Head of Operations
Salary: £67,600 – £78,000 (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, or a willingness to learn Welsh, is desirable. We will judge applications submitted in Welsh or English equally.
Closing date: 20/03/2023 at 23:59
About the Centre for Digital Public Services
The Centre for Digital Public Services (CDPS) has been described as a start-up with government backing. The guidance given to CDPS by Deputy Minister for Climate Change, Lee Waters was, “We can do things differently, so let’s.”
CDPS was created in 2020 to help deliver the Digital Strategy for Wales. Its central goal is to improve the lives of everyone in Wales.
CDPS is a uniquely experienced group of digital, data and technology professionals, committed to making services better for people. We aspire for everything we do to be exemplary and shared, drawing on lessons learned globally – we know we won’t always succeed.
CDPS’s values are central to everything we do. We seek to be bold, transparent, people-focused, collaborative, and optimistic. Our staff policies aim to make us the best employer we can be, like our pioneering Period and Menopause policy.
Hear from one of our recent hires, Sophia Kyrantonis-Jackson:
“I joined CDPS as Executive Assistant to the job-sharing CEOs, Myra and Harriet, in August 2022. From the first hour of my first day, I felt welcome and part of this great team. CDPS is a very professional, yet fun, place to work and I learn something new every day from the wealth of skills offered by the various divisions. Everyone, from the top down, is totally approachable and more than happy to help and answer any questions you may have. The company motto should be “There’s no such thing as a stupid question!”
Progress so far
CDPS is committed to working in the open. We regularly blog and tweet about our work and we encourage you to look at the work we do with our 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
The role
Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer at CDPS, the Head of Operations is responsible for ensuring CDPS’ operational activity underpins all agreed delivery effectively and managing a successful and empowering relationship with our partnership team at Welsh Government.
The Head of Operations ensures CDPS priorities are funded effectively, in a manner that prioritises value for money for Welsh citizens and takes full ownership of monitoring and managing CDPS’ budget. The Head of Operations oversees all governance and reporting activity, including managing the CDPS board, and ensures that best practice policies are delivered and adhered to across all operational areas.
The Head of Operations is a member of the CDPS leadership team, giving important strategic input, and taking responsibility for delivery of outputs in their strategic areas. The appointed candidate will ensure compliance with all relevant local and international laws regarding the operational side of the business, such as data management.
What you’ll do
- Reviewing and implementing CDPS operational processes, policies, and procedures within the business to create maximum output, efficiency, and stakeholder satisfaction.
- Taking ownership of reviewing and managing the company budget, designing, and enabling the investment of CDPS budget against the CDPS mission and values.
- Working together with stakeholders to compile the relevant sections of the company budget.
- Evaluating business and departmental performance by analysing and interpreting data and metrics.
- Owning the week-to-week and strategic relationship with the Welsh Government partnership team and leading on delivery of essential agreements and documents such as business plans and monitoring to ensure CDPS is on track to deliver against such agreements.
- Leading in all CDPS governance areas, including the board and associated boards such as the standards board, and processes that ensure effective and, where appropriate, transparent governance.
- Working as a vital member of CDPS’ leadership team, contributing to CDPS’ strategy and development, and working with other leadership members to implement a service delivery mindset at CDPS.
- Taking the lead in defining CDPS’s procurement requirements and managing supplier contracts effectively and transparently.
- Leading operational areas such as HR, commercial, procurement, finance, and overseeing daily activity to ensure that goals are being met.
- Delegating responsibilities to ensure staff members grow as valuable team members and completing productive and impactful performance reviews.
- Leading and managing team members with a coaching mindset to encourage maximum performance and dedication.
Who you are
We want to hear from people with skills in:
- experience leading and running an operations division
- demonstrate a proven track record of delivering change and service improvements
- hands-on experience in owning the creation and implementation of operational processes, policies, and procedures
- excellent interpersonal and leadership skills with a passion for working in a progressive environment
- ability to liaise and negotiate at all levels of internal and external organisations
- the ability to manage tight deadlines and conflicting demands whilst demonstrating commitment to quality, customer care and service delivery
- self-motivated and ability to make appropriate decisions using own initiative
- ability to work in partnership across teams, the wider organisation, and external organisations
- demonstrable track record of being a solution-lead, problem-solving executive
- outstanding organisational and time management skills
- comfortable with and excited by autonomy and accountability
- proven experience with stakeholder management
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.
Benefits
This is an overview of some of our benefits we are happy to provide a full list on request.
- Enhanced pension contributions – 7% contribution by the employer
- Generous holiday entitlement: 28 days’ annual leave plus public holidays
- 37.5-hour week for all full-time team members
- Flexible Working Policy
- Flexible benefits: buy and sell annual leave, dental insurance, discounted gym membership and OpenLearn (free learning from the Open University)
- Group income protection – a replacement income if an employee is unable to work because of a long-term illness or injury
- Group critical illness protection – financial peace of mind for our employees by paying a tax-free lump sum of £100k when diagnosed with a defined critical illness
- Group life assurance – this benefit will pay out a lump sum (4 times the salary) to your family or next of kin should you pass away while employed with us
- Employee Assistance Programme (24/7 GP consultation)
How to apply
Please submit your CV and a covering letter to support your application.
The covering letter should be no more than two sides of A4. Your letter needs to:
- 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
Email your application to careers@digitalpublicservices.gov.wales.
The successful candidate must have BPSS certification before starting this role, which we will pay for and process.
