Senior Advisor - Data-driven Government And Public Sector

We don’t just talk, we do. Lead the change with us.

At the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, we work with political leaders around the world to drive change. We help governments turn bold ideas into reality so they can deliver for their people. We do it by advising on strategy, policy and delivery, unlocking the power of technology across all three. And by sharing what we learn on the ground, so everyone can benefit. We do it to build more open, inclusive and prosperous countries for people everywhere.

We are a global team of over 800 changemakers, operating in more than 40 countries, across five continents. We are political strategists, policy experts, delivery practitioners, technology specialists and more. We speak more than 45 languages. We are working on over 100 projects, tackling some of the world’s biggest challenges. We’re all here at TBI to make a difference.

In a world of ever more complex challenges, we believe diversity of background and perspective is a strength. We pride ourselves on a culture that values and nurtures difference. We are dedicated to unlocking potential, not only for the countries we work in but also for each of our team members. No matter where you’re from or who you are, if you’re passionate about the transformative power of progressive politics, we invite you to build a better future with us.

Role Summary

TBI’s growing Digital & Tech Transformation advisory helps senior political leaders harness the power of technology to support more strategic, effective, and informed governments. TBI is hiring a Senior Advisor to develop and lead the Institute’s client facing offer on data-driven for public sectors and governments.

A successful candidate will bring political acumen and be able to convincingly engage senior officials on the political importance and transformative power of data-driven governments. Their experience advising governments or directly applying insights from data into a public sector context should be supported by an understanding of data interoperability, standards and architecture in public sectors, data science and AI-era infrastructure. They will be able to communicate how next-generation AI systems, Large Language Models, and advanced data analytics enable governments to be more adaptive and agile, deliver more personalised and proactive services, while also stimulating innovation and growth throughout their countries more broadly.

Reporting to the Director of Government Innovation and AI, this role is part of a growing team of expert advisors in TBI’s Global Client Solutions (GCS) team, part of TBI’s Government Advisory division. GCS is a hands-on centre of excellence bringing the best of the Institute and distributing it at scale to enhance the quality and impact of our advice to senior political leaders.

As a central resource, the Senior Advisor for Data-driven Government and public sectors for will set the vision for how governments are able to establish the foundations (i.e. governance, infrastructure, capabilities) to fully leverage data to: 1) support more strategic and responsive government operations 2) deliver higher quality public services, and 3) facilitate innovation within private and third sectors. Providing valuable counsel, technical input, quality assurance, and thought leadership to TBI colleagues and governments around the world, the Senior Advisor will ensure TBI’s support on data-driven decision making is as impactful as possible.

Drawing from hands-on experience designing and implementing data driven projects, the Senior Advisor will identify opportunities to continually improve and evolve the offer and relevant tools, including through the creation of partnerships for design and delivery. The Senior Advisor will also support sector specialists to identify and address needs around the establishment of data systems as foundational enablers for the successful delivery of projects on DID, NDI, and AI, as well as in policy areas such health, education, agriculture, trade, etc.

To successfully deliver the remit, the postholder will need to work effectively with teams across the Institute, including:

• Other GCS advisors to ensure our overall engagement with countries is strategic and optimised for maximum impact and sustainability, in related technical areas (i.e. Artificial intelligence and Digital Identity/Digital wallets) or in specific subject matter areas (i.e. education, health, trade, agriculture, economic prosperity) and functional offers (i.e. Strategy, Policy and Delivery Mechanisms).
• Country teams and embedded advisors who will benefit from the support provided while also helping to ensure the offer evolves and remains relevant for centres of governments.
• Policy & Politics colleagues, providing a unique opportunity to close the gap between progressive policy, thought leadership on cutting edge topics and hands on implementation.
• Strategy & Partnerships teams, supporting the development of key partnerships and products that enhance the tech offer and help actualise the Institute’s vision for change and progress and complementing our in-house expertise.
• Strategic Communications teams, co-creating collateral that captures lessons learned and highlights successes to a global audience.
  
  

• Design and implementation of data governance and infrastructure: Advise governments on national data governance, including strategies, architecture, standards, and interoperability (i.e. broader enterprise architecture vision, with interoperability rules and norms & standards for open data).
• Policy advisory: Provide expert input on the ethical and secure use of data for service design and delivery, economic development, and digital government reform.
• Capacity building and institutional strengthening: Support the development of internal data capabilities, including upskilling civil servants and strengthening data governance mechanisms.
• Insight generation and analytics: Work with public institutions to turn raw data into actionable insights for policy, planning, and operational improvement.
• Stakeholder coordination: Advise on how to facilitate collaboration across ministries, departments, and development partners to align data-related initiatives and infrastructure.
• Delivery support: Apply TBI’s delivery model to help governments turn strategy into action, using data to monitor and drive implementation.
• The Senior Advisor will be responsible for :
  
  

