from line managers.

The ability to speak and write Welsh is desirable. We will judge applications submitted in Welsh or English equally.

About CDPS

The Centre for Digital Public Services (CDPS) has been described as a start-up with government backing.

We are a uniquely experienced group of digital, data and technology (DDaT) professionals, completely committed to making services better for people, and with an aspiration for everything we do to be exemplary and shared, drawing on lessons learned globally. We know we won’t always succeed.

CDPS’s culture is central to everything we do. We seek to be Bold, Transparent, People-Focused; Collaborative and Optimistic. Our staff policies are aimed at making us the best employer we can be, like our pioneering Period and Menopause policy. We want inclusion and diversity to power our operation.

The guidance given to CDPS by Deputy Minister for Climate Change, Lee Waters is “We can do things differently, so let’s.”

CDPS was created in 2021 to help deliver the new Digital Strategy for Wales. Its central goal is to improve the lives of everyone in Wales.

The role

CDPS’s work has grown a buzz both in digital circles and across the public sector in Wales, and the Head of Technology role is a big one for us.

We are looking for a Head of Technology to help us shape how the public sector in Wales designs for, shares and uses digital technologies. We need a bold and collaborative digital technology leader to ensure we make the best decisions around technology in our own deliveries, and to help drive our Wales-wide mission to improve services.

We need someone who:

• can make sense of the needs and ambitions of a nation that wants to use digital to improve lives and translate that into good technology choices
• gets the mission, is excited by it and wants to join in
• can stand in the trenches with public sector leaders and staff
• can communicate complex technology matters in a language everyone can understand
• can inspire and develop technology communities, growing the professions and helping CDPS ‘change the weather’ to deliver lasting digital change

You will be dedicated to Agile ways of working: starting with user needs, focusing on delivery and outcomes over process, and working in the open. You will be able to demonstrate your commitment to diversity and inclusion in the way you build teams and in your approach to accessible digital services.

This role combines a strong strategic and leadership element, alongside being hands-on with a small team that you will build.

You will be asked to advise organisations of all sizes in the public sector on technology choices. You will define and communicate best practice positions on technology issues such as interoperability, security, digital identity, use of the cloud, local and shared systems.

Generalist knowledge, and an empathetic approach to users’ needs, is more important than, say, experience of major programme delivery.

CDPS is a learning organisation. We’re all learning, and we have access to expert advice from our Advisory Panel and our Board, and regular engagements with external experts and coaches with global experience of digital change. We’re committed to supporting personal development, and in recruiting to this role, real interest in the vision and goals, and in the approach and values of CDPS, are as important as having relevant experience.

The challenge 

Public services in Wales need support in modernising delivery of vital services to citizens in the face of a cost of living crisis and increased pressure on public sector finances. This role will play a key part in helping to make service delivery more effective and efficient.

We also need to ensure technology choices play their part in responding to the climate crisis, helping the public sector act in this field to support Net Zero goals.

Wales, like many other countries, has a skills shortage in IT, digital and technology roles. Part of CDPS’s remit is to support the growth in skills and jobs.

Currently there is a heavy reliance on a small number of suppliers and on buying in third-party systems. Physical data centres predominate, and more work is needed to shift to cloud.

The idea of “Once for Wales” common or shared systems and services has long been a vision but has historically not had the level of investment or strategic vision needed. CDPS is currently leading on setting a refreshed strategic vision and the conditions for success that will enable better technology foundations for delivering services better.

To use technology well in this context means confronting an array of fascinating challenges, from culture and organisational change to funding models and governance.

Current challenges include:

• supporting a new approach to the Wales-wide procurement of a schools information management system
• improving the data platform that supports Wales’s commitment to welcoming refugees extending the Wales-wide Service Standards owned by CDPS
• building how-to content to back them up
• advising on CDPS’s IT services provision
• designing and recruiting for a small technology function in CDPS

Progress so far

CDPS is committed to working in the open. We regularly blog and tweet about our work and we would encourage you to look at the work we do with partners.

A few examples we’re particularly proud of are:

• Welsh Revenue Authority’s Land and Property Data Proof of Concept
• Sport Wales work to increase the reach of their community investment funds
• our discovery into Tech Net Zero
• understanding the access challenges to GP surgeries in Wales
• our research to understand the shared technology landscape in Wales

What you’ll do

You’ll have responsibility for:

• Setting direction and influencing:
  • helping to build a culture, and guide on technology choices and strategies, that will enable lasting digital change, working with colleagues across the public sector to raise awareness of the role and value of up-to-date digital technology, culture and mindset
  • providing guidance on creating services, systems and delivery approaches that are modern, efficient and can replace legacy technology
  • setting a new approach to technology across Wales that supports sharing, reuse and carbon neutral approaches
  • developing technology standards to sit alongside the Digital Service Standards for Wales
  • being visible across the public sector, including blogging and public speaking about CDPS’s work
• Delivery
  • working with the Heads of Delivery and User Centred Design to develop and deliver a portfolio and roadmap of work for 2023-2025
  • supporting teams to apply agile methods – and understand how product development, multi-disciplinary teams and operations interact
  • advising on technology approaches for CDPS-delivered projects and for public bodies we work with
  • working in the open and sharing progress openly and honestly
• Building teams and developing skills
  • hiring, leading and supporting a small team of developers
  • support the wider public sector to identify, develop and retain talent in Wales
  • embedded with our partner organisations across the public sector
  • providing coaching, support and peer review
  • supporting on skills and capability needed across the whole of the public sector

Who you are

You’ll have strong leadership skills, being able to take people with you and to clearly explain complex topics to lay audiences.

You care about improving the lives of citizens and understand the role of technology in supporting that. You are interested in solving real problems with technology, not throwing technology at a problem.

You’ll have recent, hands-on experience of leading teams in organisations that are learning about service design, agile ways of working and modern software and service development practices.

You’ll have a good understanding of the concepts and practices of internet-era software, including cloud-based solutions, Platforms as a Service, DevOps and Infrastructure-as-Code, the capabilities of modern development languages, and security. You’ll have a breadth and depth of experience that covers multiple technology stacks.

You have experience building an inclusive culture and introducing new skills and approaches into organisations to deliver sustainable services that are focussed on user needs.

We want to hear from people who are excited by the Digital Strategy for Wales, which at its heart, is about improving the lives of the people of Wales.

Please keep reading

Research shows that, while men apply for jobs where they meet 60% of the criteria, women and other marginalised people tend only to apply when they check every box.

So, if you think you have what it takes, but don’t necessarily meet every single point on the job description, please still get in touch. We’d love to have a chat and see if you’d be a good fit.

We are passionate about creating a diverse workforce and positively encourage applications from under-represented communities. We embrace equality of opportunity irrespective of disability, neurodivergence, ethnic origin, colour, nationality, gender and gender presentation, marital status, sexual orientation, culture or religion.

How to Apply

1. this initial phone call to make sure you and CDPS are a good match

2. a formal application with a CV and covering letter

3. an online interview with all questions provided in advance

• explain why you’re interested in the position
• provide evidence of why you’re suitable, based on the ‘Who you are’ section above
• tell us where you saw the job advertised

Job Categories: Equal Opportunities. Job Types: Full-Time. Salaries: 80,000 - 100,000.

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