Advisor, Digital Government at Tony Blair Institute for Global Change

Focus of the Role

Are you passionate about the possibilities of transforming government, public services, and economies through the power of technology? Do you have experience consulting or working with senior political leaders and government in the tech sector, driving systemic and transformative change?

At the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI), we work at the highest levels of government to help leaders go further and faster to make their citizens’ lives better. Moving the dial on the great global challenges of our time requires engaged, focused, and motivated leaders. When political leadership is relentlessly deployed, at the highest levels, incredible things can be achieved. Using our distinctive expertise and global outlook, our expert advisors and embedded teams advise governments all over the world in strategy, policy, and delivery, underpinned by technology.

Job Introduction

TBI’s growing technology transformation advisory offer and The Tomorrow Partnership supports senior political leaders to harness the power of the technological revolution for national transformation across sectors including health, government services, digital identity, agriculture, education and climate. It is supported by cutting-edge insights from our Technology Public Policy team, and through collaboration with leading players in the global technology space.

To support a growing portfolio of work in digital government across Africa, Eastern Europe, Asia, and beyond, TBI is seeking a digital government advisor, to join our central team supporting TBI country teams and senior political leaders harnessing digital and technology transformation to improve government and public services.

Reporting to our Head of eGovernment, this role is part of a growing team of central expert advisors in TBI’s new Global Client Solutions (GCS) team in our Government Advisory division. GCS is a hands-on, center of excellence bringing the best of the Institute and distributing it at scale to enhance the quality and impact of our advice to senior political leaders across a range of sectors and functional areas: strategy, policy, delivery, and technology. We provide valuable counsel, technical input, quality assurance, thought leadership, and surge capacity to support our country teams and embedded advisors. We lead the development and evolution of centralised solutions, methods, tools and offers to ensure we have the means to effectively propose and respond to senior political leaders on their biggest challenges.

The Advisor, Digital Government role offers the unique opportunity to contribute to developing and delivering new opportunities, supporting the use of transformational tech solutions to improve public service delivery and government operation. You will work in close collaboration with TBI country teams, and their government counterparts and engage the broader public and private stakeholders to lead scoping and partnership discussions, identifying areas of catalytic potential aligned with presidential priorities. Working with the Head of eGovernment, and drawing on your hands-on experience, you will contribute to the development of a concrete and expanding offer supporting senior political leaders to effectively advance in their digital government journeys from strategy, and policy, to delivery of initiatives. You will contribute to TBI’s eGovernment strategy and approach, contributing to the value proposition. You will then work in support of country teams and with the broader GCS tech team to tailor the specific offers and solutions to the unique needs and opportunities in the country context for growing a pipeline of work.

The role starts as soon as possible with the identification of a suitable candidate.

Key Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the Advisor, Digital Government centre around supporting several Governments’ digital priorities and wider digital services. This will involve:

• Offer Development and Team enablement: Work closely with country teams to identify opportunities to strengthen government systems and the key enablers for technology; act as a technical expert and thought partner to generate and implement innovative solutions for client governments. Support the Head of eGovernment with advice to country teams on GCS’s offer, tools, and collateral, enabling Heads of State’s ambitions
• Scoping: Under the guidance of the Head of eGovernment, work closely with TBI’s in-country tech teams and the Head of National Digital Infrastructure to identify and advise on opportunities to advance digitalisation workstreams through transformative technology projects. This could range from assessing current digital readiness, and service prioritisation to wider machinery of government changes to support the mobilisation of digital unit’s co-ordinating activity
• Opportunity development: Based on identified needs, and under the direction of country teams and their Heads of Tech, support the team to create viable delivery plans, including timelines for implementation, milestones, as well as risks and challenges to implementation drawing from your experience
• Government Relations: As needed, provide expert support with the Head of eGovernment enabling country-country tech teams to maintain effective and trusted relationships with government counterparts, in line with country project strategies, positioning, and delivery
• Thought Leadership: Support the sharing of lessons and best practices from across the digital government portfolio and global best practices across the Institute to improve understanding of TBI’s offer in supporting leaders advance government priorities
• Implementation: Provide technical expertise to digitalisation or transformation initiatives, supporting the broader GCS team in rolling out proposed delivery plans
• Internal Communications and Reporting: Support the Head of eGovernment in tracking and communicating the progress and impact of the ongoing eGovernment initiatives in collaboration with TBI evidence and impact teams and communicate the efforts and impact through regular communication channels working with the GCS operations team
• Learning and Development: working with the Head of eGovernment, support the training and enablement of TBI country teams, country-based government advisors, and advisor generalists to understand our offer and utilise tools and best practices to improve capacity and impact of our work
• One TBI: the post holder will report to the Head of eGovernment and work closely with the country advisors, project managers, and wider GCS teams.
• Global travel is expected approximately 30% of the time to work hands-on in support of teams delivering initiatives with senior political leaders and governments

Person Specification

Required Experience & skills:

• Significant experience in management consulting, government, or government advisory, related to digital transformation and delivery of digital government and public service provision
• Experience in developing a digital strategy, services, or digitalisation efforts from the public and private sectors
• Familiarity with the policies and regulations needed to foster and enable technology transformation for the public good and the ability to make recommendations and propose specific solutions to senior political leaders (e.g. data privacy, data sovereignty)
• Experience in project identification and strategy development, preferably in the tech sector, or linked to government advisory
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with a wide range of government and non-government actors, including the private sector and development partners
• Bold thinker equipped to be a thought partner and peer to cutting-edge technology companies as well as government leaders to think towards the future of innovation
• Able to work independently, whilst drawing on expertise from colleagues globally
• Outstanding management skills and the proven ability to build and inspire teams to achieve exceptional objectives and contribute directly to outcomes hands-on
• Experience in developing and emerging economies, and sensitivity to a diverse range of cultural and regional norms

Education (Qualifications) Requirements:

• Master’s Degree in the field of economics, development, management, technology or another relevant area
• Computer literacy: Proficient in the use of key Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• Excellent writing and communication skills in English

About The Institute

The Tony Blair Institute (TBI) is a mission-driven not for profit organisation. We exist to equip political leaders and governments to build open, inclusive and prosperous societies. We work hard, every day, to make a difference. When governments work well they are able to create economic and social change in a way that promotes fairness, social justice and opportunity. We work relentlessly to support leader and governments with the challenges they face. Giving them practical solutions and actionable insights, that once implemented, can be transformative for their people

We do this within two connected divisions:

Government Advisory

Our Government Advisory teams work directly with political leaders and governments around the world to implement reforms that improve the lives of their citizens. It works with a variety of partners and its outputs cover a range of disciplines and projects across countries in Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and South Asia.

Policy Futures

Our Policy Futures work encompasses three broad areas:

• Renewing the Centre: developing a bold and innovative domestic policy programme to help renew the centre ground of British politics;
• Tech and Public Policy: exploring the policy challenges and opportunities presented by the technological revolution; and
• Extremism Policy Unit: creating solutions designed to tackle the threat of extremist ideologies in the UK and around the world

How To Apply For The Job | Advisor, Digital Government at Tony Blair Institute for Global Change

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