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 Victims and Vulnerability Directorate has a Grade 6 vacancy for a Head of Victims Funding and Commissioning. This campaign is open to external candidates as well as 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.
At the moment staff are required to be in the office 2 days per 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 post holder will be responsible for setting and delivering both MoJ and cross government funding and commissioning strategies for victims and witnesses. They will need to drive the development of these strategies across currently siloed Departments with competing priorities and drivers. The government spends approximately £300 million annually on support services. However, that spend is not joined up or based on a shared vision of outcomes. Discussions about more strategic commissioning, driven by data on demand and outcomes, are in their infancy, and the post holder will need to show significant leadership in securing cross government buy in, including with Ministers, Treasury and No 10.
The post holder will oversee the implementation of robust commissioning and grant management standards, focusing on outcomes, crime trends/demand trajectories and value for money.
This is new post which was been created as the current G6’s portfolio is being split in two. It will include line management of 4 Grade 7s. The post holder will need to work collaboratively with the current Grade 6, and you will be expected to deputise on each other’s portfolios to provide support to the SCS 1 Head of Unit.
Key responsibilities include;
- Oversight of the Victims and Witnesses budget, which will increase to £192m by 24/25, ensuring appropriate allocation of the Spending Review settlement for 2022/23 onwards to commission new and continued support services for victims and witnesses (joint responsibility with current G6 in the Unit).
- Overseeing the implementation of the Victims Funding Strategy (published in May 2022) which is a framework looking to improve the way we fund victim support services across government. The post holder will ensure robust governance is in place and show strong leadership with other Government Departments.
- Overseeing the implementation of robust commissioning and grant management standards, focusing on outcomes, crime trends/demand trajectories and value for money.
- Leading the work to deliver two major national procurement programmes (circa £90m over 4 years) seeking to identify suppliers for the new national Witness and Homicide Services ensuring victims and witnesses are able to access high quality services which represent value for money.
- Oversight of income generated from the Victim Surcharge and income related to the Prisoner Earnings Act (PEA).
- The post holder will be ready to pivot to respond to unexpected situations, such as the Plymouth shootings, which will involve extensive cross Whitehall liaison to ensure a collaborative and strategic approach is being taken in the commissioning of services in the aftermath of a serious and/ or tragic event which has caused high harm to those impacted
- Oversight and management of the victims pathway strand of Better Outcomes Through Linked Data (BOLD) - which is a Government data-linking programme which aims to improve the connectedness of government data in England and Wales. You will provide policy support to the team working across government and with local services to design and deliver a demonstrator pilot that uses an innovative approach to linking data to improve outcomes for victims of crime.
This is a high performing Unit which receives significant scrutiny and interest from Ministers, other Government departments and stakeholders across the victim services sector. The post holder will be expected to significantly contribute to the continuous development of both the senior team and wider unit. Specific focus will be on data analysis, high quality drafting, and influencing senior stakeholders.
Wider responsibilities of the Unit include management of the approximately 130 grant agreements that deliver support services, delivering Rape Review commitments – increasing the number of ISVAs and IDVAs from 700 to over 1,000, recommissioning the Rape Support Fund and establishing a source of 24/7 support for victims of rape and sexual violence, and providing devolved funding to Police and Crime Commissioners, which is used to commission practical, emotional and therapeutic support services for victims locally.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ)
MOJ is one of the largest government departments, employing over 80,000 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
Victim and Witness policy is split between two units within the Family and Criminal Justice Policy Directorate at MoJ. The Implementation and Commissioning Unit holds commissioning responsibility and has a current budget of £192m by 24/25 to provide support services for victims and witnesses. These services are delivered either through grants to Police and Crime Commissioners, or nationally commissioned third sector services for the victims of the most serious of crimes, such as rape and homicide. We are also developing new delivery models for support services for witnesses, homicide and sexual violence victims.
Application process
You will be assessed against the Civil service success profiles framework.
Experience
You will be asked to provide a CV during the application process in order to assess any demonstrable experience, career history and achievements that are relevant to the role.
You will also be asked to upload a Statement of Suitability of no more than 750 words stating how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role as described in this job description (but you do not need to explicitly reflect the behaviours here).
Behaviours
Please provide examples of how you have met each one of the behaviours listed below (see Annex A for more information):
- Managing a Quality Service
- Leadership
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Making Effective Decisions
Please also refer to the CS Behaviours framework for more details at this grade (Grade 6 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 Managing a Quality Service. 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.
You may be required to give a 5-minute presentation at interview. Details of this will be sent to those candidates who are invited for interview.
Interviews are expected to take place mid-November 2022
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. Nicola Simpson: Nicola.simpson1@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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