24.39 Innovation Manager

About the Department:
DBS was established under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 on 1 December 2012, operating from two sites, Liverpool and Darlington. We operate on behalf of government delivering Disclosure functions in England, Wales, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man, and Barring functions for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
We operate in the complex world of safeguarding alongside our multi agency partners. Safeguarding means protecting people’s health, wellbeing and human rights, and enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect.
We provide a service that enables organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors to make better informed, safer recruitment and other decisions. We do this by providing information to enable them to determine whether individuals are unsuitable or unable to undertake certain work, particularly with occupations involving regular contact with vulnerable groups, including children.
DBS has a number of strategic Priorities:
1. Provide high quality, reliable, consistent, timely and accessible services for our customers.
2. Embrace technology to drive improvements to the quality of our work.
3. Raise awareness of the DBS and the services we offer, keeping people informed through our communications, to increase public understanding and confidence in our organisation.
4. Be a respected and trusted organisation, working with our partners to play an influential role in the environment in which we operate.
5. Develop a talented and diverse workforce that understands how their contributions help to achieve our objectives.
6. Build a flexible, vibrant and contemporary workplace where our staff will be able to do their jobs using modern ways of working that are smart and which promote OneDBS.
Further information about the Disclosure & Barring Service can be found via - Disclosure & Barring Service, As an integral part of our innovation team, the Innovation Manager, reporting directly to the Head of Innovation, plays a pivotal role in driving our organisation’s innovative initiatives forward. Collaborating closely with the Head of Innovation and Associate Director for Innovation, the role focuses on spearheading programmes of work. This entails leading significant areas of business change to identify opportunities and define roadmaps for progression and testing. The incumbent will engage stakeholders across the board, document research and insights essential for the successful implementation of each initiative and be able to articulate options for progression and risks associated., Under the direct supervision of the Head of Innovation, the Innovation Manager assumes a pivotal role in advancing the innovation agenda across the organisation. Key responsibilities include:
+ Championing DBS as a leading safeguarding organisation among both internal teams and external stakeholders.
+ Engaging collaboratively with various internal directorates and stakeholders and creating internal networks to drive forward innovative changes.
+ Engaging with industry experts and civil service colleagues to understand best practice and develop strong working relationships and networks.
+ Completing robust data capture and analysis on key projects and areas of work, assigned by the Head of Innovation.
+ Testing and implementing innovative business solutions aligned with DBS's overarching strategy.
+ To be prepared to work flexibly and to change priorities and workloads quickly and effectively dependent upon the requirements of the role., + Lead and support the innovation capability by exploring and understanding the requirements for successful delivery of specific initiatives and programs, reporting on the viability and benefits of implementation to the Head of Innovation.
+ Facilitate insights capture activities such as innovation workshops with stakeholders and external parties where appropriate to explore opportunities for innovation.
+ Coordinate large complex projects with multiple objectives, resources and stakeholders requirements to ensure successful delivery.
+ Provide specialist innovation expertise which creates structure and ensure successful delivery.
+ Create internal and external networks to support role and gain areas into specialist fields
Support on evaluating and implementing innovative opportunities as and when they are required by the Head of Innovation, specifically looking at directorate processes, policies and assessing implementation.
+ Provide clear direction, and support to colleagues within the team, wider directorate and organisation., For all candidates who are successful at the initial sifting stage, you will be invited to interview.
The interview will be Teams based and will consist of a panel based interview.
The aim of the panel interview will be to assess your ability to demonstrate the following behaviours:
+ Working together
+ Changing and Improving
+ Making effective decisions
+ Communicating & influencing
The panel will also look to assess your ability to demonstrate two strength based questions:
Closing date: 10/06/2024
The following timetable outlines indicative dates. Please note, these dates may be subject to change without prior notice.
The initial candidate sift is due to take place week commencing 10th June 2024.
Interviews are due to take place week commencing 19th June 2024.
Whilst we will endeavour to provide some flexibility with regards to dates wherever possible, it is unlikely that we will be able to offer an alternative date once an appointment has been scheduled.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
+ 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) (opens in a new window)
+ 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
Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

+ Can simplify complexities and articulate rationale to influence and gain agreement at senior level.
+ Can create and articulate an understanding of a problem, potential solutions and motivate others to work towards a common goal.
+ Remain calm but decisive under pressure and in challenging circumstances.
+ Create and maintain positive, collaborative and trusting working relationships with a wide range of people within and outside the organisation.
+ Shows organizational skills to be able to prioritize workload and prioritize activities within a project
+ Committed to the seven principles of public life.
+ Experience of successfully delivering innovative solutions as a project or initiative lead
+ Experience and proven track record in leading and facilitating robust decision making.
+ Evidence of effective influencing others within a challenging environment to successfully deliver against key priorities.
+ Experience in managing groups to deliver against set objectives
+ Experience of delivering Innovative projects
+ Excellent research and analytical skills
Desirable Criteria
+ Look at the bigger strategic picture and be able to communicate how potential solutions would impact this.
+ Be able to measure and articulate resources requirements and budgetary considerations.
+ Proven experience in innovation projects in a large organisation.
+ Experience influencing senior stakeholders to change course.
+ Six sigma, continuous improvement experience or core PM or BA skills.
+ Track record of developing and testing hypotheses to deliver recommendations around the viability of proposals., + Changing and Improving
+ Making Effective Decisions
+ Communicating and Influencing

Alongside your salary of £38,700, Disclosure & Barring Service contributes £10,449 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
The DBS offers a number of excellent benefits for its employees. These can include:
+ Generous annual leave entitlement
+ Excellent maternity, paternity and adoption schemes (after a qualifying period)
+ Commitment to the health and wellbeing of our employees
+ Employee Assistance Programme
+ Flexible working opportunities
+ Eyecare voucher scheme
+ Occupational Health Service including referrals for counselling and physiotherapy
+ 24/7 Counselling and Wellbeing Service
+ A Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
The DBS vision and purpose is to make people safer by being a visible, trusted and influential organisation, providing an outstanding quality of service to all our customers and partners, where our people understand the important safeguarding contributions they make and feel proud to work here. To do this, the DBS is committed to being an employer that is able to attract, develop, retain and engage diverse talent that is representative of the communities we serve, and to be an organisation providing outstanding service to all our existing and new customers, who are diverse and have a range of different needs. We want all our staff to be able to bring their ‘whole self’ to work.
Legislative changes and the closure of Employer Supported Childcare scheme on 4 October 2018 will mean that if you are already a Civil Servant and move across the Civil Service, your ability to claim Childcare Vouchers will be impacted. However, you may still be eligible to claim Tax Free Childcare. For further information and to check if you are eligible for Tax-Free Childcare see Get Tax-Free Childcare: step by step on GOV.UK.