PDS managing director will be tasked with ‘reimagining and reshaping’ use of digital

Credit: Phil Dolby/CC BY 2.0

The Parliamentary Digital Service is offering an annual salary of £120,000 for a new managing director.

The successful candidate will play a key role in “reimagining and reshaping the provision of digital, data and technology products and services” to more than 10,000 users across both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. 

“Change will be multi-faceted,” the job advert said. “Customer experience excellence, interoperability and improved data capability will be supported by transition to a new digital operating model, a resetting of divisional culture that places users and customer service at the heart of operations and delivery and, ultimately, by the provision of sector leading products and services that enable the important work of our high profile users and stakeholders.”

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The incoming MD will replace Tracey Jessup who was this month promoted to a position as UK parliament chief digital and information officer. This followed the launch, in July, of parliament’s Transforming Digital programme.

In a recent blog post Jessup said that the scheme is a “parliament-wide programme of digital change”.

“This step was recognition that a partnership with colleagues across parliament is key to getting the aims and objectives of this work right and making change stick,” she said.

The launch of the digital initiative comes on the back of a lot of “behind the scenes [work by PDS] on a programme to transform the way digital services operate in parliament”.

“The catalyst for this work was a review in 2019,” Jessup wrote. “This made some wide-ranging recommendations for parliament’s overall digital direction. Our work so far has focused on understanding parliament’s digital ambitions and how we might deliver digital services in a better, more cohesive way. We’ve been a little delayed by unexpected work in response to the Covid pandemic, but we’re now making good progress.”

The PDS managing director will be tasked with “strategically leading the successful delivery” of the programme, as well as overseeing the “financial and delivery performance of an internal digital, data and technology shared service”.

The role also comes with a remit to support systems and infrastructure, as well as cooperating with Jessup to “provide digital, data and technology thought leadership to enable a step change in delivery for the benefit of parliament”.

Applications for post are open until midday on 16 November. The hiring process is being run by recruitment firm Gatenby Sanderson. Interviews may take place remotely or in central London, candidates are advised.