Job Description
Job Summary
The Integrated Corporate Services (ICS) is a new shared corporate service, launched in July 2023. It provides corporate services (HR, Finance, Digital, Commercial, Security and Estates) across the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT).
Our team of just over 300 professionals will be leading the way in how these functions will be delivered in the future. Our ambition is to be the leading provider of integrated corporate services for government and set the standard for quality, efficiency, and innovation in our field.
We offer great working benefits including a world-class pension, flexible working options and a career where your learning and development is taken seriously. We are enormously proud to be a Disability Confident Leader employer. We support candidates with adjustments throughout our recruitment process. Information about disability confidence and just some examples of the adjustments that you can request can be found in the reasonable adjustment section below.
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found.
To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service D&I Strategy.
Find Out More
You can also follow our LinkedIn Careers Page: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/desnz-careers/
Job Description
Join ICS Digital, where innovation meets expertise to create digital solutions. We are a cohesive digital community who work in the open, solving problems together and fostering a culture of transparency and collaboration. Our commitment to user-focused design and data-driven decision-making ensures that we deliver accessible services tailored to the needs of our customers.
ICS is a Civil Service enterprise providing essential support services across government departments. Established in 2023, we work with partners to deliver expert corporate functions that enable you to focus on what matters most - serving the public effectively.
ICS brings together expert corporate resources under one roof, helping to:
* Reduce duplication of effort across departments
* Create consistent, high-quality support services
* Build on successful shared digital platforms
* Allow you to concentrate on frontline public service delivery
* Support a more agile and efficient Civil Service.
By centralising these essential functions, ICS helps the government work smarter and deliver better value for the taxpayer.
ICS is transforming how we work, simplifying tech, replacing legacy systems, building sleek and compliant solutions focussing on privacy by design and security by design, while taking a user-centred approach. We're building digital and AI capabilities, joining up policy and delivery, and helping teams move faster, work smarter, and reduce costs while increasing efficiencies.
Visit our blog to learn more about us and our work: https://icsdigital.blog.gov.uk/
Person specification
Role Overview
As Head of the Records Management and Archiving Team, you bring extensive team leadership experience and lead a team of nine reviewers based in Cardiff, with direct line management responsibility of two people.
Using your proactive approach and cross-cutting skills set, you ensure the team delivers a first-class service to ICS and relevant government organisations, which include the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
This is an exciting time for the team as we shift from traditional paper reviews to digital selection and appraisal. You will manage this transition, providing confident, inclusive leadership while championing diversity, development, and excellence.
Key Deliverables
* Lead the Records Management and Archiving Team, to ensure we meet regulatory records management and archiving needs for ICS and client organisations. This includes leading on internal and external Audits and reporting internally to Senior Leadership as well as leading on frequent regulatory reporting as well as to the National Archives.
* Provide pragmatic, expert advice and guidance on all things related to retention periods, records management and archiving to both ICS staff and client organisations.
* Actively lead on the transition from paper records to digital records management processes, ensuring a smooth transition process of digital repositories to the National Archives.
* Set up a continuous improvement process and exploring the remit of AI, utilise insights gathered from the team to manage and improve the collection, review and archiving of data, ensuring records are organised and classified logically and in line with retention schedules.
* Actively review, improve and draft guidance and policies related to records management and data retention that harmonise the approach and work across all of ICS and its customer tenancies.
* Work across teams in the data governance and data protection space and contribute to the design and delivery of relevant training material and informative outputs to promote best practices throughout the records lifecycle.
About You
The successful candidate ideally holds a professionally recognised qualification in Archives and Records Management or has equivalent professional experience.
You have a strong track record of team management and are confident applying professional standards for cataloguing archives.
You are a great communicator who thinks about processes from a user-perspective and understands how to utilise insights and uncover gaps to drive continuous improvement in the records management and archiving space. This includes promoting best practice and drafting internal policies related to retention and records management.
You bring proven project planning and delivery skills and meet tight deadlines.
Your IT skills are excellent, including experience with archive cataloguing software and spreadsheets. You also have demonstrable experience in stakeholder management.
You will be responsible for ensuring compliance with the Public Records Act and maintaining the department’s statutory relationship with The National Archives and the Lord Chancellor’s Advisory Council on National Records and Archives.
