Lead Data Governance Manager


Company:	Government Recruitment Service
Salary:	£59,207 to £70,958 a year
Hours:	Full-time
Location:	Manchester
Job type:	Temporary
Posting date:	19 Oct 2026
Closing date:	2 Nov 2026

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Summary

The Public Sector Reform Test, Learn and Grow (PSR TL&G) team is at the heart of the UK government’s initiative to drive innovation and reform in public service delivery. With the £100 million PSR Innovation Fund, our team collaborates with local authorities and government departments across the United Kingdom and with the Devolved Governments to design, test, and grow innovative solutions that enhance public service outcomes. By employing a ‘Test & Learn’ approach, we focus on creating evidence-based improvements while relieving pressures on public services. Our work involves piloting foundational programmes and place-based initiatives to accelerate mission delivery, support preventative measures, and foster a collaborative environment that encourages continuous improvement and innovation in public services.

The TLG programme uses place-based projects to prototype solutions to complex policy issues (these are known as ‘accelerators’). Examples of some of the accelerators in our portfolio include ‘violence against women and girls’ in Islington, ‘special educational needs and disabilities’ in Nottingham and Sandwell, ‘economic inactivity’ in Wakefield, and ‘neighbourhood health’ in Plymouth and Liverpool.

The ‘Grow’ element of the programme also aims to change the conditions across government so that it’s easier to work in a ‘test & learn’ way, as well as building the energy, networks and demand to sustain this work after the programme ends.

As the Lead Data Governance Manager for the TL&G team, you’ll work with colleagues from different multidisciplinary backgrounds in local government, central government and the wider public sector. You’ll help them identify data protection and data sharing issues early. You’ll support them in navigating complex data governance challenges, guiding them through the necessary processes, and ensuring proper join-up with the Cabinet Office Data Protection team. You’ll also make sure that any lessons learned around data governance, data protection and data privacy are shared with the ‘Grow’ part of the TLG team and support them in their work. This part of the team looks to identify and address systemic barriers that get in the way of those in central and local government taking iterative approaches to public services, and data sharing has already come up as a major area of work.

This role is mapped to the Lead Data Governance Manager role in the Government Digital and Data framework. This role may require some limited travel within the UK to work closely with local partners. This role is eligible for a DDaT allowance, the value of which will depend on an assessment of your skills and experience, as demonstrated at interview.

Main responsibilities

You will:

Ensure the adoption and implementation of the programme’s cross-organisational data governance framework, working closely with the Cabinet Office Data Protection team and our delivery partner–the transformation consultancy Public Digital (PD),
Develop, implement and manage additional data governance frameworks, policies, standards and agreements for work with our other stakeholders (including other central government departments, local government partners, other public sector bodies, and occasional private sector or third sector organisations),
Set principles for a data privacy-first approach, ensuring that data protection is embedded in the programme’s work and data risk is minimised,
Establish and oversee the programme’s data infrastructure,
Be responsible for understanding and managing the programme’s data risks and issues,
Explore creative solutions to data governance issues that meet Cabinet Office’s policies and standards,
Ensure that data governance issues are understood by seniors in the programme and by the Grow part of the TLG team,
Support the Grow part of the TLG team to understand good data practices established within our programme, identify opportunities to improve cross-government data governance and protection policy, and scope possible solutions where technical expertise is needed.

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