Head of Digital Capability and Onboarding

AD WARRIOR; Bristol; Hybrid; GBP 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading agency is seeking a Head of Digital Capability and Onboarding to lead their digital workforce strategy. This role involves overseeing recruitment, onboarding, and capability support to build a skilled digital workforce. The ideal candidate will possess strong leadership skills and a commitment to inclusion and development. The position offers flexible working arrangements and a competitive salary.

Benefits

Civil Service Pension Scheme

Flexible Working Options

Generous Annual Leave

Employee Assistance Program

Cycle to Work Scheme

Gym Membership Offers

Qualifications

• Experienced leader with strategic and operational focus.
• Ability to influence at senior levels and drive digital workforce growth.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end recruitment campaigns across digital and data professions.
• Oversee the onboarding journey for all digital professionals.
• Ensure accurate oversight of digital workforce metrics.

Skills

Leadership

Collaboration

Inclusion

Job description

Head of Digital Capability and Onboarding

Location: Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Nottingham, Oldham, Swansea

Salary: £54,857 per annum

Job Type: Fixed Term Contract for 2 years, Full Time or Part Time hours

Our client is investing in the digital workforce they need to meet future challenges—building a more sustainable, skilled, and in-house capability that reduces their reliance on external contractors. As part of this work, they’ve created theDigital & Data Hub: a central team that brings together recruitment, onboarding, workforce planning, and governance to support the growth of a modern digital profession within the agency.

They’re now looking for a senior leader to head up the Hub. This role will focus on scaling up their recruitment of digital professionals, embedding consistent onboarding and capability support, and helping them to meet its ambitious workforce targets in line with government expectations.

The Role

The Head of Digital & Data Hub leads their strategic approach to digital recruitment, onboarding, and workforce capability. You will be responsible for designing and running the processes that ensure they can attract, develop, and retain the digital talent it needs—while also contributing to the government’s wider contractor reduction and efficiency targets.

This is a leadership role with both operational and strategic scope, sitting at the heart of the agency’s drive to build a more skilled, sustainable digital workforce.

Key Responsibilities:

• Digital Workforce Growth - Lead end-to-end recruitment campaigns across digital and data professions, ensuring roles are advertised, assessed, and onboarded in a consistent, timely, and inclusive way.
• Onboarding & Capability Support -Oversee the onboarding journey for all digital professionals, including apprenticeships, and develop mechanisms that support retention, development, and career progression.
• Contractor Reduction & Efficiency Alignment -Drive activity to convert and reduce external contractor roles where appropriate, aligning to Civil Service and Spring Budget targets for efficiency and workforce sustainability.
• Governance & Reporting -Ensure the Hub maintains accurate oversight of digital workforce metrics—including headcount, vacancies, contractor usage, and diversity indicators—and reports effectively to themand central government stakeholders.
• Cross-functional Collaboration -Work closely with HR, finance, commercial, and digital leadership to coordinate workforce activity, unblock delivery risks, and provide senior-level assurance on progress.

Skills and Qualifications

They’re looking for an experienced leader who thrives at the intersection of strategy, operations, and people. You’ll bring the credibility to influence at senior levels, and the focus to deliver at pace. Most importantly, you’ll be driven by a desire to create the conditions where digital professionals can succeed and grow within the Civil Service.

You will have:

• A clear, practical leadership style—focused on delivery, clarity, and collaboration.
• A commitment to inclusion, development, and building professional communities.
• Ability to model high standards while supporting others to grow in capability and confidence.

Additional Information

This role can be based in Bristol, Swansea, Leeds, Nottingham, Newcastle, Oldham or Birmingham. Your presence at one of these locations will form part of the working arrangements agreed with you. They operate a hybrid working model giving you greater flexibility about where and when you work. Their expectation is that you will spend a minimum 60% of your time at your base location. Visits to other sites or work locations count towards this.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £54,857, Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency contributes £15,892 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

An environment with flexible working options where they encourage a great work-life balance.

• Alongside your salary, theyhavea fantastic pension scheme with an average employer contribution of 28.97%.
• Generous Annual Leave - 25 days holiday, increasing by 1 each year of service, up to 30.
• 8 Bank Holidays plus an additional Privilege Day to mark the King’s birthday.
• Latest IT and Tech devices.
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity with a range of staff communities to support all of their colleagues.
• Excellent learning and development tailored to your role including paid apprenticeships up to Masters level.
• Wide range of discounts schemes on high street names.
• Employee assistance program for health and well-being.
• Cycle to work scheme and Gym membership offers

To Apply

If you feel you are a suitable candidate and would like to work for this reputable organisation, please proceed through the following link to be redirected to their website to complete your application.