People Data Lead

The UK AI Security Institute (AISI) exists to make frontier AI systems secure, trustworthy, and beneficial for society. We work at the heart of the UK government with direct lines to No. 10—advancing our understanding of how to evaluate and govern advanced AI systems so they can be deployed safely and responsibly.

Our mission is to strengthen state technical capacity in AI security research to support both government and global partners in managing the risks and harnessing the opportunities of this transformative technology.

We’re building a world-class team of scientists, policy specialists, and operational professionals united by one goal: ensuring AI benefits all humanity.

The AISI People Team is the engine driving the AI Security Institute’s bold transformation of government HR for technical institutes. As AISI scales rapidly, we’re setting the pace, breaking new ground, and raising the bar for what’s possible in public-sector people operations. Our team is central to building a high-performance, talent-dense culture where initiative and impact matter.

We act as a single front door for all People questions, delivering fast, robust decisions and high-quality data. We’re developing new approaches across the whole people lifecycle, from day 1 in AISI to supporting people when they move on.

The People Data Lead (SEO) sits at the heart of this. You will own and evolve our People MI and analytics, covering areas such as headcount, joiners/leavers, progression, pay, MI compliance, diversity and inclusion, risk, and pipelines, and turn it into the evidence base for decisions on performance, reward and workforce planning. You’ll work closely with the Head of People, the DD for Talent & Ops, senior leaders across AISI, DSIT HR, Finance and Legal, and with AISI’s engineers where we need to automate or integrate.

Day-to-day, working in the People Team feels like being in a small, high-agency start-up inside government: hands-on, high-energy, and very visible. We are activity-managed by AISI, with expert support from DSIT HR, which means you get the best of both worlds – freedom to innovate and the backing of a central HR function. If you want to build the HR data function of tomorrow, not just maintain today’s reporting, this is the team to join., As People Data Lead (SEO), you’ll own and improve AISI’s people analytics, turning HR data into clear dashboards and insights that drive decisions on hiring, performance, pay and workforce planning.

What you’ll do

• Design, maintain and improve our People MI suite in Power BI (headcount, joiners/leavers, pay, PRP, diversity, risk, vacancies).

• Produce accurate, auditable packs for performance and PRP panels, ensuring data is fair, robust and easy to understand.

• Build simple, usable dashboards for workforce planning and redeployment (e.g., RIS / Cabinet Office Protocol tracking).

• Streamline and automate repeat reporting tasks using HRIS data, Power BI and safe automation, improving data quality and consistency.

• Work with the People Team, senior leaders, DSIT HR and Finance to answer people questions with clear, concise analysis and brief written explanations.

Impact and success

In the first few months you’ll get our core dashboards into good shape and used regularly by the People Team and senior leaders. Over 6–12 months you’ll have a stable, trusted People MI suite in place, panels will routinely rely on your packs for PRP and progression decisions, and manual spreadsheet reporting will be largely replaced by repeatable, well-governed dashboards., Candidates who meet the minimum benchmark may be placed on a Reserve List for consideration for similar roles, including those at a lower grade. Candidates who narrowly miss the benchmark and are not placed on the Reserve List may still be considered for an offer in a similar role at a lower grade.

Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.

Any move to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

DSIT does not normally offer full home working (i.e., working at home); but we do offer a variety of flexible working options (including occasionally working from home).

DSIT cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign.

DSIT holds a Visa sponsorship licence but this can only be used for certain roles and this campaign does not qualify.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website.

Feedback Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check .

See our vetting charter . People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks., * UK nationals

• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Do you have experience in SQL?, * Data-curious about people: Genuinely interested in how people data can make organisations fairer and more effective. Motivated by using evidence, not anecdotes, to support decisions on hiring, performance and pay.

• Analytical and rigorous: Enjoys working with numbers and detail, spotting patterns and issues in datasets, and turning them into clear, honest insights. Holds a high bar for accuracy, auditability and privacy.
• Agentic and proactive: A self-starter who takes ownership of dashboards and reporting, drives improvements through to delivery, and actively looks for ways to simplify and strengthen how we use people data.
• Organised and reliable: Uses structure and systems to manage multiple reporting cycles and ad-hoc requests. Meets deadlines, keeps data and documentation tidy, and maintains consistent standards under pressure.
• Enjoys building and improving tools: Gets satisfaction from both creating new MI products and refining existing ones so they are more intuitive, automated and useful for non-technical users.
• Tech-savvy with data tools: Confident working with Excel and Power BI as core tools, and comfortable learning new systems (e.g. HRIS, Power Automate, AI productivity tools) to improve data flows and reduce manual work.
• Clear communicator and partner: Explains complex data simply, in writing and in conversation. Builds strong working relationships with HR, Finance, Legal and senior leaders, and is comfortable asking questions and offering challenge where needed.
• Values-driven and integrity-led: Strong alignment with AISI’s mission; handles sensitive people data with care and confidentiality. Thinks about fairness, equality and data protection when designing metrics and presenting insights.

Desirable criteria

• Experience working with HR data in government, tech, AI or a fast-growing organisation.
• Exposure to performance, PRP or workforce planning MI.
• Some familiarity with SQL or Python, or an interest in working closely with engineers and analysts., * Managing a Quality Service
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace

Alongside your salary of £40,415, Department for Science, Innovation & Technology contributes £11,708 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology offers a competitive mix of benefits including:

• A culture of flexible working, such as job sharing, homeworking and compressed hours.
• Automatic enrolment into the Civil Service Pension Scheme, with an employer contribution of 28.97%.
• A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by 1 day per year up to a maximum of 30.
• An extensive range of learning & professional development opportunities, which all staff are actively encouraged to pursue.
• Access to a range of retail, travel and lifestyle employee discounts., Please use your personal statement (in no more than 750 words) to address the following:

1. Using data and automation to solve real problems:

Describe one or two examples where you used data or automation to solve a problem or improve how a team worked.

What impact did it have on decisions, behaviour or workload?

If you have limited past experience, you can instead outline what you would do in this role if given the chance.

2. What you uniquely bring to a data role at AISI:

What do you think you uniquely bring to a data/analytics role in a fast-paced environment like AISI?

How would you use those strengths to help AISI make better people and workforce decisions?