I took a call from a Department for Education hiring manager last week. Three roles had been open for months. AI governance specialists with public sector experience. Salary bands that would have been laughable a year ago (£85-110k). And still - crickets.
This isn't just the DfE's problem. Across the UK public sector, there's a desperate scramble for talent that can navigate the collision of artificial intelligence and government service delivery. The market is stretched beyond breaking point, and most recruiters don't understand why.
The "competitive package" for an AI governance lead stopped being competitive around February. The landscape has shifted. The people who know how to do this properly are being snapped up before their LinkedIn profiles even hint they're looking.
Where did all these roles come from?
Several significant developments landed in autumn 2025: DSIT published its Blueprint for AI Regulation in October, centred on the AI Growth Lab; GDS published the updated Data and AI Ethics Framework in December; and the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 commenced in February 2026. Together, these created real compliance pressure across public sector organisations that had been operating without clear frameworks. Sure, it gave much-needed structure for deploying AI in public contexts, but it also made crystal clear just how many specialists would be needed to implement it properly.
The NHS, in particular, is facing a perfect storm. Clinical data governance was already a specialist field. Now add the regulatory requirements for AI systems processing that same data? Many trusts are running governance by committee, cobbling together expertise from existing staff while hunting for unicorns.
I've seen job descriptions asking for someone who understands:
- The technical underpinnings of large language models
- NHS data governance standards
- The financial constraints of public sector technology projects
- The Public Sector AI Governance Framework
- How to build risk assessment frameworks from scratch
Good luck finding that person at the advertised £65k in central London.
Beyond Tick Boxes: Diversity Recruitment Strategies That Actually Transform UK Workplaces
Master the Virtual Hot Seat: 7 Video Interview Techniques Recruiters Don't Tell You
How to Master 'Tell Me About Yourself' Interview Question: UK Expert Insights
The roles that nobody prepared for
These aren't straightforward compliance positions. We're asking people to build governance frameworks for technologies that are evolving monthly. The best candidates are often those who've had to wrangle with real implementation challenges.
Certain roles are particularly hard to fill:
AI Ethics Specialists
Not philosophers. Not just data scientists. People who can translate abstract ethical concerns into concrete risk mitigation strategies. The ICO's guidance on AI and data protection, including its Accountability Framework and ongoing ADM consultation, requires organisations to demonstrate proactive risk assessment before deploying AI systems that affect individuals.
But who's qualified? The field is so new that traditional career paths don't exist. I placed someone last month who'd started in social care data analysis, moved to a tech ethics think tank, then consulted for police forces on facial recognition governance. Not exactly a standard CV trajectory.
LLM Governance Leads
As more local authorities pilot LLM services for citizen-facing queries, the governance challenges are becoming apparent across the sector. How do you audit responses? What happens when the model hallucinates local regulations? Who's liable when wrong information is given?
LLM governance requires people who understand the technology's limitations while building practical safeguards. I've seen specialists commanding £110k+ in London councils that desperately need to catch up.
Councils are competing with FTSE 100s for the same candidates.
Impact Assessment Specialists
The Cabinet Office's updated guidance on Algorithmic Impact Assessments has created a mini-industry overnight. The most sought-after candidates have experience conducting these assessments across multiple public bodies and can navigate the political sensitivities unique to the sector.
Every department now needs someone who can run these assessments without bringing projects to a grinding halt. But finding people with the right balance of technical understanding, regulatory knowledge, and stakeholder management skills? Nightmare.
The geography problem
Outside London, the hiring challenge gets worse. I spoke to a Manchester NHS trust last month struggling to fill an AI governance role that had been open since January. Same story from councils in Leeds, Newcastle, and Cardiff.
Public sector bodies outside the capital face two problems:
- The salary disparity with London roles is significant, but living costs haven't dropped enough to compensate
- The talent pool is smaller to begin with
But there's an opportunity here. Remote work has opened doors. Some of the most successful placements I've made recently have been fully remote roles with Manchester or Birmingham anchor locations. The candidate still gets London-comparable money while the public body gets their governance expert without competing directly with Canary Wharf salaries.
Where the talent is coming from
Financial services. That's the short answer. Banks have been building AI governance teams since before anyone in government was thinking about it. They have the frameworks, the risk models, and most importantly, the people.
I've placed three senior NHS AI governance leads who came from high street banks. The skillset translates remarkably well - both environments involve highly regulated data, significant public impact, and complex stakeholder landscapes.
The problem? The salary jump required to move from financial services to public sector. Most councils simply can't match what banks are paying, even with the "purpose premium" that public service can offer.
Consultancies are the other talent pipeline. The big four have been building AI governance practices for years. Their consultants often have experience working across multiple public sector projects - exactly the perspective these new in-house roles need.
But consulting experience comes with its own challenges. I've seen candidates struggle to adapt to the pace and political reality of public sector decision making. The ability to influence without direct authority becomes critical in these roles.
The skills no one thought to ask for
The most successful placements I've made share unexpected skills that weren't even in the original job specs:
- Translation ability - explaining complex AI concepts to non-technical senior leaders
- Budget creativity - finding ways to implement governance with limited resources
- Change management - because you're not just implementing a framework, you're changing how people work
- Political savvy - navigating the unique challenges of public sector scrutiny
The best candidates are usually those who've implemented AI governance in at least one organisation already. They've made the mistakes, seen the pitfalls, and know the shortcuts.
But this is where the public sector faces its biggest challenge. The people with practical implementation experience are vanishingly rare - and they're being hired at astonishing rates by private companies with deeper pockets.
Building the pipeline
Some organisations are getting creative. The NHS AI Lab's governance training programme has been expanded. The Government Digital Service has launched secondment opportunities. Both aim to build internal capability rather than competing in the open market.
Forward-thinking councils are partnering with universities on governance fellowships - giving recently qualified specialists practical experience while addressing immediate needs.
But the skills gap won't be solved quickly. Most hiring managers I speak to have accepted that they'll need to compromise somewhere. Either on technical understanding, public sector experience, or salary expectations. The unicorn candidates simply don't exist in sufficient numbers.
What this means for recruiters
If you're recruiting in this space, brutal honesty with clients about market rates is non-negotiable. I've had to walk away from searches where the salary band was simply detached from reality. It wastes everyone's time.
Second, look for transferable skills and adjacent experience. The perfect candidate probably doesn't exist, but someone with financial services AI governance experience plus a genuine interest in public service might be your answer.
Third, be prepared to educate hiring managers about the need for flexibility. Remote work options, creative job structures, and competitive benefits packages are essential when base salary can't compete with the private sector.
Finally, don't underestimate how much candidates value purpose. In many of my successful placements, the opportunity to shape public services was the deciding factor for candidates taking a modest salary hit.
The public sector AI governance boom is just getting started. Those who can navigate it successfully will be placing candidates in some of the most influential roles in government technology for years to come. The rest will keep posting the same unfilled jobs and wondering why nobody suitable is applying.
The talent is out there. They're just not seeing opportunities worth leaving their current roles for. At least not yet.
Alex Dragomir is former senior engineer at a London fintech who now runs engineering recruitment for a scaling SaaS company. He writes regularly on technical hiring trends for The OHub's insights section.
