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.
STRATEGY ROLES IN THE BETTER OUTCOMES THROUGH LINKED DATA (BOLD) PROGRAMME
Overview
This is an exciting opportunity for a Higher Executive Officer (HEO) to join an exciting new cross-government programme, the Better Outcomes through Linked Data (BOLD) programme. This post will be part of a wide ranging, multi-disciplinary team responsible for transforming the use of data to drive outcomes and decision-making across government.
The BOLD programme is a cross-government initiative delivered in partnership between the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), the Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC), the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC), Office for Health improvement and Disparities (OHID) and Public Health Wales (PHW), meaning this role offers the opportunity to deliver impact across a broad range of public services.
The post would suit applicants from a range of sectors who are highly skilled interpersonally and enjoy data and digital change, for example (but not limited to) those with a background in Business Analysis, Data Analysis, Project Management, Policy, Strategy, Consultancy, User Research or User Centred Policy Design and Business Change.
The post is also open on level transfer to existing Civil Servants at HEO (or equivalent) and other eligible Civil Service staff on promotion.
We welcome applications from candidates based across the UK. The base location of the successful applicants will be either 10 South Colonnade, London (for those based out of London), or 5 Wellington Place, Leeds (for those based in the North of England). Periodic travel will be required as the post holders will work closely with Digital Product teams and wider programme teams. In addition, flexible working arrangements are available between MoJ HQ at 102 Petty France (London), MoJ Hubs across the country and home.
Interviews are likely to take place in April 2022. We will keep a merit list for a year for those who successfully pass the interview board but who are not offered a post immediately as similar posts will become available during 2022.
Background
The holder of this post will be passionate about making a difference for the staff and users of the justice system. They will value people highly and strive to understand the views, processes, and frustrations of the people we provide services to. They will harness the best of digital ways of working to bring people together to create new and innovative systems and processes, driven by user need and developed iteratively.
They will be numerate and enjoy engaging with analytical and technical teams as well as being highly credible with operational and policy colleagues. They will understand the value of the data we hold in the MoJ and be able to spot opportunities to use it to transform outcomes for our service users and for citizens.
The successful candidates will work as integrators and will be comfortable influencing and delivering in a complex strategic landscape, defining appropriate data governance and supporting and/or proposing alternatives to current structures. They will be highly resilient and will be able to maintain enthusiasm and generate momentum in the face of a shifting landscape and priorities.
About MoJ
The Ministry of Justice is one of the largest government departments, employing around 76,000 people, with a budget of approximately £7.4 billion. The justice system is a vital public service that changes people’s lives and our work spans criminal, civil, administrative and family justice. Each year millions of people across the UK use our services - including courts, tribunals, probation and prisons in England and Wales. We are all likely to come into contact with the justice system at some point in our lives, either because we have been a witness to or victim of a crime, to protect and enforce our rights, or to settle disputes.
Why work for the Ministry of Justice?
- Flexible working arrangements – including compressed hours, flexi-time, working for home or commuter hubs outside of London
- Broad and varied opportunities for development and promotion – there are lots of interesting and highly meaningful jobs across the Ministry and great opportunities to expand experience
- Data and Analysis is at the centre of the Department’s decision making – with a ministerial team who are keen for all decisions to be evidence driven
- See the frontline and what your work is influencing – regular opportunities to visit prisons and courts to better understand the areas your work and leadership is affecting
About the Better Outcomes through Linked Data (BOLD) Programme
Public services collect a large amount of data which is used to improve the quality of services offered to the public, but it is often not shared between organisations, making it difficult to understand whether certain services have been effective.
The BOLD Programme, backed by £20 million of investment from HM Treasury, will improve the connectedness of government data so that policy-makers and those working on the frontline of UK public services have better quality evidence on what works in supporting victims, reducing homelessness and substance misuse and helping offenders turn their backs on crime. For example, data on prisoners is not connected to data on people in employment, so it is not possible to know who went on to find a job after leaving custody. Understanding what services best help prison leavers into work could help to prevent thousands of people becoming victims each year and save some of the £18 billion annual cost of repeat crimes.
