The government agency responsible for prosecuting criminal cases across England and Wales is offering a yearly salary of £140k in its bid to appoint a new digital and IT leader

The Crown Prosecution Service is recruiting for a new chief digital information officer to manage hundreds of staff and tens of millions of pounds of annual IT spending.

The CPS, an independent government agency with responsibility for prosecuting criminal cases across England and Wales, is offering the new tech leader an annual salary of £140,000.

The chosen candidate will sit at the head of a directorate containing 300 staff and with a remit “to ensure that the infrastructure and systems that CPS relies on to function are maintained and kept in a condition conducive to a successful working environment”, according to the job advert.

The tech function is also “the driving force for digital transformation throughout the CPS, ensuring that the organisation is well positioned to harness new technologies to their greatest extent, resulting in the best service offering possible for the end user”.

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As the leader of this work, the new CDIO “will have overall responsibility for designing an appropriate and forward thinking operating model to meet our future strategic ambition, as well as defining and establishing a clear performance management process”.

Alongside management of a yearly tech budget of £85m, the chosen applicant will be expected to spearhead the creation of “strategies and business plans that support the CPS’s vision, and ensure that the [digital] directorate continues to meet the future needs of the CPS and the wider criminal justice system”.

The advert adds: “You will be expected to understand the correct risk appetite of the organisation and provide innovative solutions throughout your tenure, defining and driving objectives regarding digital transformation as well as operational system modernisation.”

The CPS is wishes to attract applications from experienced leaders who will “champion digital innovation and act as a thought leader for the adoption of AI and other emerging technologies”, and possess “a degree of comfort with ambiguity, combined with the ability to set up clear processes and functions… to establish a team with a clear remit that can work effectively across the wider organisation and with functional partners”.

Prospective candidates have until 11.55pm on 14 October to apply for the role. For the purposes of security clearance, applicants must have lived in the UK for a total of six years over the past decade.