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.
Judicial Appointments Commission – Senior Policy Advisor (SEO)
About the JAC
The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) is an independent public body, established in April 2006, to select judges in the courts and tribunals, and non-legal tribunal members. The JAC selects judicial candidates through fair and open competition, encouraging a wide range of quality candidates to apply for the posts that it advertises.
The JAC is responsible for designing, planning, and running recruitment campaigns to select judicial office holders up to and including High Court Judges. We have a statutory duty to select solely on merit, while keeping our selection processes open to the widest range of applicants. We launch a new campaign for judicial posts every one to two weeks. These range from high volume campaigns for ‘entry level’ posts, attracting upward of 2,000 applicants, to small campaigns for senior roles, attracting a handful of highly qualified people.
Though located at Clive House, Petty France, London, SW1H 9AJ JAC staff are currently working in a hybrid way with some days in the office and some days working remotely. It will be necessary for the successful postholder to work at the JAC location regularly to support business need.
We offer a range of benefits including an attractive annual leave allowance, flexible working, and choice of pension schemes. We actively encourage all staff to undertake learning and development as part of their personal objectives.
More information about the JAC is on our website: http://judicialappointments.gov.uk
The Role
We are looking for a Senior Policy Advisor to join the Selection Policy Team of the JAC. You will be helping to ensure that the JAC fulfils its core statutory duty of selecting judges solely on merit. This is a key role in a vital public body that delivers complex and constitutionally sensitive work at pace.
The Selection Policy team works closely with the JAC’s Commissioners, operational teams, independent panel members and members of the judiciary to ensure the JAC identifies the very best candidates for judicial office. Working within this team, you will be:
- advising on current JAC selection policy and ensuring that it is implemented fairly and effectively in the delivery of selection exercises; and
- developing and improving policy and processes, supporting our key aims of increasing confidence in the quality of selections and becoming a recognised centre of excellence for appointments.
Main responsibilities of the role will include
- Providing advice, briefing, and guidance for Commissioners, senior staff and operational teams on selection exercise process and policy matters;
- Development, drafting, presentation, and delivery of new policy relating to the JAC selection process and selection tools;
- Ensuring that the JAC’s selection processes are fair and free from bias, working with equality and operational leads and Commissioners to meet the JAC’s statutory duties;
- Maintaining ownership of key delivery materials, templates and guidance relating to selection policy;
- Regularly reviewing and quality assuring the selection exercise process, liaising regularly with selection exercise teams to ensure best practice is understood and followed;
- Managing requests to seek legal advice from the in-house legal team;
- Providing support to the Head of Selection Policy and wider team as required.
Skills & Qualifications
In addition to meeting the required strengths and behaviours it is expected that successful applicants will have:
- Ability to engage and communicate confidently with senior staff, Board members, and the ability to build constructive relationships with a variety of internal and external partners and other stakeholders;
- Experience and understanding of working to published procedures, or operational policy, in a public sector environment;
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills and ability to target communications to a range of audiences.
- Strong IT skills, especially MS Word, MS Teams and Excel and the ability to quickly develop the skills to work with new IT solutions.
Desirable criteria
- Knowledge and understanding of recruitment and selection processes would be advantageous but is not essential.
Selection process details
Applicants will be assessed using Success Profiles on your Behaviours throughout the process.
To apply for this role you will need to provide:
- Your curriculum vitae (CV)
- A statement of suitability explaining (in not more than a 500 words) why you are interested in the role and the skills and experience you will bring to it
- Written evidence of the following three behaviours (Making Effective Decisions, Communicating and Influencing, and Changing and Improving, see more information here. If the number of applications are high, at sift applications will be considered against CV, Statement of Suitability and the following behaviour; Making Effective Decisions
Behaviours
We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process
- Making Effective Decisions
- Communicating and Influencing
At interview in addition to the four behaviours you will also be asked about two strengths: You can find out more about strengths here:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/717274/CS_Strengths_2018.pdf
At Selection day, as well as all behaviours the following strengths will be assessed:
Please note applicants who are invited for interviews, which will be conducted remotely, will be required to undertake a brief work exercise either before or on the day as part of the selection process.
Interviews are expected to take place in week commencing 19 September 2022. More details will be provided if you are invited to interview.
If after reading this job description and the application pack you require any further information about this vacancy, please contact Daniel Mosley, Head of Selection Policy, on 07583 035909 or email daniel.mosley@judicialappointments.gov.uk.
If you have any questions about the recruitment campaign, please contact the JAC HR Division at claire.thurlow@judicialappointments.gov.uk.
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