Civil service advertises for 'storyteller' to join its ranks
- Published
The successful applicant will be a data visualisation expert
Dominic Cummings famously appealed for "weirdos and misfits" to work in government - now the civil service wants to hire a "storyteller".
The newly-created post is part of a drive to help the government predict future crises - and deal with them.
The successful applicant will have the job of presenting data to ministers in a clear and attractive way.
It's part of the newly-formed National Situation Centre, set up to foster more "joined-up thinking" in government.
When the coronavirus crisis began, ministers were accused of being too slow to respond to issues such as the supply of PPE or test and trace.
SitCen, as it will be known, is meant to help predict future crises, including terror attacks, through round-the-clock "horizon scanning".
The storyteller, who will earn up to £60,000, will crunch the data from a multitude of sources and produce "actionable stories" to help those in charge make decisions.
The full title of the new role is Storyteller/Data Visualisation Lead (Analysis Function Professions including DDat)., external
SitCen will be based in the Cabinet Office - next door to Downing Street - and will operate alongside COBR, the government's existing emergency response facility.
Before his departure from government at the end of last year, Dominic Cummings was leading a drive to put data at the heart of a modernised civil service.
In January last year, he surprised many observers by announcing that he wanted to hire "weirdos and misfits with odd skills" to work in government.
The former Vote Leave supremo said No 10 was keen to recruit data scientists, software developers and economists to improve the performance of government.