Director of Business Services

Key Responsibilities

• Lead a high volume customer service function, providing legal compliance advice on all matters of data protection and related legislation to UK businesses and organisations.
• Ensure the Business Services Directorate, and the ICO more generally, maintains high levels of awareness of and empathy towards the challenges and needs of businesses, and in particular small businesses, across the UK, developing and tailoring services in response to this insight.
• Ensure a range of products, tools and guidance are developed, including digital solutions, in line with customer demand, to support businesses to maximise their responsible use of data and enable them to plan, invest, innovate and grow.
• Ensure that statutory fees and charges payable by businesses and organisations to the ICO are collected as efficiently as possible, enabling those businesses to access ICO services of greatest relevance to their needs.
• Ensure the ICO maintains an effective data breach reporting service for businesses and organisations. This service should be quick and simple to use and enable the ICO to assess regulatory risk and harm, responding and following up accordingly.
• Ensure that matters of strategic significance to the ICO are identified and information shared with appropriate ICO directorates.
• Ensure Business Services objectives are clearly aligned to the ICO’s strategic priorities, maximising resource efficiency across the teams in the directorate and delivering value for money. This will involve the continual data and evidence led review of activities and their contribution to the ICO’s strategic priorities.
• Represent the ICO at events and through strategic stakeholder relationships with the UK small business sector, including leading on relationships with small business associations and representative bodies.
• Lead and inspire teams across multiple disciplines, communicating effectively to achieve staff engagement and being a visible and credible senior leader.
• Champion the development of staff, creating an inclusive environment which values diversity, encourages learning and development and identifies and acts where capabilities need to be improved.
• Ensure maximum effectiveness and equality of access to our services through benchmarking good practice, listening to customers and engaging staff.
• Use initiative, be innovative and seek opportunities for strategic change and digital transformation to deliver world class services. Seek, encourage and recognise ideas and have the courage to take risks and change how things are done, challenging the status quo appropriately.
• Represent ICO and its values effectively at senior level in engagements and presentations nationally and internationally.
• Support the wider Customer Service function, maintaining a strong insight and understanding of the work of other directorates, collaborating and supporting senior colleagues effectively.

Qualification & Requirements

Essential criteria assessed at application stage:

• Significant experience relevant to the role requirements, as described in the role responsibilities and person specification, and accumulated through any combination of academic or vocational qualifications or experience.
• Substantial experience relevant to the role including leading large customer facing operational services.
• Experience at a senior level running a high volume customer complaints function.
• Experience of leading digital transformation in a customer service environment.
• Experience of leading teams providing guidance in areas of law and policy.
• Experience of leading and implementing process improvements.
• Experience of the management and deployment of resources, including budgets.

Essential criteria assessed during interview:

• Substantial experience relevant to the role including leading large customer facing operational services.
• Experience at a senior level running a high volume customer complaints function.
• Strong knowledge of the risks and opportunities faced by businesses in the UK economy.
• Ability to research and promote products and services to businesses in ways which build positive brand awareness and confidence in service channels and products.
• Excellent presentation, written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent analytical and operational forecasting skills.
• Inclusive and supportive people leadership skills and ability to develop and lead high performing teams.
• Ability to seek out, manage and influence opportunities for continuous improvement and change.

Benefits

• Pay progression scheme.
• Hybrid and flexible working options.
• 25 days paid holiday per year, plus privilege and public holidays.
• Flexi leave (up to 26 additional days leave per year).
• Pension (employer contribution around 28.9%).
• Online discount scheme to save money at major supermarkets, retailers, gyms, restaurants, insurance providers and many more.
• Health Cash Plan.
• Fantastic development opportunities to learn and progress.