Chief Digital and Information Officer (FCS4)

Contract: Permanent, working 35 hours per week (Arts Council also recognises the benefit of flexible working as a valued part of the way we work, and welcome applications from individuals who require flexibility)

Salary: Competitive base salary to be discussed on a one-to-one basis; benefits including a final salary pension scheme, generous annual leave, and flexible and hybrid working. 

Location: Manchester (The role will be based at the office base listed; however, we are operating a hybrid way of working and support our staff to make use of remote working options when combined with regular on-site contact days with other members of the team, normally 1-2 days a week) 

Arts Council England is the national development agency for creativity and culture.

We champion creativity and culture across the country, develop talent in every corner of the nation, and support artists, practitioners and cultural organisations to work in partnership and to be world-leading.

Our Strategy for 2020-2030, Let's Create, is an invitation to come together and create new opportunities for every person in England to get creative and enjoy brilliant culture.

We believe creativity and culture inspire, bring us together and teach us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, they make life better.

Between 2023 and 2026 we will invest over £467 million of public money from Government and an estimated £250 million from The National Lottery each year to help support the sector and to deliver our strategic vision.

We support combined arts, dance, literature, music, theatre, visual art, museums and libraries. We provide short and long-term investments for individual artists and arts projects, arts organisations, museums, galleries and libraries.

Alongside investing in arts and culture, we also have a vital role in developing its availability, relevance and sustainability across England.

• The opportunity to drive digital technology enabled transformational change.
• Hybrid working practices in place

Job Description

Overview

• Develop and deliver our digital and IT strategies, enabling us to provide services to our customers and staff which are simple, efficient, secure and centred around user needs.
• Provide inspirational leadership to the team and the organisation, helping them understand the changes we need to make and the benefits of digital skills and ways of working.
• Transform how we do our business, developing the capability to provide better digital services to the creative and cultural sector, working towards an excellent user experience, delivered at optimal cost.
• Be a key educator, challenger and strategic advisor to the Executive Team and wider organisation, on ACE's current and future digital and IT requirements.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide inspiring and empowering leadership, establishing a clear direction, and goals, and promoting a performance and learning culture.
• Actively work as a member of the organisation's Transformation Board to change how we run our services, enabling the move to a user-centred, service approach, acting as a key advisor and supplier.
• Implement digital and IT standards and processes which ensure consistency in approach and underpin a coherent architecture and security.
• Drive the flexible, cost-effective transformation of the Arts Council's IT estate using appropriate development techniques, open-source solutions and standards to create secure services.
• Ensure that the organisation has a well-developed Cyber Security Strategy which adequately responds to the cyber threats the organisation faces.
• Lead on the shaping, defining and delivery of digital change projects.
• Deliver high-quality, stable and resilient live IT services; strategically manage supplier contracts.
• Keep abreast of technological developments and advise the organisation on the opportunities afforded by new technologies and on the implications for working practices.
• Ensure appropriate backup and recovery arrangements (including Disaster Recovery) are provided so that staff have access to systems at agreed times.
• Contribute actively to the leadership of the Corporate Services Directorate, championing the organisation's commitment to diversity and role modelling our values: we're ambitious, we care, we learn.

Actively work as a member of the organisation's Senior Leadership Team (our top 20 leaders) contributing to strategic discussions and acting as a key point of consultation for digital / IT aspects of change programmes, policies and processes.

Key Relationships:

Executive Board, Business Transformation Director, Chief Data Officer, Director of Governance and other Directors across the organisation. Externally you will manage the relationship with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and other Lottery distributors on IT/digital matters and represent the organisation on governmental IT/digital forums as required.

The Successful Applicant

Essential Criteria:

• Experience introducing internal and public-facing digital services and the associated digital operating models.
• Highly developed leadership skills with proven experience in leading, supporting, and mentoring teams through change whilst retaining focus on delivering agreed objectives and outcomes.
• Acting as a champion for our Transformation Programme and using new ways of working and technology to enable and accelerate organisational change.
• A demonstrable commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, and role modelling of inclusive behaviours.
• A proven track record in leading and delivering complex, large-scale projects, and managing a range of internal and external stakeholders.
• Experience in managing significant budgets and controlling tight resources to gain the maximum value for money.
• A track record of developing and leading the implementation of strategy and operational plans across a medium or large organisation with dispersed management.
• A thorough understanding of strategic developments in the digital/IT/technology sectors. Your knowledge of emerging technologies, web-based development, experience with business-critical applications and delivery of IT/IS services in a multi-site organisation will be critical. You will have a broad understanding of IT operations (networking, telecommunications, virtualisation, data storage, and security) and application development.
• Personal credibility with colleagues at all levels through high-level influencing skills, expert advice, the ability to think and act creatively, and championing new ideas that contribute to the aims of the organisation.
• Excellent presentation skills with the ability to deliver material or convey complex ideas clearly and concisely.

