No.10 Innovation Fellowships

The initial contract will be for 12 months, with the possibility of extending for a further 12 months. This will need to be agreed between you, your host department, and the central Fellowship Team (and, where joining us on a secondment, by your existing employer).

Fellows will be remunerated at SCS pay band 1 dependent on experience. Fellows must forego payment from their former employer for the duration of the Fellowship but can take unpaid leave from that employer.

The Fellowship programme is being run by the Government Digital Service (Cabinet Office) in partnership with the No.10 Data Science Team and Office for Talent in the Prime Minister’s Office.

The Fellowship will not automatically lead to permanent Civil Service roles but we hope many Fellows will be inspired to apply for senior leadership roles in government at the end of their Fellowship.

The Fellowship selection process will take place in spring 2022 with a start date in later 2022.

All Fellowship placements will be based in Bristol, London or Manchester, although some additional travel may be required to other UK-based offices operated by host departments. Please check individual project descriptions for further details. You will also be invited to attend centrally run events in London and/or elsewhere in the UK. 

All Fellows are expected to be based in the UK for the duration of their Fellowship. You will be given a dedicated workspace in your host department either in or near Bristol, London or Manchester.  Depending on the nature of the project, you may be able to discuss flexible working arrangements with your host department once offered the role.

Each Fellowship placement is sponsored by a senior decision maker within host departments. This may be a Minister, Permanent Secretary, Director General, Chief Scientific Adviser, or Chief Digital and Information Officer. 

Each Fellowship cohort will also have opportunities to showcase their projects to senior officials at 10 Downing Street and in the Central, Digital and Data Office. The Fellowship Team will organise a series of events throughout the year, allowing Fellows to meet a wide variety of government stakeholders.

At this time all of our positions are full time roles due to the critical and urgent nature of the work. However, you may be able to agree flexible working arrangements, such as compressed hours, with your host department once you are offered the role. 

For exceptional candidates, we are willing to explore a secondment arrangement. If you join us on a secondment you would continue to be employed by your existing employer and your continuous employment would be unaffected. Your salary and benefits would remain unchanged and would continue to be paid by your existing employer, with your employer releasing you for a minimum of a year to work with us. 

Any secondment offer would be subject to your existing employer agreeing to the terms of your secondment agreement and the satisfactory receipt of pre-employment screening checks.  The scheme would look to reimburse your existing employer the cost of your salary within SCS pay band 1. 

The Civil Service is committed to becoming the most inclusive employer in the UK. We are committed to understanding, respecting and representing as broad a range of views and backgrounds as we have in UK society. We know that diverse perspectives and experiences are critical to an effective, modern Civil Service.

Our passion for diversity and equality means creating a work environment for all employees that is welcoming, respectful, engaging, and enriched with opportunities for personal and professional development. We are also a Disability Confident employer and part of the “A great place to work for Veterans” scheme. We offer a guaranteed interview for applicants who opt in to either scheme and meet the essential criteria for the role.

The No.10 Innovation Fellowship aims to recruit individuals from a range of different backgrounds and provide every candidate with equal opportunities. If you require adjustments to allow you to complete the assessment process, you will be given the opportunity to indicate this when you apply and we will arrange this for you.

If you are successful in your application, your host department will work closely with you to ensure any reasonable workplace adjustments are in place. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has given real urgency to challenges around digitising public services. Fellows are needed now more than ever. We are committed to the timetable set out on this site. The Fellowships Team will prioritise health, safety, and wellbeing when running the recruitment process and inducting new Fellows. Working arrangements will reflect the latest public health guidelines.

You are eligible to apply for the No.10 fellowship if you satisfy both the Nationality requirements (A) and Right to work/Immigration requirements (B).

A) Nationality requirements (Civil Service Nationality Rules)

You are eligible to apply if you are a:

• British citizen
• European Economic Area (EEA)
• Commonwealth citizen
• Swiss national
• Turkish national, in some circumstances

You must be a British citizen to apply for some posts, particularly those related to security and intelligence. Where this is the case these projects will be clearly marked. 

Nationality requirements are explained in more detail in the Civil Service nationality rules.

If you don’t meet the nationality requirements we may consider a secondment agreement with your current employer subject to conditions being met. So, we encourage you to reach out to us first on: no10InnovationFellowship@digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk

B) Right to work / Immigration requirements

You must have the right to work in the United Kingdom and meet the Immigration and Visa requirements. Further details can be found on the Gov.uk Visas and Immigration page.

Please note that the Fellowship Team is unable to offer advice on Visa and Immigration cases to applicants. The Fellowship Programme does not sponsor visas.

We do not offer a relocation package. Candidates should be within a commuting distance of their chosen project (either London, Bristol or Manchester).

You can register your interest for the Fellowships on this page – you will then be notified when applications open.