Head of Analytics and AI Full time / Part time Salary: £ 69,371pa- £ 79,372pa, with potential for further progression to £89,369 pa 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 summary We are thrilled to announce an exciting new opportunity within the ICO As the leader of our Analytics and AI function, reporting directly to the Director of Data, you will play a pivotal role in driving innovation and delivering cutting-edge solutions. You'll be at the forefront of our Enterprise Data Strategy, fostering the growth of our people, processes, and technology to ensure exceptional data analytics practices. Join us and be a part of our dynamic journey towards excellence The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the independent regulator of information rights. In a data-driven world, we provide advice, guidance, and support to organisations enabling compliance with their obligations, as well as protecting individuals and their personal data. As an employer, we are passionate about making a positive difference to the lives and careers of our people, and we empower you to be curious, impactful, collaborative and respectful. Job description The role will lead our analytics and AI function, providing oversight of analytics and AI within the wider Data Team, and supporting analytics capabilities distributed across the organisation. The role will oversee the delivery of analytics and AI solutions that deliver value and benefit to the organisation, ensuring outputs are high quality, accurate, and consider data privacy and data ethics by design. Outputs might include reports and dashboards, data and statistical analyses, or products that utilise artificial intelligence technologies. The role will contribute towards wider objectives belonging to our Enterprise Data Strategy (EDS), including our new data literacy initiative, the ICO Data Academy, to empower ICO’s people to better use and analyse data. The role will develop the necessary capabilities (people, processes, and technology) to support existing analytics communities across the ICO, and to assure effective data analytics practices throughout the organisation. Key responsibilities: To lead our new analytics and AI capability within the organisation and to ensure delivery of timely, accurate and impactful analytics and AI products that align with business strategies and provide value Line management of existing analytics team, and to play a coordinating and supporting role with analytics capabilities existing across the organisation To identify, define and prioritise new AI opportunities that might offer value to the organisation. You will be able to work closely with business stakeholders to understand their priorities and challenges, bringing this together with your technical understanding of AI / analytics approaches, to determine practical solutions Establishing mechanisms / frameworks that provide assurances that AI solutions are built responsibly, and considerations such as explainability, ethics, and model performance are thoroughly considered and monitored Ensure appropriate product delivery mechanisms and methods are used to retain critical stakeholder engagement throughout the development of solutions, and successful embedment at the time of implementation. Work closely with the Director of Data, Head of Data Management and Head of Data Platform to ensure our approach to AI and analytics is both impactful and responsible To take a leading role in progressing our new data literacy initiative – the ICO Data Academy - helping to support the empowerment of data skills and awareness for our colleagues, and supporting the broader data analytics community that exists within the ICO Remain continuously informed of new developments in the fields of data analytics and AI, so to be able to assess whether emerging techniques and innovation might be applied within the organisation for to drive new impact and value Supporting the Director of Data, and our Data, AI, and Automation Programme, in executing our Enterprise Data Strategy. Person specification 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. Managing data analytics / data science teams and staff, and evidence that outputs have contributed impactfully towards business objectives Identifying, scoping, and delivering AI solutions within an organisation, where these solutions are developed ethically and responsibly Leading the empowerment of data skills and awareness (e.g. through a data literacy initiative) Essential criteria assessed during interview: A comprehensive understanding of how analytics and AI can be used to drive value within an organisation. Technical understanding across a wide range of data analysis, data science and AI techniques including, but not limited to, exploratory data analysis, statistics, machine learning, operational research, data visualisation, NLP, and generative AI. Approaches for measuring and monitoring the business impact of introducing analytics and AI solutions and products Frameworks/approaches to support responsible AI innovation, including identification and prioritisation of new opportunities Ability to proactively engage with stakeholders to understand business challenges, and be able to provide solutions Leading and managing high performing teams, and exploring opportunities for continuous professional development within the team. Actively keeping informed of industry developments to make cost-effective use of new and emerging approaches and technologies. Commercial acumen, able to understand and contribute towards business cases for data investments. Knowledge of the data protection and privacy landscape, regulations, and obligations for data practitioners. Ability to deal with complexity and ambiguity, creative problem solving and developing innovative solutions. Communicating, persuading, and influencing effectively across organisational, technical, and political boundaries, understanding the context. Makes complex and technical information and language simple and accessible for non-technical audiences. Equality, diversity, and inclusion 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. Candidates with a disability 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. If you are disabled or have an impairment and require an alternative application method, please email the HR team at recruitmentico.org.uk Closing Date Please submit your CV and cover letter detailing your suitability to the role by 23:59, Sunday 27th 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.