Whitehall advertises for digital mandarin

The new role will sit within the Cabinet Office

Whitehall is advertising for a new role to head up "digital engagement" with the public in a sign that it is taking the Transformational Government agenda increasingly seriously.

The position advertised is in the second highest civil service pay-band - worth as much as £120,000 per year - and reports directly to the minister for digital engagement, Tom Watson, and the permanent secretary for government communications, Matt Tee.

The role will sit within the Cabinet Office, and its occupant will be responsible for co-ordinating the public sector's engagement with citizens across all departments and local authorities.

The two key goals of the successful applicant will be to assist government in making effective use of current digital spend, which runs into many millions of pounds, and to help departments introduce digital ways of engaging with the public that are cheaper than face-to-face and postal methods. The role is likely to include looking at ways to make better use of Web 2.0 tools such as Facebook and Twitter.

The recruiters are keen to emphasise the influential nature any successful applicant will need to have to engender cultural change in the civil service.

"[The role] will involve supporting ministers and senior officials in entering conversations in which government does not control the message or the dialogue," says the job description.

"Giving ministers and senior officials the confidence to do this will require influencing skills of the highest order."

A recent report on Whitehall's progress against the recommendations of the Power of Information review - which aims to improve digital engagement with the public - found that in some areas "the situation remains unchanged".

"It is vital that government departments engage with citizens through digital channels," said a Cabinet Office spokeswoman. "We have created this post to support and encourage all departments to become excellent at using these techniques alongside traditional engagement methods."