Department is offering potential £94k salary for a deputy director level post, while outlining its intent to appoint a supplier to support AI projects from ‘ideation to delivery and scaling’
The Department for Work and Pensions is recruiting for a senior leader to help build a team specialised in generative artificial intelligence while plotting a multimillion-pound deal intended to support the use of new technology to “address ‘to be identified’ business problems” across the organisation.
The department has issued a commercial planning notice alerting potential bidders to a future procurement exercise in which the DWP’s AI and Innovation Directorate will seek a supplier that can help build on “experiments into various types of AI, such as machine learning, generative AI, natural language processing, expert systems” and more.
The chosen provider, which will be appointed this summer to a contract expected to be worth £12m, will support the DWP with three defined workstreams related to AI: innovation and ideation; strategy and control; and delivery and scaling.
This will include the delivery of services include “implementation and support of AI systems; pipeline management; evaluation of AI projects throughout their lifecycle; supporting with risk management, governance and responsible AI approach; supporting the development of value frameworks; delivering engagement, enablement and change management; [and] developing and maintaining common components to recycle capabilities across DWP and across government”, according to the newly published procurement document.
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The department expects to issue a formal contract notice in May.
“DWP identifies, builds, and tests proof-of-concepts… to investigate how AI can help the Department address ‘to be identified’ business problems,” the planning notice adds. “We plan to then roll out AI tools to DWP colleagues when we are confident that they have met the necessary technical and business criteria to successfully add value to the department and our customers. Our approach to safe acceleration is value-led, responsible, secure and firmly human centred, as aligned in the AI Playbook for the UK government.”
The DWP has also this week advertised for the vacant post of deputy director for artificial intelligence delivery. The successful applicant will join the department’s “AI and innovation senior leadership team”, according to the job advert.
The post comes with a remit to “ create and develop a delivery team with the capability and capacity to deliver generative AI for DWP in a safe, ethical and transparent measurable way and define the required digital capabilities – people, process, and technology – that will be required to deliver, building a plan to ensure this is achievable and aligned to wider digital priorities”.
The team in question will feature various discipline, and “will be based in multiple locations and be drawn from the civil service, contractor and supplier markets”.
The post offers an annual salary of up to £94,000 and applications are open until 11.55pm on 17 March.
While the chosen candidate will be expected to help progress the use of generative AI, last year PublicTechnology revealed that the DWP had, effectively, banned its employees from using the most famous examples of the technology – including ChatGPT – in the course of their work or via government-issued devices.
However, later in the year we revealed that the department planned to progress its trials of gen AI with the launch of five projects supported by the department’s most senior leaders.
