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Senior Pay and Reward Lead - DSIT - SEO

Government Digital & Data -

Full-time (Permanent)
National: £42,382 - £45,920 London: £46,169 - £50,062
Published on
4 August 2025
Deadline
16 August 2025

Location

Bristol, London, Manchester

About the job

Job summary

Who we are

We are the Government Digital Service (GDS) that leads the Government Digital and Data profession for government. We put the right conditions in place to achieve digital, data and technology transformation at scale by working with departments, and other government functions like commercial, project delivery and security professionals.

We are responsible for:

- Delivering the cross-government Blueprint for modern digital government. 
- Digital, Data and Technology Strategy and Standards, like the Technology Code of Practice, the Service Standard and Open Standards
- Cross-government performance and assurance, including Spend Controls
- Government Digital and Data Capability Framework Join the Strategic Workforce and Capability Division, where our mission is to ensure the government possesses the necessary talent to drive digital transformation and overcome the challenges ahead. We're dedicated to enhancing the government's capacity to attract, recruit, nurture, and retain top tier digital and data professionals.

As part of the team, you will help shape the future of digital strategy and capabilities, providing vital insights that support cross departmental policies, standards, and strategies.

We're entrusted with devising strategies and delivering results for a community of 30,000+ digital innovators, aspiring talent, and the broader civil service. Our commitment extends to fostering an inclusive, supportive, and dynamic culture where individuals thrive and excel.

The role and our team

As the Senior Pay and Reward Officer, you will help organisations across government to adopt and implement the Digital and Data Pay Framework.

This is a delivery role, directly supporting government ambitions to broaden Government Digital and Data workforce. You will work closely with capability colleagues in the Government Digital Service, as well colleagues across government including but not exclusively HM Treasury and Cabinet Office.

You’ll gain strategic overview experience in a high profile area helping to attract and retain a growing profession. This opportunity will also enable you to make real change and the opportunity to create new ways of working and processes for the government.

This role requires both forward thinking and numeracy, while operating at pace for multiple and complex stakeholders. You will be working across government on Ministerial priorities, this is high profile and exciting work.

Job description

Key responsibilities 

What you’ll do

- Help develop and improve pay and reward for the Government’s Digital and Data profession of over 25,000 by making sure our pay is competitive, and our arrangements are widely understood and adopted.
Market pay analysis to inform the drafting of new 2025 business cases on:
Senior Civil Service roles
Cyber roles (not cyber security roles)
Current Government Digital and Data roles
- Capture and analysis of UK employment practice on bonuses and non-pay benefits to help build a profession-led reward approach for a future business case.
- Reviewing and analysing departments’ business cases to adopt, or extend, the pay framework focusing on
Spreadsheet analysis of department’s data, and savings estimates
- Template completion
- Advising and supporting departments Implementation preparation
- Advising and supporting new adopting departments on capability assessment
- Building a GDS library of adopting departments documentation and agreements connected to framework implementation.
- Upkeep and own management information related to pay and reward across the GDD profession.
- Support the pay and reward lead as necessary, e.g. deputise at meetings. 

Person specification

Who you are

You’re naturally analytical and enjoy diving into pay data, building models, testing ideas and spotting patterns others might miss. Excel is your go to tool and you know how to use it to make sense of the numbers.

You’re a confident communicator and a trusted partner to stakeholders, with the ability to explain the "what" and "why" clearly, whether in a meeting or in writing.

You also have a solid understanding of reward tools and frameworks, not just learning them, but experience of putting them into practice and seeing the results.

Essential criteria

- Experience supporting the design and delivery of pay and reward initiatives or projects. (Lead)
- Proven knowledge and skills to help teams develop and deliver effective plans in relation to pay and reward strategies.
- Experience using external pay benchmarking tools and data analysis to support and shape reward strategies.
- Critical thinking skills, with the ability to analyse complex information, challenge assumptions constructively and influence stakeholders while building trusted relationships.
- Experience in supporting or coaching others to build knowledge and capability in pay and reward best practices.
- Proficient in using workforce analytics, benchmarking data and user research to inform, adapt and communicate delivery plans and outcomes.
- Confident using Microsoft Office applications especially Excel for data analysis and Word and PowerPoint for clear reporting and presentations.
- Able to communicate complex pay and reward strategies in an accessible way and help build wider understanding across teams and communities.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

  • Delivering at Pace

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

  • Critical thinking skills, with the ability to analyse complex information, challenge assumptions
  • Proficient in using workforce analytics, benchmarking data and user research
  • Able to communicate complex pay and reward strategies

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