Defence AI Centre – Deputy Head AI Capability

DSTL Portsdown West, Portsmouth, PO17 6AD, DSTL Porton Down, Salisbury, SP4 0JQ, DE&S, Abbey Wood, Bristol, BS34 8JH, MOD Corsham, Westwells Road, Corsham, SN13 9NR, MOD London, Main Building, Whitehall, SW1A 2HB and Scale Space White City, 58 Wood Lane, London W12 7RZ.

Harnessing the ground-breaking power of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Defence AI Centre (DAIC) drives UK Defence’s strategic advantage to safeguard UK national interests both at home and abroad.   As part of the DAIC, you’ll be an elite member of a world-class, multi-disciplinary team at the forefront of daring, safe and responsible AI innovations. You’ll support our collaboration with international partners, government agencies, and industry leaders, to shape the future of AI for UK Defence.  

Joining the DAIC is an opportunity to help pioneer ground-breaking AI solutions to real-world problems, directly impacting the security and protection of the UK. You’ll be part of a dynamic, encouraging team, contributing to work that’s unparalleled in terms of scale and significance. Nowhere is AI innovation more important than Defence – and our team is at the heart of it.

If you can see yourself contributing to the world of Defence digital and technology, the next chapter of your career may be with us!   

Watch our video to find out more about the DAIC.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week. 

Strategic Command is going through a significant transformation programme which aims to improve the way the Command conducts its business and delivers for Defence and the nation. As a consequence of this, all posts within Strategic Command Headquarters and in time the wider organisation, are/will be subject to review and potential changes as we continuously improve across the period of the transformation programme. These changes may be minor or could be more substantive and will generate new opportunities.  Throughout, the Command’s transformation programme is committed to following the MOD’s framework on managing and supporting people through the change process and places an emphasis on early and open consultation and engagement with the Command’s personnel and Trade Unions. 

We are looking for a dynamic individual experienced in service and product delivery or ownership to lead a world-class, cross-organisation team in the development and delivery of AI-centric capabilities to enable the armed forces to secure strategic advantage, at times responding to fast paced demands in support of operations.

You will be responsible for the oversight of multiple products and services, taking a portfolio view and managing end-to-end services.

You will oversee the technical and data enablers required for delivery of AI-centric capabilities at scale and deliver and define the assurance processes for delivering operational AI models in a way that is ambitious, safe, and responsible. 

You will inform and oversee the enabling AI skills and talent workstream, working across Defence organisations to influence civilian and military personnel structures and training.

For further information on the role and responsibilities, please refer to the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework: Service owner – Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework (ddat-capability-framework.service.gov.uk).

Working to the Head of the Defence AI Centre, you will lead a federated organisation focused on the delivery of AI-enabled capabilities from idea to operational capability and putting in place some of the critical enablers for exploiting AI at scale. 

Responsibilities: 

• Leading, motivating, and championing the DAIC AI Capability team consisting of military and civil servant personnel alongside DSTL scientists and engineers and contractors, delivering against the PM’s intent of exploiting AI for strategic advantage, and delivering the Defence AI Strategy.
• Developing and implementing a long-term vision and strategic direction that will enable the DAIC to deliver capability at scale, considering the full operational lifecycle of products and services, and maintaining tight oversight of the financial and performance metrics and forecasts relating to them.
• Engaging with stakeholders across Defence at every level including with Defence leadership and Ministers, providing the connection between multidisciplinary business areas, championing the work of the DAIC, and driving coherence of AI exploitation within Defence and across departmental and international boundaries.
• Working closely with colleagues across Defence Digital, DSTL, DE&S, the Front-Line Commands, and MOD Head Office to provide a coherent demand signal for the data and technical enablers for AI exploitation at scale.
• Supporting the development of talent within the DAIC and managing teams effectively to ensure they are supported and empowered to deliver with excellence at pace and scale.
• Developing and implementing processes and incentives to drive the ambitious, safe, and responsible development and deployment of AI-enabled capabilities and products in line with stated ethical principles and values.
• Managing and prioritising demand for AI-enabled capabilities with rigorous, transparent, and scalable processes, driving coherence with demand for other Defence digital services and capabilities.
• Seeking out best practice from partner organisations, industry, academia, and international allies, driving continuous improvement to AI products and services, managing risk and acting as a point of escalation for the delivery teams.
• Acting as a deputy to the Head of the DAIC and representing senior leadership at events and meetings as required.

