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 Policy Director General’s office is recruiting permanently for two Deputy Private Secretaries (SEO roles). This campaign is open to current civil servants on level transfer and suitable candidates on promotion.
Location:
Due to the nature of the role successful candidates will be based at:
- 102 Petty France, London
Ways of Working
At the MoJ we believe and promote alternative ways of working, these roles are available as:
- Full-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.
Job Description overview
The Deputy Private Secretary supports the Director General in overseeing and driving the work of the Ministry of Justice’s Policy and Strategy Group. Working as part of an excellent team in the Director General’s private office, the Deputy Private Secretary will forge strong links with teams across the Department in order to advise the Director General, unblock policy issues, and support the Group and its wider senior leadership team to deliver on its priorities.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ)
MOJ is one of the largest government departments, employing around 70,000 people and 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.
What we do
The Policy and Strategy Group is at the heart of the Department, comprising 800 members of staff. The Group is responsible for setting and advising on policy across the full range of the Department’s responsibilities, including criminal, civil, family and administrative justice; the criminal and civil law; the court system, legal aid and support and the legal services sector; the prison and probation systems, and offender policy; the youth justice system; the UK’s domestic human rights framework and international obligations. It also supports the Lord Chancellor in his constitutional relationship with the judiciary. It houses the MoJ’s strategy function, the Private Office teams that directly support Ministers and the Department’s Parliamentary business team.
The Director General leads the work of the Policy and Strategy Group and sits on the department’s Executive Committee and Board. He is supported by a team of five in his Private Office, alongside two Policy Advisors.
Further information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice
Deputy Private Secretary – the role
The Deputy Private Secretary will be responsible for supporting the Director General across a wide-ranging policy and corporate portfolio. The postholder will need to develop a strong understanding of the issues within their brief; build excellent relationships with policy teams, other private offices, and stakeholders across Government; and be able use this knowledge and their relationships to unblock problems as they occur and to drive the Director General’s strategic priorities.
The postholder will join a small, friendly and dynamic team which sits right at the heart of the Department. The Director General’s office is a fast-paced environment, and the postholder will need to be flexible and responsive to changing priorities. The postholder will gain a ‘helicopter view’ of how policy teams, private offices, operational partners, the Centre and wider Whitehall operate. They will give advice to the Director General during policy development and key decision making, and they will build close links with teams across the Department and particularly within the Policy and Strategy Group.
The postholder’s exact portfolio will be agreed when they join the team and may change over time depending on priorities. The Director General has an incredibly wide-ranging brief and is responsible for policy across all of the Ministry of Justice’s work including Legal Aid, Prisons, Courts and Tribunals, Human Rights, Victims, Family Justice, Probation, Youth Justice, Judicial Policy and Criminal Justice. He also holds a number of significant corporate responsibilities including being the MoJ Executive Committee’s Race Champion and its Faith and Belief Champion. Policy areas and corporate responsibilities will be split evenly between three Deputy Private Secretaries in the team.
The role will involve:
- Providing high quality advice and support to the Director General on their policy portfolio, driving forward their priorities. The Deputy Private Secretary will need to understand and be able to summarise complex policy and operational ideas quickly and build excellent relationships with policy teams and other private offices to ensure emerging issues can be handled quickly and effectively;
- Being an effective channel of communication for the DG within the department and externally, ensure his priorities are communicated effectively and delivered promptly;
- Managing and prioritising a significant number of reactive and proactive tasks - these will be varied and the postholder will need to be organised and willing to help the wider team;
- Leadership of the policy and corporate areas within their portfolio: taking responsibility for advising the Director General on areas within their brief; keeping track of actions, meetings, submissions and wider developments in their areas; horizon-scanning to highlight potential problems before they occur; and taking a proactive approach to resolving issues.
- Supporting the Director General at key cross-cutting or corporate-focused meetings (e.g. with his Senior Management Team, the Departmental Board, the Director Generals’ Priorities Group), including coordinating briefing and tracking actions.
- Taking on a personal corporate objective within the wider unit, directorate or Department, to help continue to make the Ministry of Justice a great place to work;
- Working in partnership with the Director General’s Policy Unit, who form part of his wider private office;
- Supporting the Head of Office in the day to day running of the office, and deputising for the Head of Office as needed.
The precise shape of the role will be discussed with the postholder and may be flexible if priorities change.
Skills and Experience
You will:
- be able to work effectively with colleagues at all levels in the organisation as well as senior external stakeholders, establishing strong relationships;
- have excellent written and oral communication skills;
- be effective at prioritising, have excellent organisational skills, and be able to work a pace and under pressure;
- have strong policy skills, and the ability to see quickly to the heart of an issue;
- have sound judgement, able to spot emerging issues and act on your own initiative;
- be adept at understanding the wider political and organisational context;
- be a team player who role models the Department’s values of openness, humanity, together, and purpose.
Application process
You will be assessed against the Civil Service Success Profiles framework.
Behaviours
To apply for the role, 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 Big Picture
- Working Together
- Delivering at Pace
Please also refer to the CS Behaviours framework for more details at this grade (Level 3 –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.
Candidates invited to Interview
Successful applicants will be invited to an interview, testing both Behaviours and Strengths from the Success Profile framework. The interview will also involve a short presentation.
Interviews will take place in early January and are likely to be held remotely.
At interview stage, if candidates do not score highly enough to be appointed to a SEO/Band B role, but have passed the minimum requirements, they could be offered an alternative role at the more junior level of HEO/Band C.
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.
Security Clearance
Before taking up the post, the successful applicant will need to pass security checks.
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. Please contact Catherine Craig-McFeely, Head of Office to the Director General: catherine.craig-mcfeely@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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