Natalie Jones

Job:

Director, One Login for Government Programme

Company:

Government Digital Service

I am the Director for the flagship One Login for Government Programme. This pioneering programme is committed to developing a digital system for people to prove their identity and access all central government services, regardless of their personal circumstances. I have overall responsibility to deliver this programme for the Government.

I am...

Determined

Passionate

Straightforward

The skills I use most in my job...

Communication

Stakeholder management

Strategic thinking, seeing the bigger picture and creating a vision

Problem solving

Leadership and mentoring

The most interesting thing I've worked on in my career so far...

One of the things I enjoy most about working in government is the breadth and sheer scale of the projects you get to work on. In my Civil Service career, I have been very lucky to have been involved in some of the biggest, most well-known projects, most notably the Home Office’s EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS). This EUSS came about as a result of Brexit and required the Home Office to devise and implement a programme that enabled the 3.6 million EU nationals living in the UK to remain here legally.

What inspired me into digital and tech...

It was an accident. Early in my career I got involved in some rapid application development and realised I was really good at explaining how systems worked and working with developers to design them. That was the first ‘go live’ high I experienced, and after that, I was hooked.

My educational background is...

I read Biology at the University of Hull, and maintain a passion for all things biology-related. Before university, I did A levels and prior to that I did my GCSE’s. After university, I mostly focused on earning money quickly to pay off my overdraft(s) so got a job selling adverts in an insurance magazine. Many of the skills I use in my job every day stem from that period. The sales skills I learned come into play in most of my stakeholder engagement!

What advice I'd give to girls thinking about a career in digital and tech...

Tech is cool! Digital is a fast-paced and exciting industry to be in right now and is at the forefront of our constantly changing world: the possibilities for innovation are endless. Careers in digital and tech are so varied, different skills are needed across the sector and there is something for everyone - whether you are a natural-born coder or have an eye for design; maybe you are intrigued by product development or even fancy yourself as a delivery manager - your interest and talents will be a perfect fit for the next evolution in the industry. Whatever it is that interests you there is a place for you and there is a space for you! It is a fascinating world to be in, and one that is set to grow and grow. Go explore, go to meetups, sign up for a hackathon, reach out to tech leaders, and try different things but go find your niche!