Package Description
Role: Digital Best Practice Manager
Division: London Office of Technology and Innovation (LOTI)
Responsible to: Director of LOTI
Starting salary: £50,721 per annum
Working Hours: 35 per week
Location: London Councils, 12 Arthur Street, London, and remotely.
Contract details: Full time, 2 years fixed term
If you have have any queries, please contact us at contact@loti.london
Please be advised that this role will close at 23:59 pm on Monday 23rd June 2025.
Interviews are anticipated to take place during the week commencing 30 June 2025. This will be a two stage process, with the first stage conducted in person (Monday 30 June) and the second held online (Wednesday 2 July).
Job Introduction
If London borough councils are to realise the full benefits of technology, data and innovation, it’s vital they have access to the best possible information and evidence on leading practice.
The aim of this role is to meet that need, helping boroughs build their collective knowledge through interviews, workshops and crowdsourcing data; conducting research to answer boroughs’ questions and providing detailed advice to address information gaps.
We’re looking for someone with a talent for diving into new topics, quickly getting up to speed and then presenting clear and concise briefings for the LOTI community. You’ll already be very familiar with a range of digital, tech and data-related issues. In particular, you’ll be knowledgeable about Artificial Intelligence (AI), which is expected to be an area of major focus. You’ll use this role to develop and deepen your expertise for the benefit of London boroughs. Your primary goal will be to surprise and delight LOTI members with the speed and clarity with which you find answers to their questions.
For more information about this role and LOTI, see: https://loti.london/blog/digital-best-practice-manager/
Role Responsibility
Domain expertise
Be the point person in the LOTI team for all questions about Artificial Intelligence. You’ll oversee the running of LOTI’s networks of local government professionals implementing AI solutions, helping them share use cases, policies and intelligence about the latest tools, suppliers, procurement best practices and ethical standards.
Research and rapidly find answers to specific questions boroughs raise about technology, digital and data matters, from what open source solutions are available in a particular service area, to what best practice looks like on channel shift.
Oversee the design and commissioning of research briefs that LOTI seeks from external organisations where additional capacity or specific expertise are required.
Stay abreast of industry trends and government initiatives by maintaining and building relationships with key government departments and industry bodies like techUK (the UK's technology trade association). Follow and engage with relevant regulators and codes of practice. Produce concise and plain-language briefings in key areas of interest on technology, data and innovation.
Conduct original research in support of other LOTI projects to ensure the team’s work is well-informed by the latest evidence from the UK and globally.
Foundational knowledge
Work with the IT and Digital teams of each borough to collect details of the technology applications they use to deliver their main services and corporate functions. Curate and turn this data into insightful briefings that help boroughs understand the trends and landscape of suppliers and systems being used across London local government.
Lead on LOTI’s Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) cost benchmarking work. Crowdsource details of boroughs’ spending on these core functions, conduct research on DDaT spending in other sectors and produce insights for boroughs. Collect and share boroughs’ IT and Digital Strategies, organisation charts and other key details that help build the community’s collective knowledge.
Curate and share cyber security insights with boroughs, drawn from LOTI’s cyber insight partners.
Support boroughs to think through the implications of using different technologies and data, championing ethical, lawful and secure practices in conjunction with borough Information Governance officers.
Support boroughs to share their research, discoveries and business cases concerning technologies they plan to procure, to reduce duplication of effort.
Research and write up case studies of leading practice across digital, technology, data and innovation fields for publishing on the LOTI website and in publications for LOTI members. Present findings in compelling presentations, reports, training sessions and other forms of media, catered for the needs of specific audiences, in conjunction with LOTI’s Skills and Talent Manager.
Identify other knowledge gaps faced by our members (including by regularly attending and supporting the running of LOTI’s various Communities of Practice) and proactively develop ways of resolving them. Ensure our back-catalogue of resources and approach to knowledge management is up to date and meeting borough needs.
Supporting the LOTI Team
Supporting broader LOTI team activities, such as facilitating workshops, helping at events and contributing to LOTI’s wider work and mission.
The Ideal Candidate
To be our ideal candidate you’ll:
Be credible talking to council IT and digital teams about digital topics and comfortable with technical terms and language. In particular, you’ll have a very solid understanding of Artificial Intelligence (including narrow AI, genAI and Agentic AI), and considerations around its ethical use.
Have experience of conducting primary and desktop research and presenting insights in clear and concise language, both in written and oral form, tailored for specific audiences.
Have great communication and stakeholder management skills, able to interact with and present to people at all levels of seniority, from frontline workers to executive directors and elected members.
Be as comfortable working with data in a spreadsheet (to clean records, spot patterns, make data searchable, etc.) as you are presenting your findings in a workshop setting.
Have buckets of creativity and initiative. You’ll be proactive in spotting opportunities, comfortable designing new initiatives and approaches based on LOTI members’ feedback and needs.
Enjoy problem-solving in new, complex and sometimes ambiguous environments where both creativity and pragmatism are required.
Be comfortable working flexibly to meet the evolving needs of a small and fast-moving team, managing a mixed and varied workload, and responding to a range of stakeholders.
Be committed to constantly learning and honing your craft.
Our Recruitment Approach
All applications will be processed using a blind sifting method. This means that personal identifying details will be removed to ensure fair and unbiased shortlisting of applications.
About the Company
LOTI is London local government’s collaborative innovation team. We’re a membership organisation that helps London borough councils and the Greater London Authority (GLA) use innovation, data and technology to be high performing organisations, improve services and tackle London’s biggest challenges together. We connect more than 1,500 local government colleagues online and in person, helping them to share knowledge, build capacity, run projects and influence change together. We’re hosted by London Councils, a cross-party organisation that represents London's 32 borough councils and the City of London. Read all about our activities at: https://loti.london/.