• Design the advisory services needed to strengthen governments’ capacity to establish the enabling foundations and use data for decision making and service delivery as part of TBI’s tech offer to governments, including practical ways in which TBI can support governments to better use data to set policy and strategy, deliver on priorities and design and deliver more proactive and personalized public services. This will include assessing and adjusting existing data governance models, as well as change management as governments create new data-driven cultures and capabilities.
• Work closely with other GCS advisors and relevant colleagues across TBI to enable TBI’s broader Digital and Tech Transformation vision and cross-functional strategy (e.g. working with the Delivery Team to see how actionable insights can improve policy implementation in real time, with the AI and DID senior advisors to support governments in increasing the availability of quality data).
• Work closely with TBI’s embedded country teams, providing technical expertise and thought partnership to scope and design opportunities in support of countries’ top challenges, leveraging disruptive technology (e.g. AI), digital identity/digital wallets, generating innovative solutions, connecting to related agendas (e.g. cloud strategy and public sector innovation), and framing them in a compelling way for political leaders.
• Drawing from the thought leadership of the Policy & Politics team, identify and apply emerging data-related technologies – including AI – into a cohesive offer for governments.
  
  

• Develop and enhance our relationships with leading innovators, technology companies, implementation partners, and thought leaders, deepening TBI understanding of emerging innovation and improving our offer to governments.
• Provide senior-level representation and presentations for TBI at external fora and events.
• Engage with relevant external stakeholders such as other not-for-profit organisations, donors, suppliers, and agencies.
  
  

• Support TBI’s embedded country teams to maintain effective and trusted government relationships, which enable the successful delivery of the Data for Decision Making work, as part of our Tech Offer. Where required, develop relationships with relevant country counterparts and stakeholders.
• Provide technical guidance to teams in supporting client governments to establish the data governance – including institutional set up, data architecture and standards, interoperability frameworks, policies, strategies – as well as data capacity and structures required to improve availability, access, sharing, and reuse of quality data across public sectors to improve public sector delivery and outcomes.
• Lead the development of assessment frameworks and other assets TBI teams can use with government counterparts to increase understanding of how to leverage the latest innovations such as AI or to inform decisions on data analytics tools more broadly.
• Work with the Senior Director for Government Innovation and AI to troubleshoot and ensure country teams can access the best of the Institute to support their work.
  
  

• Support the development of instructional and implementation material for both TBI country teams and government counterparts.
• Work closely with the TBI Impact team to contribute to a learning culture which effectively captures and utilises lessons to continuously improve our work.
• Support country and regional teams as needed to attract and hire talent in support of our work, contributing to the recruitment, induction and support for new hires and mentoring and coaching where needed.
• Shape and embody a positive culture that drives innovation and delivery. Play a key role in the broader community at TBI, building strong working relationships across the Institute.
  
  

• Data governance frameworks: Understanding how to set up and manage data governance structures in government, including roles, responsibilities, and stewardship.
• Data lifecycle management: Experience with policies and practices for collecting, storing, securing, sharing, and deleting data.
• Metadata and data cataloguing: Familiarity with data standards, classification, and interoperability frameworks relevant to public administration.
  
  

• Quantitative analysis skills: Proficiency in statistical methods, forecasting, and econometrics, ideally with practical experience applying these to public policy problems.
• Data visualization tools: Use of tools for presenting insights to policy audiences.
• Experience with data analysis tools: Familiarity with R, Python (pandas, NumPy), or STATA/SAS for analysis, especially in areas such as social policy, fiscal reform, or service delivery optimization.
  
  

• APIs and system integration: Understanding how to enable secure and ethical data sharing across ministries or agencies.
• Enterprise architecture awareness: Ability to navigate how data systems interrelate across government departments (e.g., registries, CRMs, MIS platforms).
• Cloud platforms: Experience in data infrastructure on AWS, Azure, or GCP, especially in low-resource or developing settings.
  
  

• Data privacy laws & compliance: Knowledge of GDPR and other relevant data protection laws, and how these apply to government use of data.
• Ethical use of data and AI: Understanding frameworks to ensure non-discrimination, transparency, and accountability in data use.
• Risk management and cybersecurity basics: Awareness of the vulnerabilities in public digital infrastructure and mitigation strategies.
  
  

• Domain expertise: Familiarity with how data is used across sectors such as health, education, social protection, and economic development.
• Experience with M&E systems: Knowledge of designing or using performance monitoring systems to track and improve service delivery.
• Behavioral and operational insights: Ability to design interventions that draw on data insights to improve public service uptake or delivery.
  
  

• Data literacy training: Ability to support capacity building among civil servants and policy staff to improve data literacy.
• Cross-sectoral collaboration: Experience aligning data efforts across government agencies and with external partners (e.g., civil society, academia, private sector).
• Strategic communications: Skill in translating technical insights into actionable recommendations for senior decision-makers.
  
  

• A Master’s degree in data and information sciences or related fields, or a relevant undergraduate degree with extensive experience in data for policy or data for decision making in the public sector.
• Demonstrated strategic thinker with the ability to deliver in challenging contexts
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent negotiation and influencing skills, with discretion and tact, and the ability to foster trusted relationships with a diverse selection of stakeholders.
• Sensitivity to a broad range of cultural and regional norms.
• Willingness to travel globally and up to approximately 30 percent.