Desirable but not essential:

• Experience working in the public or not-for-profit sectors.
  
  Personal Qualities:
• Passionate about user experience and digital delivery.
• A strategic thinker who can take the broader view, participate in setting long-term strategy and driving this forward in the Arts Council.
• Able to think laterally, push the boundaries of what is possible, connect the dots, spot opportunities, recommend solutions and influence communities.
• Innovative with a can-do solution-focused attitude.
• Highly driven, collaborative, analytical and problem-solving leader. Flexible and able to multi-task, effective in an ambiguous fast-paced environment.

What's on Offer

Competitive base salary to be discussed on a one-to-one basis.

Benefits:

• Pension scheme and life assurance: The Arts Council retirement plan is a final salary scheme with contributions on a sliding scale.
• All staff members are automatically provided with life assurance cover.
• Annual leave: 25 days, plus bank holidays and an additional three days leave at Christmas. All staff also earn one additional leave day per full year of service (up to five days) and we offer a scheme to buy and sell annual leave. We offer generous sick pay, paid maternity, paternity and adoptive parental leave, and up to five days a year for personal and religious reasons.
• Flexible and hybrid working: Where possible, we accommodate working from home, compressed or part-time hours, job shares and other arrangements to help you balance work and home life. We encourage individuals and teams to work flexibly and smartly, providing portable devices and technology so they can work and stay in touch while at home, travelling or otherwise out of the office.
• Learning and development: We invest in the growth and development of all our staff, including professional qualifications, in-house and external training courses, conferences, e-learning and more. We encourage individuals and teams to keep learning and developing - as a gold standard Investor in People, we provide flexible and adaptable learning and development opportunities for staff at all levels.
• Relocation support: Newly appointed staff who need to move residence are eligible to apply for up to £5,000 support.
• Travel loans: Interest-free loans for travel season tickets. Bicycle, car and motorbike loans for those who regularly use them for commuting.
• Shopping discounts: Exclusive savings on high street and online shops, holidays, cinema tickets, gym membership, dining out and more.
• Wellbeing support: Our internal wellbeing strategy launched in 2021, and colleagues have access to a range of resources to support their wellbeing including: 
  * Unmind: A workplace mental health platform.
  * Employee Assistance Programme: A confidential 24/7 telephone counselling service which offers impartial external advice and support on personal, legal, financial and line management issues, plus up to six counselling sessions per year.
  * A fully trained team of internal Mental Health first-aiders.

Equality Diversity and Inclusion Statement: Arts Council are committed to building an inclusive employer and workplace and recruiting a workforce that is as diverse as the communities we serve. However, you identify, and whatever background you bring with you, we welcome you to apply for a role at Arts Council.

If you are disabled and your application meets the essential criteria for the post, we guarantee you an interview. Candidates who wish to apply under this scheme should indicate this on their cover letter under 'Candidate Personal Information' and then demonstrate within their cover letter and CV, how they have met the essential criteria for the role.

If any adjustments would help support you in your application, please do let us know when you apply. If you are disabled Evenbreak can provide support with your application, for further information please visit their website here https://hive.evenbreak.co.uk

About us: Arts Council offers a range of benefits to our employees including hybrid and flexible working, a generous annual leave allowance and the Arts Council Retirement Plan - a final salary scheme. To find out more, click here.

Our Code of Ethics requires that employees of the Arts Council are not able to receive an Arts Council grant, investment or loan funding - either in person, as a member of a partnership, or for any organisation they own. There are also limitations on board or CEO positions employees can hold in organisations we fund. For more information on this, please contact the recruitment Partner at Page Executive, ruteshshah@pageexecutive.com. 

To view the recruitment pack which outlines more details about working for Arts Council please click here  

Job ref: Contact: Rutesh Shah

Quote job ref: JN-072024-6487238

Click here to apply.

Do not apply via the Arts Council Website.

Closing date: Friday 20 September

1^st Interviews: Tuesday 08 October

2^nd Interviews: Thursday 17/ Friday 18 October