Head of Test and Evaluation

Government Recruitment Service; Metropolitan Borough of Solihull; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A UK government agency is seeking a Head of Test and Evaluation to lead the assurance of police equipment and oversee a multi-million pound R&D budget. This full-time role requires strong leadership and project management skills, along with experience in assurance transformation. Regular UK travel is required, and flexible working arrangements are available.

Benefits

Flexible working hours

Option for job-share

Potential for part-time hours

Qualifications

• Experience in leading high-profile science services and change programs.
• Ability to manage a £4.4M budget effectively.
• Strong background in assurance transformation and technical advice.

Responsibilities

• Oversee delivery of police equipment assurance and transformation program.
• Establish relationships for technical advice and governance mechanisms.
• Lead a small team to support efficient and effective delivery.

Skills

Leadership

Project Management

Stakeholder Engagement

Technical Expertise in R&D

Budget Management

Job description

The Home Office works to build a safe, fair and prosperous UK. We achieve this through our work on counter-terrorism, policing, fire, crime, drugs policy, immigration and passports.

The Science, Technology, Research and Analysis (STAR) Group sits at the heart of the Home Office. The group ensures the best evidence and analysis are used to address the strategic issues facing the department. We also provide the science, technology, data, and international insights and collaboration capabilities to drive delivery.

The Home Office has responsibility for the testing and evaluation of several types of police equipment to ensure it meets police operational requirements. Responsibility covers certification of personal protective equipment (PPE) against Home Office standards, Home Office Type Approval (HOTA) of road traffic law enforcement equipment, drink and drug drive test instruments, and assessments of less lethal weapons (LLW) and armed policing equipment to inform decisions on their authorisation for police use. To deliver this science service, Home Office works with partners from within government, including Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), and industry.

This is an exciting new role. You will be leading the delivery of a high-profile Home Office science service, including a major change programme to evolve the current operating model to ensure it is sustainable, cost-effective, responsive, resilient, fosters innovation and is trusted by all. Alongside this, you will also consider how we manage aspects of our controlled substances (drugs) research and development (R&D), and scope other uses for the Test and Evaluation (T&E) service.

As the new Head of Test and Evaluation you will be an expert delivery-focussed senior leader. You will be part of the leadership team in Science, Innovation and Technology (SIT) Delivery Team, part of the Home Office Science Directorate. We are responsible for the delivery of a multi-million pound Research and Development Portfolio and implementation of the Home Office Research Development and Innovation Strategy. We form part of the Home Office science and evidence ecosystem and as such are pivotal in maintaining collaboration and cross-working with our Home Office stakeholders, innovation organisations such as the Accelerated Capability Environment (ACE) and Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) and our operational partners (e.g. Policing and Border Force). We also work closely with wider government, suppliers in industry and academia and internationally to burden share on areas of mutual interest.

The role will have the following responsibilities:

• Oversight and effective delivery of police equipment assurance which informs Home Office Type Approval (HOTA), Certification to standards or approval of equipment for police use that has been demonstrated to meet police operational requirements.
• Oversight of the assurance transformation programme to optimise current processes including mitigation of risks and issues and being the senior link with our partners (e.g. Defence Science and Technology Laboratories (Dstl), policing, policy colleagues).
• Learning from best practice on assurance transformation, oversight of the review, design and implementation of new delivery models for controlled substances (drugs) delivery, working with the R&D portfolio.
• Establishing relationships to access expert technical advice to maximise awareness and understanding of Home Office policy customers in the authorisation and decisions-support for procurement, including support to investigations if there are any issues or failures of equipment.
• Ensuring appropriate governance mechanisms are in place to oversee the business-as usual and change, including business case development and Ministerial / Senior official correspondence as the need arises
• Being visionary to identify other opportunities to expand the T&E service to (e.g. AI, facial recognition) and developing plans to set these up.
• Working with the wider R&D Portfolio, management of a c. £4.4M annual budget to time, cost and quality including leadership of a small team to support efficient and effective delivery.
• Strong and effective line management is essential, ensuring the guidance, support and development of team members to drive high standards of delivery and foster a positive, collaborative working environment.

Working pattern

This role is available on a full-time basis with the option of job-share and compressed hours are available. This role is also suitable for part-time working hours, with a minimum requirement to work 3 days per week due to business requirements.

Travel

• Regular UK travel is required (including some with overnight stays) along with occasional overseas travel.
• A driving license is recommended.