You will report directly to the DRO and act as his deputy.
As a line manager, you will be responsible for working with your members of staff to define their objectives, as well as managing their development and performance.
Essential Criteria
* An academic qualification or professional accreditation in records management, such as Practitioner Certificates, Master or Degrees in Information Records Management or Archives and Records Management, or similar relevant professional experience.
* Strong and demonstrable knowledge of the Public Records Act and data protection legislation and demonstrable knowledge of standards and procedures in relation to collections management, including the Public Records Act and Copyright Act and the UK GDPR.
* Extensive experience of managing organisational compliance with the Public Records Act, including cataloguing standards, developing or leading sensitivity reviews, redaction, file preparation and preservation, and working and engaging with The National Archive (TNA) and understanding their requirements for transferring material.
* Proven track record of engaging with and managing stakeholders, working collaboratively across directorates and functions.
* Significant experience leading, managing and supporting teams and team development.
* Experience in Project Management and continuous improvement within the records management and archiving field.
* Technical skills and proficiency in working with tools such as Microsoft 365, Jira, SharePoint, online libraries, metadata, retention labelling, as well as being comfortable in using new and innovative technology such as Co-pilot and other AI tools to support current and future operating models and processes.
It is unusual that all candidates will meet all the essential criteria. If your skills and experience look slightly different from what we have identified and you think you can bring value to the Head of Records Management Service role and the team, we strongly encourage you to apply. We'd love to hear from you!
Please, no recruitment agencies.
Qualifications
An academic qualification or professional accreditation in records management, such as Practitioner Certificates, Master or Degrees in Information Records Management or Archives and Records Management, or similar relevant professional experience.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
* Seeing the Big Picture
* Managing a Quality Service
* Communicating and Influencing
* Changing and Improving
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £55,105, Department for Energy Security & Net Zero contributes £15,963 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero offers a competitive mix of benefits including:
* A culture of flexible working, such as job sharing, homeworking and compressed hours.
* Automatic enrolment into the Civil Service Pension Scheme, with an employer contribution of 28.97%.
* A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by 1 day per year up to a maximum of 30.
* An extensive range of learning & professional development opportunities, which all staff are actively encouraged to pursue.
* Access to a range of retail, travel and lifestyle employee discounts.
Office attendance
The Department operates a discretionary hybrid working policy, which provides for a combination of working hours from your place of work and from your home in the UK. The current expectation for staff is to attend the office or non-home-based location for 40-60% of the time over the accounting period.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Ability and Experience.
After submission of the first stage of your application you will be invited to complete a Civil Service Judgement Test. If you successfully pass the test, you will be invited to complete the final stage of the application.
Please complete the online tests as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours is recommended), the closing date for the tests is 23:55 on 15/12/2025, If you fail to complete the online test before the deadline your application will be withdrawn. Guidance for the test will be available when you are invited to take the test. The tests are administered online and accessed via the CS Jobs website.
As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV and personal statement.
Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
Please use your personal statement (in no more than 500 words) to outline your qualifications and experience relevant to this role, focusing on your transition from paper-based to digital document review and your proactive approach to innovation and continuous improvement and how you work collaboratively with colleagues and stakeholders.
Applications will be sifted on CV and personal statement.
In the event of a large number of applicants, applications will be sifted on the personal statement.
Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.
The interview will consist of behaviour-based questions
Interviewees will be asked to deliver a presentation; further details will be provided nearer the time.
Sift and interview dates
Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
Further Information
Reasonable Adjustment
We are proud to be a disability confident leader and we welcome applications from disabled candidates and candidates with long-term conditions.
Information about the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) and some examples of adjustments that we offer to disabled candidates and candidates with long-term health conditions during our recruitment process can be found in our DESNZ Candidate Guidance. A DESNZ Plain Text Version of the guidance is also available.
We encourage candidates to discuss their adjustment needs by emailing the job contact which can be found under the contact point for applicants' section.
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.
If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.
New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.
A location-based reserve list of successful candidates will be kept for 12 months. Should another role become available within that period you may be offered this position.
Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.
Any move to the Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.
DESNZ does not normally offer full home ...