Wilmslow, North West England, SK9 5AF
Job Summary
Group Manager - Innovation Hub
Full time / Part time
Fixed term until October 2025 (with the potential to be extended until October 2026)
Salary: £55,591 - £62,974 with potential for further progression to £70,907 with our pay progression scheme.
Location: Hybrid
Contracted to our Wilmslow, London, Edinburgh, Cardiff or Belfast office, however, we offer flexible home and office-based working opportunities. There will be times when you will be expected to attend the office to collaborate with colleagues or travel due to business need.
Why work for the ICO?
* Pay progression scheme.
* Hybrid and flexible working options.
* 25 days paid holiday per year, plus privilege and public holidays.
* Flexi leave (up to 26 additional days leave per year).
* Pension (employer contribution around 28.9%).
* Online discount scheme to save money at major supermarkets, retailers, gyms, restaurants, insurance providers and many more.
* Health Cash Plan.
* Fantastic development opportunities to learn and progress.
Further details can be found on the benefits section of our website.
Job Description
The Innovation Hub is critical to the delivery of the ICO’s enduring objective to empower responsible innovation and sustainable economic growth. It builds strategic partnerships to influence the development of high priority new technologies and products with privacy and data protection in mind. The Hub’s work increases regulatory certainty for innovators through inclusive and empathetic engagement.
As the Group Manager for the Innovation Hub, you will be responsible for developing and managing the Hub programme, as well as its effective and efficient delivery through a small team of specialists. You must ensure that partnerships and projects are aligned with ICO priorities. This includes actively sourcing new collaboration opportunities and securing a pipeline of future projects.
The Hub collaborates with partners, including government departments, other regulators and innovation agencies like Catapults, to convene groups of innovators and help them to build data protection by design into their developing products. It works directly with innovators through innovation challenges, tech sprints and support programmes. It is your role to manage a package of projects that delivers maximum impact in our priority areas.
The Innovation Hub will also deliver the ICO’s contribution to the next phase of the Digital Regulators’ Cooperation Forum (DRCF) AI & Digital Innovation Hub. The regulators collaborate to help innovators navigating two or more regulatory regimes during their product development. This emerging workstream will be trialling new models and approaches in 2025, providing an opportunity to innovate with new regulatory initiatives. You will deploy team resources to the activities most likely to impact innovators working in areas that touch the ICO remit.
Person specification
* Develop new strategic partnerships for collaboration to support innovators in high priority technologies and sectors.
* Deliver programmes of work with innovation partners in line with the Innovation Department’s business plan and objectives and to the required standards.
* Shape the forward programme for the Hub, including sourcing new collaborations and partnerships, and managing the onboarding of new projects and closure of others to maximise the value delivered.
* Steer the ICO contribution to the DRCF Ai & Digital Hub. This includes developing proposals for new initiatives and activities between the four regulators and working with a cross regulatory group to guide their delivery.
* Liaise clearly and confidently with internal and external stakeholders to plan, agree, schedule and deliver Hub activities and act as a key point of contact for these activities where required.
* Ensure the effective allocation of resources to deliver the Hub’s services and activities consistently and within agreed timescales.
* Monitor the operational policies, processes and procedures for the Hub, updating them as required.
* Work with the Head of Innovation to monitor and demonstrate the effectiveness and impact of the Hub and use this information to continually improve standards and effectiveness.
* Deputise for the Head of Innovation as necessary.
* Manage the Hub team members; monitoring and reviewing performance and supporting individual development. This includes ensuring that team members are clear about expected standards of performance, motivated and professionally developed.
* Work with the Head of Innovation and other Group Managers to undertake recruitment for the Department as needed.
* The work will involve a degree of travel and working away from home. This will vary depending on priorities.
Essential Criteria Assessed At Application Stage
* Substantial experience relevant to the role requirements, as described in the role responsibilities and person specification, and accumulated through any combination of academic or vocational qualifications or experience.
* Substantial experience working in a regulatory/policy/compliance environment.
* Experience of managing teams and/or complex projects operating in an assurance or compliance/regulatory/policy environment.
* Excellent intellectual and analytical ability in order to apply complex legislation to practical circumstances and new contexts. Good knowledge of data protection law, will be an advantage.
Essential Criteria Assessed During Interview
* Excellent intellectual and analytical ability in order to apply complex legislation to practical circumstances and new contexts. Good knowledge of data protection law, will be an advantage.
* Ability to lead teams to deliver complex and timebound projects.
* Strategic thinker, able to take the lead and work to achieve organisational goals.
* Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
* Strong interpersonal and collaboration skills, including the ability to negotiate, deliver cross-party programmes of work, and maintain good relations with senior stakeholders.
* Ability to manage and develop individuals to deliver team and personal objectives.
Alongside your salary of £55,591, Information Commissioner's Office contributes £16,104 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
Please visit ico.jobs for full details, including salary and benefits.
Selection process details
The ICO is committed to promoting and enhancing equality, diversity, and inclusion. We are focused on developing a workforce that is representative of the communities we serve and together we are building an inclusive workplace where all of our colleagues have the opportunity to make a real difference. We are championing this through our Equality Diversity and Inclusion Board together with a number of staff networks. Read more about our commitment on our website.
Disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria for this vacancy will be invited to interview as part of the ICO’s commitment to the Disability Confident Scheme.
Candidates who declare they identify as belonging from an ethnic minority background and who meet the minimum criteria for this vacancy will be invited to interview as part of the ICO’s commitment to our EDI objectives and creating a workplace that represents the communities and societies we serve.
If you are disabled or have an impairment and require an alternative application method, please email the HR team at recruitment@ico.org.uk
Closing Date
Please submit your CV and cover letter detailing your suitability to the role by 23:59, 27 April. We reserve the right to close this vacancy before this date should we receive sufficient applications. Please apply as soon as possible to ensure your application is considered.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard checks.
Medical
Successful candidates will be expected to have a medical.
Nationality requirements
This Job Is Broadly Open To The Following Groups
* UK nationals
* nationals of the Republic of Ireland
* nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
* nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
* individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
* Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service.
Further information on nationality requirements can be found on our website.
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles.
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
Diversity and Inclusion
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 Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Contact point for applicants
* Name: recruitment@ico.org.uk
* Email: recruitment@ico.org.uk
* Telephone: recruitment@ico.org.uk
Recruitment team
* Email: recruitment@ico.org.uk
Further information can be found at: ICO Job Details
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