THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF ANAKHA’S FRESH THINKING
Creativity isn’t something that only senior managers do. In Digital and Innovation at Westminster City Council, we expect it from everyone, including our newest recruits.
Enter Anakha, a graduate trainee, full of energy and fresh ideas. We welcomed her input to our ‘Smart City’ initiatives, especially our Innovation Hub – a newly created space where staff, residents and businesses can meet, experiment and exchange ideas.
But it was what happened next that really made a difference. Anakha’s innovation space project was used to invite young people to help them find work through the ‘Kickstart’ programme as well as to recruit young people to our ‘Tech Lions’ initiative and is regularly occupied by the Apprentice Community.
We are also inviting residents aged 11-19 from the Westminster Youth Council to the Hub to attend a fun ‘speed dating’ event, where they hear from different digital teams. We will continue to meet with them every week to keep them directly involved in our plans to ensure young people have a regular voice at the heart of the council. From the importance of electric vehicle charging points to new uses for tech, their insights about the kind of city they want to live in are central to our plans.
As for Anakha, she’s now moved into a permanent Project Manager role in the Digital and Innovation Smart City team. Supported by ongoing mentoring from colleagues, she’s already developing even bigger and better ideas.
THE ROLE
As Smart City Operating System Product Manager, you can make your own powerful contribution.
You’ll be our Subject Matter Expert on the Operating System that will enable the delivery of our Smart City aims and objectives. Your expertise will provide the vision and direction that will bring the Smart City Operating System to life. You will be its champion across the organisation and the guardian of its purpose. It will be your role to ensure the platform roadmap helps us deliver a City for All and Smart City outcomes.
Work with services to understand the value of the Operating System and the outcomes it can support. Thinking outside data silos to create requirements that deliver the rich insight we’re looking for. These are the crux of the role.
You’ll work closely with the delivery team to produce work that maximises return on investment and customer value.
Throughout, it’s vital that you develop relationships with external partners that add significant value to our strategic goals.
ABOUT YOU
This high-profile role would suit someone with a background in data and supporting enabling technologies is essential for this challenging role. This will include everything from knowing the terrain of complex landscapes, data ethics, open data, use of data and the ability to work through this to deliver results. Extensive experience of multi-disciplinary product and project development and delivery within a political environment, together with ability to influence, advise and collaborate with a wide range of stakeholders and suppliers.
As well as a relevant professional qualification, degree in a relevant discipline or the equivalent career experience, we’ll look for evidence of your continued professional, managerial and personal development.
WHAT WE OFFER
Westminster is an amazing place. There are 250,000 diverse residents, over 50,000 vibrant and vital businesses and three-quarters-of-a-million people working here every day. Our mission is to create a world class City for All. We’re an organisation that wants the very best for our residents: a supportive and safe environment, the chance to grow and learn throughout their lives, to build fantastic careers in world-leading industries, to have access to high-quality, affordable housing and to retire into the community with dignity and pride.
We want Westminster to be a place you can make the most of your talents and thrive as an individual. That’s why we’re proud to have won Best Health & Wellbeing Initiative in the 2020/21 Business Culture Awards. By being the best you can be, you’ll help us adapt to the changing needs of our organisation and communities.
At Westminster City Council, we are passionate about our aim to be an inclusive workplace for all that reflects the communities we serve, and we believe everyone is valued. We particularly welcome applicants from underrepresented backgrounds, including BAME, LGBTQ+ and those with hidden or visible disabilities. We’re committed to ensuring all our staff – regardless of gender, age, religion, sexuality, ethnicity or disability – can succeed. We value diversity and appreciate that people work in different ways. So, as a Timewise employer we work to provide flexible working arrangements and an empowering environment that enables you to be your best, that is the Westminster Way.
The Council and its partners are committed to achieving diverse shortlists for all vacancies at Band 4 or above to support our desire to increase the number of staff from underrepresented groups in our workforce. As part of this ambition, if you are from a black, Asian and minority ethnic background (BAME) you can self-declare this to the hiring manager as part of our positive action commitments.