We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and a sense of belonging. To find out more about how we do this visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity.
The Legal Services Division is recruiting permanently for up to two SEO Equivalent roles. This campaign is open to external candidates, current civil servants on level transfer and suitable candidates on promotion.
Location:
Successful candidates will have the option to be based at one of the following locations:
- 102 Petty France, London
- 5 Wellington Place, Leeds (occasional travel between Leeds and London may be required post Covid-19)
Ways of Working
At the MoJ we believe and promote alternative ways of working, these roles are available as:
- Full-time, part-time or the option to job share
- Flexible working patterns
- Flexible working arrangements between base locations, MoJ Hubs and home.
Successful candidates will be expected to work from the office a minimum of 3 days a week.
If we receive applications from more suitable candidates than we have vacancies for at this time, we may hold suitable applicants on a reserve list for 12 months, and future vacancies requiring the same skills and experience could be offered to candidates on the reserve list without a new competition.
We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce and pride ourselves as being an employer of choice. To find out more about how we champion diversity and inclusion in the workplace, visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity
Job Description overview
The Legal Services Trade Policy team is responsible for representing UK legal services internationally. On a day-to-day basis this can range from bilateral meetings with foreign governments to briefing ministers to representing MoJ in Free Trade Agreement negotiations. The roles focus on the delivery of MoJ objectives in the context of HMG’s trade strategy, with an opportunity to work with a wide range of stakeholders within the department, across Whitehall, and in the legal sector to deliver challenging policy objectives in an area which has quickly risen up national and international policy agendas.
These roles offer an excellent opportunity for high performing, self-motivated policy professionals to lead an exciting and challenging programme of work, as the UK begins its new independent trading relationship with the EU and other trade partners. Regions covered by the team include the Indo-Pacific, the Americas, the Middle East, Europe and Africa.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ)
MOJ is one of the largest government departments, employing around 70,000 people (including those in the Probation Service), with a budget of approximately £9 billion. Each year, millions of people use our services across the UK - including at 500 courts and tribunals, and 133 prisons in England and Wales.
Further information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice
What we do
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is responsible for the legal services’ regulatory framework in England and Wales; the Legal Services Act 2007 enshrines the independence of the sector, and regulation thereof, from Government. MoJ are also responsible for representing UK legal services’ interests in Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations and the promotion of UK legal services globally
Legal services are a strong contributor to the economy and have a strong record of growth, as well as playing a vital role in facilitating global trade and investment. The sector generated revenue of over £36bn in 2019 and £17.8bn in the first half of 2020, much of which was generated by the top 100 UK law firms, who netted nearly £29bn in 2020. The UK’s position in legal services is helped by the international prestige of English common law, and London’s position as a global centre for dispute resolution.
As a Senior Policy Advisor in the Trade Team of the Legal Services Policy Division, you will play a central role in the Government’s work to ensure UK legal services, courts and English and Welsh law remain world-leading, and will be responsible for leading the development, delivery and implementation of the Department’s legal services policy objectives in the context of HMG’s trade strategy and negotiations with key trade partners. These roles will also likely have line management responsibilities.
One of the roles will be within the Indo-Pacific team. As Indo-Pacific Trade Policy lead, you will work with the Department of International Trade to develop policy in relation to ongoing trade negotiations in the region, in particular the UK-India FTA negotiations, support the implementation of existing agreements (such as the UK-Australia FTA) and lead on bilateral market access workstreams with priority jurisdictions, such as Malaysia and Singapore. In addition to the above you will work with others in the Ministry of Justice, the Department of International Trade and the legal sector to identify opportunities to promote UK legal services and English Law in the region. The second role (if required) will be allocated to another region.
Skills and Experience
You are required to have:
- Excellent stakeholder engagement skills and the ability to build relationships quickly across Government and externally.
- Demonstrable capability for strategic thinking and policy development, and ability to make sound judgements.
- The ability to provide clear, evidenced briefing in both written and oral formats on complex policy areas to senior stakeholders and Ministers.
- Strong prioritisation skills and the ability to make effective decisions on how to make best use of your resources to handle time-sensitive work to achieve both short and long-term results.
It would be desirable, but not essential, to have:
- An understanding of the justice system and legal services sector.
- An understanding of international trade policy or trade promotion.
- Previous experience of working with the legal services sector and/or similar professional business and services sector.
- Line management experience or experience of developing/ coaching colleagues.
Application process
You will be assessed against the Civil service success profiles framework.
Experience
You will be asked to provide work history during the application process in order to assess any demonstrable experience, career history and achievements that are relevant to the role.
Behaviours
Please provide examples of how you have met each one of the behaviours listed below (see Annex A for more information):
- Communicating and Influencing
- Seeing the Bigger Picture
- Making Effective Decisions
- Delivering at Pace
Please also refer to the CS Behaviours framework for more details at this grade (Level 3 – HEO/SEO or equivalent):
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/717275/CS_Behaviours_2018.pdf
Should we receive a large number of applications, we will sift primarily on the lead behaviour of Communicating and Influencing. Successful applicants will then be invited to an interview, testing both behaviours and strengths.
Candidates invited to Interview
Please note that interviews will be carried out remotely. During the interview, we will be assessing you on Behaviours and Strengths from the success Profiles framework.
You can refer to the CS Strengths dictionary for more details: Success Profiles - Civil Service Strengths Dictionary (publishing.service.gov.uk)
Interviews are expected to take place August 2022.
The MoJ is proud to be Level 3 Disability Confident. Disability Confident is the approach through which we offer guaranteed interviews for all people with disabilities meeting the minimum criteria for the advertised role as set out in the job description.
Contact information
Please do get in touch if you would like to know more about the role or what it is like working in our team. Holly O Callaghan – holly.o’callaghan1@justice.gov.uk
Annex A - The STAR method
Using the STAR method can help you give examples of relevant experience that you have. It allows you to set the scene, show what you did, and how you did it, and explain the overall outcome.
Situation - Describe the situation you found yourself in. You must describe a specific event or situation. Be sure to give enough detail for the job holder to understand.
- Where are you?
- Who was there with you?
- What had happened?
Task - The job holder will want to understand what you tried to achieve from the situation you found yourself in.
- What was the task that you had to complete and why?
- What did you have to achieve?
Actions - What did you do? The job holder will be looking for information on what you did, how you did it and why. Keep the focus on you. What specific steps did you take and what was your contribution? Remember to include how you did it, and the behaviours you used. Try to use “I” rather than “we” to explain your actions that lead to the result. Be careful not to take credit for something that you did not do.
Results - Don’t be shy about taking credit for your behaviour. Quote specific facts and figures. Explain how the outcome benefitted the organisation or your area. Make the outcomes easily understandable.
- What results did the actions produce?
- What did you achieve through your actions and did you meet your goals?
- Was it a successful outcome? If not, what did you learn from the experience?
Keep the situation and task parts brief. Concentrate on the action and the result. If the result was not entirely successful describe what you learned from this and what you would do differently next time. Make sure you focus on your strengths.
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