Interim Deputy Director, Digital Standards and Inclusive Design - Central Gov - Manchester

Location: Hybrid, two days a week in Manchester

Rate: Up to £985 per day, inside IR35

Mayfleet Recruitment is looking for an interim Deputy Director of Digital Standards and Inclusive Design to join a major public sector organisation.

This is a senior leadership role at the centre of digital government. You will set the strategic direction for how public services are designed, built and measured. That means modernising digital service and technology standards into a more coherent framework, improving accessibility across public services, and promoting inclusive design so services work for everyone who needs them.

Key responsibilities

• Lead the evolution of digital service standards, accessibility and inclusive design across the public sector.
• Develop the means by which the quality and accessibility of digital services are set and measured.
• Build, lead and motivate a team of digital, data, accessibility, standards and research specialists.
• Work across organisational boundaries with senior leaders to identify and pilot new approaches, including AI-enabled solutions.
• Oversee a portfolio of standards, accessibility and transformation initiatives through to delivery.
• Oversee responses to parliamentary, National Audit Office and Public Accounts Committee correspondence relating to the portfolio.
• Collaborate with academia, think tanks and industry partners, using innovative commercial approaches to engage SMEs and scale-ups.

Essential experience

• Senior leadership in service design, service standards or accessibility, ideally at Deputy Director level or equivalent.
• Central government experience, with the credibility to influence senior stakeholders across organisations.
• Recognised thought leadership in service design, standards or accessibility, working openly to drive adoption of best practice.
• A strong understanding of end-to-end service delivery and user experience design.
• Experience incubating and piloting new ideas within a complex organisational landscape.
• Exceptional communication, collaboration and partnership-building skills.

Desirable

• A real passion for accessible and inclusive design.
• Experience of innovative procurement and partnership models.