The BOLD vision is to enable better evidenced, joined-up and more effective cross-govt. services to support and protect vulnerable adults at specific touchpoints in their interactions with government funded services, supported by timely linked data and evidence.Â
The programme is ambitious and sits across 5 government departments. A flagship initiative for collaborative, cross-department working, BOLD intends to conduct data linkage on a scale never seen before in the UK government, aiming to link key datasets to aid policy makers in doing more evidence-based policy design and prioritisation, support management to make performance decisions to better meet needs across services and to provide more targeted support for individuals - driving better outcomes for vulnerable adults.Â
Robust evaluation strategies underpin BOLD, aiming to promote the successful facets of the programme into future years of funding and share lessons learned across the rest of government. BOLD aims to help other data initiatives stride forward with the collaborative mindset of BOLD, so we can achieve success together. All BOLD team members are expected to share and implement best practices across the virtual teams they work within.Â
Key Responsibilities of the Role
The successful candidates will play a critical role as part of the delivery engine of the BOLD programme, sitting within the Strategy & Delivery team, who lead and drive forward the work, translating the BOLD vision and strategy into tangible deliverables and outcomes, whilst working with end-users to ensure solutions best meet their needs. Â They will work as an integrator between business need, data scientists, analytical teams and digital solutions. They will feel comfortable negotiating at a senior level and delivering across a complex strategic landscape. They will help define appropriate standards and approaches for using, sharing and linking data and be able to articulately communicate the value of data sharing to a range of stakeholders.Â
We hope to use this campaign to retain a merit list for subsequent roles coming on-stream in the next few months. These roles will face off to all corners of the MoJ. These include Prisons, the Probation Service, the Courts & Tribunals Service and Corporate and HQ functions. Some roles are more technically-focused and some more strategically focused. As such we encourage applications from all professional backgrounds.Â
The work may include:
- Managing relationships with stakeholders across government to get buy-in for the ambitions of the BOLD programme
- Supporting the development of strategies, comms packs and other materials to promote the vision and ethos of the BOLD programme
- Developing documentation and guidance on data standards and best practice for BOLD
- Delivering user-research to ensure that BOLD’s key outputs are delivering for service users
- Working with analysts, data scientists, data engineers, data architects, digital teams, policy and operational teams to leverage our data and build innovative solutions to longstanding and emerging data issues
- Acting as a translator across technical and non-technical areas to ensure effective problem definition and benefits realisation
- Creating a shared organisational understanding of key decision-makers and decision points: exploring, advancing and/or building products to improve decision-making
- Creating a shared organisational understanding of the data we do/should/could collect, how to manage it, and how to utilise and share it effectively to drive improved outcomes
- Proactively solve problems relating to things like data access, comms, programme design and strategy
- Developing process maps, standards and content for BOLD’s Knowledge Management site
The ideal candidates:
- Are strong communicators who work collaboratively to build consensus in a fast-changing strategic and delivery environment
- Are self-starters: someone who takes a vision and goals and makes them reality
- Are highly motivated do-ers – people who can take broad direction and then shape a tangible workplan
- Are dynamic problem-solvers who relish the opportunity to work on highly complex, cross-departmental challenges
- Have a demonstrated track record of working on complex and diverse stakeholder relationships
- Have a demonstrated track record of delivering against complex project plans
- Understand how to work in multi-disciplinary teams and collaborate to achieve shared outcomes
- Understand the value of evidence & analysis in delivering public service outcomes – and therefore the importance of high-quality data
- Are comfortable changing their approach to respond to emerging issues and risks, while maintaining a strong focus on strategic goals
- Able to hold their own in meetings with a range of multidisciplinary stakeholders
- Have a track record in working with data and data systems
- Are already highly aware of digital ways of working or are willing to get up to speed quickly in understanding the potential (customer centricity, agile methodology, prototyping, automation, etc.)
- Understand and values public service users, and work hard to deliver quantified value for them
Our team is innovative and fast-moving, while being highly collaborative and focused on supporting others to do their best work. We focus on outcomes over process, and we get things done. We change our approach as needed if we see a better way through. We look for do-ers, positive thinkers, and team members that people want to work with and be around.
Details Required In Your Application
We will ask for a CV and a Statement of Suitability (i.e. cover letter) to assess your Experience and your Technical skills. Based on this, we may invite you to interview where we will ask you to deliver a short technical presentation. Details are below.
Experience
You will be asked during the application to submit an anonymised CV, which must be no more than 2 sides of A4. Only applicants who submit this document will be considered for an invite to interview. Please remove all personal information and do not save the file with your name.
Technical
In your Statement of Suitability, please explain why you are the right candidate for these roles, based on the skill requirements below. You will have up to 1000 words to use in your statement. Please try to cover as many of the bullets as possible using work you have completed to demonstrate how you meet each one. You may wish to provide 2 or 3 examples that cover off multiple requirements, or to address each in turn.
All these requirements are important for the job, however we do not expect candidates to be experts in all of them; just give as much evidence as you can for each.
- Working with data and data systems, assets and infrastructure
- Working as part of large-scale transformation programmes
- Familiarity with agile ways of working
- Developing persuasive arguments and business cases to implement a change or transformation in ways of working (ideally data-related)
- Evidence of taking the initiative – developing and shaping own work to tackle a complex problem
- Working in a multi-disciplinary environment and acting as a translator between technical and non-technical teams
- Mapping of data requirements to business needs
- Developing comms packs and/or submissions/presentations to senior audiences, including ministers
- Persuading stakeholders of the value of working in a data-driven way
- Experience of ensuring analysis and evidence is used effectively to deliver policy or organisational change
Applicants Invited for Interview
You will be required to give a 5-minute presentation at interview. Details of this will be sent to those candidates who are invited for interview.
If you successfully reach the interview stage, you will be assessed on the following behaviours:
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Changing & Improving
- Communicating and influencing
- Working Together
- Delivering at Pace
Please see the CS Behaviours framework for more details at this grade (Level 3 - HEO and SEO or equivalent):
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/717275/CS_Behaviours_2018.pdf
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