Head of Applied Data Governance and Capability - Government Digital Service - G6

Location

Bristol, London, Manchester

About the job

Job summary

The Digital Markets and Data Economy Unit is driving DSIT’s work to unlock the value of data across the economy, including through data law reform, public sector data access, data sharing infrastructure, and Smart Data schemes. The Head of Applied Data Capability will help design policy interventions that improve how data is accessed, shared, governed and used across the economy. They will be supported by a data capability specialist (a Grade 7 equivalent role)

The postholder will bring deep practical knowledge of how data is used in real world commercial, research, operational or technological settings – for example, experience diagnosing why organisations struggle to access, share, or use data effectively and designing practical solutions

They will help policy teams understand not only how data is used today, but what prevents it being used better, from weak incentives, poor interoperability and limited trust, to uncertain governance, unclear value, data quality issues, commercial sensitivity, and practical barriers to access and reuse. They will use that insight to co-design policy interventions that make a real difference to the economy and people’s lives.

The role will work alonside policy leads, analysts, legal experts and wider data specialists to diagnose the causes of data use problems and design policy interventions that respond to those causes. It will translate specialist data knowledge into clear advice that non-specialists can use, and help the Unit engage earlier and more effectively with the data specialist community.

This role focuses primarily on data use, access, sharing and governance in economic, commercial, research and market settings. It complements, but does not duplicate, government-wide data governance functions responsible for public sector policy, ethics, compliance and assurance. The role brings practical insight from how data is used across the wider economy to inform policy development aimed at increasing economic growth, innovation and productivity.

Job description

In the first 30 days, you will:

• Build a clear view of the Unit’s priority policy areas and where applied data governance and capability can add the most value.

• Establish relationships with key policy, analytical and legal leads.

In the first 60 days, you will:

• Set up a structured approach to triaging and deploying effort across the highest‑priority projects.

• Deliver early insight on key barriers and enablers to data use in at least 1–2 priority policy areas.

In the first 90 days, you will:

• Demonstrate tangible impact on policy design (e.g. shaping interventions, improving feasibility or delivery models).

• Establish a clear operating model for the applied data governance and capability function (including engagement with external experts).

• Identify longer-term capability, skills and resourcing needs.

Key responsibilities

• Technical credibility: Apply sound technical judgement to assess evidence, challenge proposals, and advise on the feasibility and proportionality of technical approaches, drawing on expertise rather than relying solely on specialist advice.
• Shape data-informed policy interventions: Work with policy, analytical and legal leads to design interventions that improve data access, sharing, reuse and innovation across the economy, including in commercial, research and regulated sectors. Focus on addressing market failures, ecosystem barriers and practical constraints that limit economic value from data.
• Translate and bridge disciplines: Turn complex data concepts, risks and trade-offs into clear, practical advice, and ensure effective collaboration between technical and non-technical stakeholders, including mediating complex or high-risk discussions and influencing senior decision-makers across government
• Build and lead applied data capability: Prioritise demand, and develop the structures, skills and pipelines needed to connect policy teams with the wider data community and promote effective data stewardship, strengthened data management, and improved data literacy across the organisation.
• Deliver pace and clarity in a complex environment: Manage competing priorities, make informed trade-offs, and ensure high-quality outputs at pace in a high-demand setting.
• Build senior relationships across government and industry: Build senior relationships across industry, investors, trade bodies, regulators, standards organisations, researchers and government partners to shape the conditions for greater data sharing, reuse and innovation across the economy.
• Bring external market insight into policy design: Maintain a deep understanding of how organisations create value from data across sectors, including emerging business models, data intermediaries, trusted data sharing mechanisms, Smart Data ecosystems, data markets and data-sharing infrastructure. Use this insight to inform policy development and investment decisions
• Complement government data governance functions: Provide market-facing and applied expertise to inform policy development, while recognising that ownership of public sector data policy, ethical frameworks, governance models and assurance arrangements sits with relevant government data governance functions.
• Champion data ethics, standards and assurance: Champion proportionate and trusted approaches to data use across the economy, ensuring policy proposals reflect legal, ethical and societal considerations and are informed by emerging industry practice and standards

Person specification

What we are looking for from applicants is:

• Senior experience addressing complex data challenges and driving data-enabled change: significant senior-level experience tackling complex data challenges in technical, strategic, commercial or advisory contexts, with the ability to independently assess technical approaches, challenge proposals, make sound judgements on feasibility and risk, and influence decision-making on issues such as data sharing, investment in data infrastructure and the use of data to support organisational objectives

• Leadership of multidisciplinary data teams: experience leading or contributing to multidisciplinary teams comprising data scientists, engineers, analysts, and product or delivery professionals to deliver data-driven systems, insights and interventions

• Bridging technical and non-technical stakeholders: strong track record of translating complex data concepts, technical issues and governance constraints into clear business, operational or policy decisions, engaging senior stakeholders, building trust and driving delivery across organisational boundaries

• Establishing and scaling data governance capability: demonstrated experience developing governance frameworks, roles, standards and tools that improve organisational data maturity and the quality, management and use of data, supported by a strong understanding of how data flows across organisations and systems

• Understanding data as an economic asset and operating within data ecosystems: experience assessing how data creates economic, operational, research or social value, including familiarity with data portability, access regimes, interoperability, licensing, valuation and data market development, alongside experience supporting, enabling or regulating the sharing, exchange, licensing or reuse of data across organisations, sectors and markets

• Operating at pace across competing priorities: proven ability to manage ambiguity, prioritise effectively and deliver outcomes in complex, fast-moving environments