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 Court Recovery, Criminal and Family Justice Directorate is recruiting permanently for an HEO Policy Advisor role. This campaign is open to current civil servants on level transfer and external candidates.
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)
In order for Policy Group to meet its evolving business needs and for us to continue to progress towards our pre-pandemic levels of attendance, all Policy Group staff are expected to attend their base location (102 Petty France or 5 Wellington Place Leeds) at least 2 days a week. This hybrid working arrangement is not contractual and, as a result, staff could be asked to attend their base location more frequently.
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.
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.
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
The Court Recovery, Criminal and Family Justice Directorate sits at the heart of MoJ’s policy agenda, working to reform complex systems that deal with some of the most vulnerable members of our society. The teams in the Directorate work to ensure that the criminal and family justice systems are straightforward, efficient, work for everyone, and are focused on solving people’s problems in a way that reserves court for the more complex issues.
Within the Directorate is the Criminal Justice Strategy & Criminal Court Process & Procedure Unit. The teams help create a modern courts and justice system by leading policy development on criminal court reform. We work across the Criminal Justice System tackling strategic risks and enabling ministers to provide firm leadership through cross-system governance structures.
Role Description
Policy Adviser in the Criminal Justice Insights team
The Criminal Justice Insights team is responsible for the development and delivery of the Criminal Justice System (CJS) Dashboard and generating insights into the Criminal Justice System to drive improvements. The team uses data to understand issues across the system on a national and local level, focussing on driving improvements in three priority areas: timeliness, victim engagement, and the quality of justice. Working strategically with justice partners from across the system is an inherent part of this role. This area of work is fast paced, stretching and exciting. You will need to be able to work independently and often with ambiguity.
Responsibilities will include:
- Supporting the development and delivery of the CJS Dashboard, working with Ministerial Offices, press office, data science and digital teams within the MoJ.
- Drafting advice and briefings for Ministers, working collaboratively and at pace to produce high-quality products.
- Building effective relationships with high profile stakeholders and officials from across the Criminal Justice System, such as other Government departments, policing colleagues, charities, the Judiciary, and local criminal justice partners.
- Being confident and competent when dealing with data, working regularly with analysts to understand trends across the Criminal Justice System.
- Using and developing policy making, problem solving and strategic thinking skills to play a leading role across a number of complex and challenging issues affecting the system.
Successful candidates will demonstrate the following skills and experience:
- Ability to present complex analysis and messages clearly, visually and in a compelling way, to enable effective decision making.
- Work on a mixture of discrete projects, ongoing projects, and longer-term strategic think-pieces.
- Strong analytical skills, with an ability to identify and assess large quantities of information, including incomplete data, and develop options and recommendations
- Ability to work in an interdisciplinary team and across management levels, keeping focus on shared objectives.
- Ability to work independently and with limited supervision to meet demanding deadlines.
- High standard of accuracy and attention to detail, with strong writing and editing skills, grammar, spelling, and comfortable with handling numerical data.
- Proven ability to be a ‘self-starter’ by using initiative to devise creative solutions to unforeseen challenges and leading on progressing pieces of work, including in ambiguity.
Application process
You will be assessed against the Civil Service Success Profiles Framework.
Experience
You will be asked to provide 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 provide a Statement of Suitability of no more than 500 words to explain how you meet the essential and desired skills for the role, outlining your relevant experience, as well as explaining your motivation for applying.
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
- Delivering at Pace
- Seeing the Bigger Picture
- Working Together
Please also refer to the CS Behaviours framework for more details at this grade (Level 3 – Grade 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 in January 2023.
Candidates applying from HMPPS should note that the Ministry of Justice does not have the same conditions of employment as HMPPS. It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure they are aware of the terms and conditions they will adopt should they be successful.
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 with Orla Leggett (orla.leggett@justice.gov.uk) if you would like to know more about the role or what it is like working in our team.
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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