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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

Business Group: Ministry of Justice, Judicial and Legal Services Policy Directorate

Locations: London or Leeds based

Band: 6 x Band B (SEO)

Number of posts: 6

Working Arrangements: Permanent, full-time; part-time and flexible working patterns will be considered.

Recruitment Managers:

Jane Sigley (jane.sigley@justice.gov.uk) - Judicial Policies Review Team

Kieran Sull (kieran.sull@justice.gov.uk) - Future Judicial Pensions Reform Team

James Parker (james.parker1@justice.gov.uk) - McCloud Remedy Team

About the Ministry of Justice

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is one of the largest government departments, employing around 70,000 people and with an annual budget of approximately £9 billion. Each year, millions of people use our services, including at 500 courts and tribunals and 133 prisons in England and Wales. Our principal role is to uphold the rule of law, the cornerstone of the British way of life, and we deliver services which are some of the most fundamental in a democratic society. MoJ supports the Secretary of State for Justice, who is also the Lord Chancellor, and his ministerial team to deliver the Government’s priorities. Our vision is to deliver a world-class justice system that works for everyone in society.

These roles sit within the Judicial Pay and Pensions Division and the Judicial Policy Engagement and Resourcing Division, both being part of the Judicial and Legal Services Policy Directorate.

The Judicial Pay and Pensions Division advises the Lord Chancellor on the high profile and sensitive issue of judicial remuneration, including both pay and pensions. The Lord Chancellor, departmental ministers and the judiciary take a keen interest in our work and there will be genuine opportunities to develop your skills and knowledge.

The role of the Judicial Policy Engagement and Resourcing Division includes promoting understanding of the role of the judiciary both domestically and internationally, helping MoJ and wider government engage effectively with the judiciary and responsibility for the Lord Chancellor’s constitutional functions in relation to the judiciary. It also advises the Lord Chancellor on judicial resourcing and judicial diversity, working closely with Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) and the judiciary to ensure that we have sufficient and increasingly diverse judges and magistrates. The Division also manages the relationship with the Judicial Arms Length Bodies.

We are a sociable and motivated directorate that puts a premium on providing a quality service. We encourage a flexible working culture, including working from home, condensed hours and part-time working, and we welcome applications from a diverse range of candidates. We also have a strong emphasis on continuous learning and development. Each of the roles outlined below will require the ability to develop a good overview of the work of the judiciary and to take account of political and other sensitivities.

About the roles

Judicial Pensions

We have established the Judicial Pension Reform Programme to oversee a number of complex and inter-dependent work streams currently underway. We are offering roles in two of our pension policy teams who have recently launched a consultation in response to high-profile litigation and the need to provide the judiciary with a reformed pension scheme. You will join at an exciting time as we review the responses to our consultations and prepare to implement policy proposals through both primary and secondary legislation. In these roles you will prepare advice and briefings for ministers and senior officials, working with colleagues in other MOJ teams, and with external stakeholders including other government departments, to ensure the achievement of key project milestones. Successful candidates will be driven, keen to make a difference, and will look to take responsibility for ensuring quality outcomes.

Judicial Policies Review

The post holder will be part of a new team who, working closely with the Judiciary, Judicial Office and HMCTS colleagues, will review a wide range of existing judicial policies to ensure that they are fair, defensible and support our shared vision for the judiciary and the justice system.

Band B (SEO) Senior Policy Adviser roles in the McCloud Remedy, Future Reform, and Judicial Policies Review Team

Pensions Policy Teams

Pensions policy is a key issue for the judiciary and the MoJ, and the position has been impacted by a number of important legal judgments over recent years. Some of these have read-across to the whole of the public sector. Working in these roles you will gain experience of policy development and implementation, engaging with senior civil servants from across the Ministry of Justice and with officials at other departments of the UK and devolved Governments. You will have the opportunity to work in multi-discipline teams with lawyers, actuaries, analysts and other professionals. You may have direct line management responsibilities and you will be expected to task manage other staff and to play an active role in the leadership of the team and the directorate.

As a senior policy adviser you will need to quickly grasp complex issues concerning pension arrangements for the judiciary and work confidently as part of a team to develop solutions, taking account of political and other sensitivities. You will lead on at least one significant and high-profile work strand and there will opportunities to work with the MoJ private offices, judicial associations and colleagues at other government departments.

