Credit: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire/

The Parliamentary Digital Service (PDS) is hiring a £140,000-a-year managing director to bring about a “step change” in its digital capabilities.

Located at the heart of Westminster, this high-profile role brings responsibility for 450 staff and some 10,000 users with diverse interests across both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

The vacancy was initially advertised in autumn 2020, but no candidate was appointed. In February, David Smith OBE filled the role, but on a fixed-term contract.

Smith joined the PDS in 2017, after six years with tech giant Fujitsu. He was the PDS’s chief operating officer and deputy managing director. His term as managing director ends in January 2022, however.

The PDS says it is seeking a new face to deliver “broad ranging and all encompassing” changes to its services, including the design and transition to a new digital operating model.

It is keen that the new managing director has experience of setting up and getting the best from external partnerships with suppliers.

Other attributes should be a breadth of technology experience, including architecture, service and solution delivery, digital development, digital transformation and experience of using agile techniques.

Expertise in leading, developing and improving a large-scale shared service function is vital too.

The PDS said: “Given that we are in an early stage of our transformation, the new managing director will be able to play a key part in influencing and creating the right structures and responsibilities to produce the best outcomes for parliament in the future.”