Head of Technology (Digital & Data Services) - Department for Culture, Media andSport - G6

Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT)

We are transforming DCMS to meet the needs of a modern‑delivery‑focused department working on some of government’s highest‑priority agendas to drive growth, enrich lives and level‑up society.

Location

Manchester

About The Job

Job summary

Job Description

This is a rare opportunity to shape how technology supports delivery across DCMS at a pivotal moment for the department. As Head of Technology – Digital & Data Services, you will lead technology strategy and technical design across a varied portfolio of digital and data products and services, working as part of a senior multidisciplinary leadership team.

Working collaboratively with DCMS’ Chief Technology Officer and Principal Architect, you will set direction for architecture and the technology stack for digital solutions to support better policy outcomes for the department. You’ll ensure solutions are secure by design, scalable, high quality and aligned with government standards. You will support teams across DCMS to explore technical options, assess feasibility and make confident decisions early, while providing technical assurance for internal delivery and supplier‑led services.

The role offers broad influence: from shaping governance and decision‑making, to working with senior stakeholders across policy, delivery and commercial functions, to identify the right suppliers and manage value from investment. You will build strong partnerships across DCMS and beyond, champion user‑centred approaches, and help make technology a practical enabler of departmental priorities, leading technical decisions for our Digital, Data & AI team.

Person specification

Skills

The ideal candidate would have the following key skills and experience, please note that desirable skills will only be used in the event of tied candidates:

This role aligns to the Lead Technical Architect role in the Government Digital and Data Capability Framework.

Essential Requirements

  • Designing architecture for complex digital services, including internal and public‑facing systems, and making sound choices about the right technology approach for user needs, value for money and long‑term support.
  • Leading cloud‑based technical design, particularly in Azure and Google Cloud Platform with a strong understanding of cloud‑native architecture and secure design across infrastructure, platforms and software services.
  • Setting technical direction across teams, including shaping strategy, roadmaps, standards, patterns and policies, measuring, monitoring and evaluating, and making or guiding architectural decisions in complex, high‑risk environments.
  • Working collaboratively across multidisciplinary teams and communicating clearly with both technical and non‑technical stakeholders, including influencing senior leaders and building support for difficult decisions.
  • Delivering through others with good commercial judgement, including analysing system capability, producing clear technical documentation, working effectively with suppliers, and managing budgets or spend to get the best return on investment.

Desirable Skills

  • Familiarity with the UK Government Service Standard and service assessments.
  • Deep understanding of agile and devops culture, including continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) and making best use of novel and emerging technologies (eg: AI, process automation)
  • Demonstrable awareness of data and performance analysis tools, and their development and maintenance principles
#J-18808-Ljbffr Experience: 5 years required
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