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Making Effective Decisions

We’ll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Life Cycle Perspective

Alongside your salary of £67,820, Ministry of Defence contributes
£18,311 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• 25 days annual leave rising (1 day per year) to 30 days upon completion of 5 years’ service
• Ability to roll over up to 10 days annual leave per year
• In addition to 8 public holidays per year you will also receive leave for HM The King’s birthday
• Minimum of 15 Days Special Leave in a rolling 12-month period to for volunteer military or emergency service reserve commitments
• Special Paid Leave for volunteering up to 6 days a year
• Enhanced parental and adoption leave
• Employee Assistance Programme to support your well-being
• Most sites have good travel links with free car parking; many also have other facilities such as a Sports & Social Club and Gyms
• Benefit Pension Scheme:   Civil Service pension 
• Please see Benefits link for more info: Civilian Discover My Benefits (mod.gov.uk)

Equality and Diversity    

Our people are at the heart of everything we do at Defence Digital. It’s vital that our workforce reflects the diversity of both our audience and the wider society in the UK, so we’re proud to be an equal opportunities employer and we actively seek candidates from diverse backgrounds and communities. We also recognise the importance of a good work life balance, so we do everything we can to accommodate flexible working, including part-time and job shares for all our roles. Please let us know in your application or at any stage throughout the process if this is something you want to explore.

Professional Framework Statement   

Defence Digital operates an organisation model in which every individual belongs to a Government Profession. The successful applicant will be posted into one of the defined Government Professions on Standard Terms of Reference for the grade. Defence Digital reserves the right to move individuals between roles, within their allocated profession, to meet the needs of the business and in support of agile resourcing.  Within Defence Digital each profession is led by a Professional Head of Community who will lead professional development and support the Continuous Professional Development path for their group.  

Learning & Development 

In Defence Digital we have a strong learning and development ethos, supporting you to fulfil your potential by providing: 

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• Professional and Personal Development of skills
• Access to thousands of training courses through Civil Service Learning, some free or paid by MOD
• Ability to obtain industry recognised qualifications supported by MOD

Hybrid Working

This role can be based at one of the following locations: Portsmouth (DSTL Portsdown West); Salisbury (DSTL Porton Down); Bristol (DE&S Abbey Wood); MOD Corsham, Wiltshire; MOD Main Building, Whitehall, London or Scale Space, White City, London. 

Dependent on the business need, there will be a requirement to travel to meetings within the UK, including the occasional overnight stay away from home and some overseas visits.  The successful candidate is required to carry out all their duties from a UK location and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time.  This position is advertised at 37 hours per week. 

This role is suitable for a combination of office and home-based working.  This is a non-contractual arrangement where all employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in an office, subject to local estates capacity.  Requirements to attend other locations for official business, or carry out detached duty in another MOD workplace, will also count towards this level of attendance. Applicants can request further information regarding how this may work in their team from the Vacancy Holder (see advert for contact details). DBS cannot respond to any questions about working arrangements. 

Please note: Due to security and information access restriction, the role is only open to a Sole British National.

The post does not offer relocation expenses. 

External recruits who join the MOD who are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a six-month probation period. 

Please Note: Expenses incurred for travel to interviews will not be reimbursed. 

Please be advised that the Department is conducting a review of all pay related allowances which could impact on those allowances that the post currently being advertised attracts.  

Any move to MOD from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/. 

The Ministry of Defence is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for its staff which includes educating them on the benefits of not smoking, protecting them from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke and supporting those who want to give up smoking. Under the Smoke-Free Working Environment policy, Smoking and the use of all tobacco products (including combustible and chewing tobacco products) will not be permitted anywhere in the Defence working environment however some exemptions are in place, please refer to local guidance. The policy is Whole Force and includes all Defence personnel, contractors, visitors and other non-MOD personnel. All applicants seeking, considering, or accepting employment with the Ministry of Defence should be aware of this policy and that it is already in place at a number of Defence Establishments.  

MOD Recruitment Satisfaction Survey – we may contact you regarding your experience to help us improve our customer satisfaction. The survey is voluntary and anonymous. You may however be given the opportunity to provide additional information to help us improve our service which includes the collection of some personal data as defined by the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). The MOD Privacy Notice sets out how we will use your personal data and your rights. 

Open to UK nationals only.

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available.
You may want to save a copy for your records.

Job contact :

• Name : Defence Digital Talent Acquisition Team
• Email : UKStratComDD-HR-TalentAcqDel@mod.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : DBSCivPers-Resourcingteam3@mod.gov.uk