Department for Education to recruit a chief data officer

£140,000-a-year salary on offer for a chief data officer to develop and deliver a data strategy for DfE

The Department for Education (DfE) is looking for a chief data officer (CDO) to develop and deliver a data strategy for the Department.

The £140,000-a-year role, advertised on senior management and leadership recruitment consultancy Berwick Partners' website, states that the DfE wants a "passionate, engaging CDO" who can shape a strong data function, enabling service transformation on a massive scale.

The job advert states that DfE has some of the richest data sets in government and is undertaking a programme of reform addressing all parts of teaching and learning at every stage of life. DfE wants to use data-driven evidence into all of its decision-making.

The CDO will be tasked with ensuring that all future systems and process changes place data and insight at the heart of their design and operation.

The successful candidate would have to work with the chief digital and technology officer (CDTO) Mark O'Neill who is one of the founders of the Government Digital Service (GDS), as well as the DfE's chief analyst to embed resilient and continuiously improved data standards and ensure that all data needs are accurately captured, prioritised and incorporated into data product delivery.

Their role will be to make sure that data is used to deliver performance tables and other web-based information services to schools, parents and the general public, and they will have to champion the use of data innovation within policy, risk and operations.

DfE is looking for someone who has a proven track record of leading and shaping large-scale big data led transformation. They would need strong influencing and relationship building skills and have experience as a leader of large multi-disciplinary teams.

"As a proven data leader and data professional, your experience of driving value from data and leading data centric change will have given you a high impact and collaborative approach," the job advert reads.

"You will have the ability to enhance and embolden a thriving data, analysis and statistical capability within DfE," it adds.

Applications close on 16 May 2017.