Onboarding Lead- i.AI

AI ) is the UK government’s engine room for building products that shape national outcomes. We will be building tools used daily by thousands of civil servants, directly impacting millions of citizens. We take on the hardest problems in government, backed directly by No10, and solve them with a small, high-performing team.

Our work is shaping how government adopts AI in practice; through what we build, who we hire, and the standards we set.

About The Role

AI and AISI is responsible for attracting, selecting and onboarding the exceptional technical and policy talent needed to deliver on our mission. We are a small, high-performing team that enables the organisation we support to hire and retain the world-class engineers and policy professionals who do the work that matters. AI incubator, as well as onboarding, process improvement and operational delivery.

We work closely with Hiring Managers, the People Team, GRS, and a range of internal and external stakeholders. The team is building out its infrastructure and processes as the organisation scales rapidly. This is an exciting time to join Recruitment Operations focussing on the Incubator for AI.

AI onboards its people — with a direct and visible impact on the experience of every new joiner.

Responsibilities

AI, however complex their circumstances, has a smooth, well-managed and professional onboarding journey.

: 1. Complex Candidate Onboarding (~50% of time): Own the end-to-end onboarding journey for all non-standard candidates — those requiring visa sponsorship, security clearances, non-standard pay arrangements, or other bespoke handling. Candidates include secondees, Amber contractors, fellows, SCS and above, and those with conflicts of interest.

2. Process Improvement Efficiency (~35% of time): Lead a programme of work to improve onboarding processes and self-serve capability. This includes working with GRS, facilitating workshops, defining and documenting onboarding SLAs, and creating new joiner and contractor guidance.

3. Recruitment Account Management (~15% of time): Maintain recruitment accounts for up to 8 live roles across the organanisation, supporting Talent Partners with campaign administration and candidate management. Success in the first 90 days looks like: all non-standard RU candidate journeys are actively managed and on track; initial GRS engagement has taken place; onboarding SLAs are drafted for review.

Success at 6 months: self-serve onboarding guidance is live; GRS workshop completed; onboarding process is measurably faster and more consistent. Success at 1 year: the function is running smoothly and the postholder has taken on all complex candidates across both CS and RU pipelines. Person specifications Essential Criteria: 1.

Requirements (E.G. Visa, Security Clearance, Contractor Arrangements)

2. Strong organisational skills — able to manage multiple cases, deadlines and stakeholders simultaneously without losing accuracy or pace 3. Process improvement mindset — comfortable identifying inefficiencies, designing solutions and building guidance that reduces manual effort 4.

Excellent written communication skills — able to produce clear, accessible guidance and documentation for a range of audiences 5.