McCloud Remedy Team

In 2018 the Court of Appeal held that transitional protections provided to older judges as part of judicial pension reforms in 2015 constituted unlawful direct age discrimination. The judgment has implications for all public service pension schemes that were reformed in 2015. We recently published a consultation on proposals to remedy the discrimination that was suffered by some judges and, in parallel, HM Treasury is consulting on remedy proposals for other public service pension schemes. Consequently, the work of the McCloud remedy team has a specific focus on engagement with HMT in the context of wider public sector pension remedy and reform.

In this role you will play a key part in delivering the Government’s response to the consultation and developing the policy detail that will underpin the primary and secondary legislation necessary to give effect to the McCloud remedy.

Future Judicial Pensions Reform Team

The challenge facing the Future Reform Team is to ensure that we have a pay and pensions package which enables us to attract and retain the best legal minds for judicial office, while operating within the constraints of public finances. This is crucial, not only for the effective operation of the justice system, but also to the international reputation of our world-class judiciary and our ability to attract international business to use English law and UK courts. We recently published a consultation on proposals for a reformed judicial pension scheme that we expect to come into effect from April 2022. This scheme will have some important distinctions from other reformed public service pension schemes that are being developed.

In this role you play a key part in the design and development of the reformed judicial pension scheme and the primary and secondary legislation necessary to introduce it.

Judicial Policies Review Team

Forming part of a new team of 1 x G7, 2 x SEO and 1 x HEO. The team will need to work at pace to establish and implement a wide-ranging programme of work to:

• understand using data and other evidence about the composition of the judiciary, how we use salaried and fee paid (part time) judges and what model is required to support the effective operation of the courts and tribunals in the future;
• identify, undertake or commission through the project’s governance work, a review of existing judicial policies and how they influence the composition of the judiciary, and the attractiveness of judicial office;
• assess the legal and litigation risks of current and future judicial policies;
• make recommendations for change where required to ministers and the judiciary; and
• develop and implement policy changes resulting from this work.

The team will both project-manage and provide expert policy input into the review. The post holder will be required to work closely and collaboratively with colleagues from across MoJ, HMCTS and Judicial Office; and to build effective working relationships with senior officials and members of the judiciary.

Criteria for Band B Roles

• Self-motivated and able to provide clear leadership in areas of responsibility.
• Excellent team working and stakeholder management skills, building trust and good rapport with internal and external stakeholders.
• Strong organisation and prioritisation skills with ability to both see the strategic picture and focus on detail when appropriate.
• Ability to provide well-articulated and evidenced advice and recommendations on complex technical matters.
• Effective planning skills to achieve deliverables against tight timelines.
• Ability to influence others and communicate clearly both orally and in writing, occasionally at Board level.
• Ability to ‘horizon scan’ to anticipate future pension policy concerns.
• Manage and prioritise other aspects of a varied workload to deliver results in a timely manner.
• Take a leading role in achieving the wider objectives of the directorate and the MoJ.

 

The ‘Behaviours’ that you are required to demonstrate for these Band B roles

1. Communicating and Influencing

2. Making Effective Decisions

3. Seeing the Big Picture

4. Working Together

The criteria for each ‘Behaviour’ can be found at this link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/717275/CS_Behaviours_2018.pdf. The relevant level is Level 3: HEO/SEO.

Please note that if we receive a high volume of applications, the initial sift will be based on:   1. Communicating and Influencing.

Preferences for a particular role can be discussed at interview stage.

 

Applications

If you would like to apply for one of these posts, please provide examples of how you have demonstrated each of the required ‘Behaviours’ on the application form provided.

Additional Information

Work location: All of these posts can be based at either one of our offices in London, or our office in Leeds as the work primary location:

• 102 Petty France, London SW1H 9AJ
• 10 S Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 4PH
• 5 Wellington Pl, Leeds LS1 4AP

The department operates a flexible working policy where remote working is encouraged. At present, owing to Covid 19 control measures, a significant proportion of our staff are working remotely.

New entrants to the civil service will normally join at the lower end of the pay band for their grade.

Start date: We are looking for the successful candidate to start as soon as possible. The start date will be agreed with your existing employer/manager. If you are an existing civil servant please discuss this with your current manager before submitting your application.

Selection Process: Suitability for the post will be determined by a paper sift followed by interviews (in w/c 14 September 2020) following the Success Profiles framework.

Reserve list: If you apply for and meet the Band B/SEO standards, but are not successful for these roles, we may offer you an alternative policy role in the wider Judicial and Legal Services Policy Directorate.

Any questions? Please contact one of the recruitment managers noted above.