Chief Data Officer Full Time

Global Resourcing Solutions

The importance of trusted data, used well, has never been more evident. By embracing data and the benefits its use brings, the UK has tangible opportunities to improve our society, better protect the environment and grow our economy. Defra, as the government department responsible for the environment, makes substantial and growing use of data and data analysis, to improve air and water quality, protect nature and biodiversity, address climate change, secure food supply, and ensure the health of our plants and animals.

Defra and its agencies collect and hold a wide range of data across our areas of responsibility. We use data from many external sources including satellite data, genetic sequence data, trade and socio-economic data. To realise the true and increasing value of these diverse data streams for Government, for the UK, and for the benefit of the environment, there is an urgent need to transform Defra Group to become more data-driven and data-capable. Taking advantage of the evolving ways to gather, analyse, share and deploy data will mean we can deliver better outcomes for the environment, for the public, and for taxpayers.

The Chief Data Officer (CDO) is a strategic data leadership position to support initiatives that are relevant across the whole of Defra Group. The CDO will be responsible for developing a group-wide capability to ensure Defra and its arm’s length bodies manage and deliver essential data with greater efficiency and coherence to meet the common interests and ambitions of Defra and its priority outcomes. This is a new role in Defra, and as such is a fantastic opportunity for an exceptional candidate to evolve and progress an ambitious transformation in how we access and use data, delivering on our ambition to ensure that data fully supports the department’s vital policy and delivery agenda.

Your responsibilities will include:

• providing strategic leadership for an exciting and agile programme of diverse data initiatives by setting context and scope, escalating and communicating risk, and agreeing shared priorities and deliverables, driving a culture of data sharing, use and exploitation across the Group.
• progressing successful shared solutions by working alongside the Chief Analyst and the Chief Digital and Information Officer, and building strong relationships across core Defra and our arm’s length bodies at senior levels.
• identifying the biggest priority data issues (such as designing and delivering a common data management and standards framework), and working with the business to deliver the necessary cross-cutting solutions whilst avoiding inefficient duplication in individual delivery areas.
• supporting the prioritisation of data investments aimed at generating efficiencies across the Defra Group. The CDO will lead on strategic data investment proposals for the next HMG Spending Review.

Defra welcomes applications from all people from all backgrounds with the experience and skills needed to perform this role.

Complete this short form & submit your CV then we will do the rest

(Permitted file size is 5Mb and file types are: doc, docx, txt, pdf, rtf, xls. Please note, for your privacy this website does not store the contents of this form)