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 Department
The MoJ is one of the largest departments across Whitehall with a high profile, fast-paced and complex delivery and reform agenda. Our vision is to deliver a world-class justice system that works for everyone in society.
For more information on who we are and what we do, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice
People Group
The role of People Group is to support the organisation and its 85,000 people by enabling our colleagues to work to their full potential.
We operate as a cluster of HR services working seamlessly to provide expert support, advice and delivery throughout the employee lifecycle. From the time people join the organisation, to the point at which they leave, we strive to make a positive contribution to their work experience. We want everyone who works for the Ministry of Justice to feel confident in their skills, ambitious for the future and fulfilled by their work and relationships with their colleagues
Our HR and people services cover MoJ HQ, our Arm’s Length Bodies, Prison and Probation Services.
This role will provide an HR service to the Probation Service. The Probation Service is part of Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) and is managed by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).
The Probation Service, supervises high and medium risk people on probation in the community and in custody. We are here to protect the public, support victims and prevent re-offending wherever possible. We believe everyone deserves a second chance, and we help offenders make the most of theirs. Ultimately, our staff are the people who tackle the causes of crime and rehabilitate offenders into the community safely. Our closest partnership is with people on probation, directly managing them in the community, as well as before and after release as they re-integrate into society.
Roles
Working within a Regional HR team led by the Divisional Director for HMPPS HR, you will ensure that our people are at the heart of everything we do.
As HR Business Partner for a region / expert services division, you will be responsible for forging productive relationships with relevant senior leadership teams, enabling translation of business priorities and strategy into a coherent people agenda with targeted interventions.
Working alongside Team Leaders and their Senior Leadership Team to design and deliver tailored HR interventions to drive improvements in effective leadership, people management, organisational design and development, change management and workforce strategy.
Postholders will work closely with colleagues across People Group to provide business insight to improve HR processes, systems and the service provided to business areas. They will address medium and longer-term challenges by working closely with MoJ's People Group's Expert Centres and HR colleagues across MoJ and its agencies, as well as the wider Civil Service professions.
We have two roles available. Each one covering one specific geographical area.
North East England which includes Northumberland, County Durham, Cleveland and Tyne & Wear
South West England, which covers Devon & Cornwall, Somerset, Bristol, Dorset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire
Responsibilities, Activities & Duties:
- Management and delivery of planned people interventions and products, where success is often in collaboration with colleagues from People Group, wider MoJ, HMPPS and external stakeholders
- Provide people centred and pragmatic advice and guidance, sometimes finding solutions to complex and unclear situations where there is no known precedent or obvious policy or process solution
- Use business insight to inform the strategic delivery approach, design of interventions and development of products in collaboration with colleagues to embed people impacts into projects and programmes
- Act as the key interface between the Business/Programmes, HRBPs and other People Group divisions to design and deliver effective change solutions and resolve alignment issues
- Design and deliver tailored engagement solutions and products by creating the environment and opportunity for collaboration with business customers, especially those impacted by the change, as well as stakeholders and our delivery partners
- Represent your business area at internal and external broader change forum
- Consult and negotiate directly with Trade Union representatives at a local and national level
Depending on the role, you may have line management responsibilities.
Travel will be required across region with visits to operational sites to support business needs.
Selection process:
This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience. Please refer to the Civil Service Success Profile guidance to find out more about each of the elements for the grade to which you are applying.
Application stage:
At application stage, candidates are asked to provide:
- A CV of no more than 2 sides setting out your skills, career history with key responsibilities and achievements and any qualifications you may have relevant to the role.
- A supporting statement setting out how you meet the essential knowledge, experience and skills set out in the job advert (750 words max). Giving examples rather than just saying you're experienced with a certain requirement will strengthen your statement and enable the sift panel to understand more about your suitability for the role.
In the event of a high volume of applications, the initial sift will be undertaken using your supporting statement and assessed against the essential criteria. Candidates who pass the initial sift will be progressed to a full sift against all the elements listed above.
Desirable criteria are only used in the event of a strong field of candidates, as a second stage after essential criteria have been considered and there is a need to distinguish between candidates who are close after the initial consideration of essential criteria, either at sift or interview.
Interview stage
Candidates successful at sift will be invited to an interview where you will be assessed on your demonstration of the behaviours set out below at SEO level, in addition to strengths relevant to the role (not shared in advance).
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Changing and Improving
• Delivering at Pace
Interviews will be held via video utilising Microsoft Teams. Further details and instructions will be provided closer to the scheduled interview date
Essential Knowledge, Experience and Skills:
The successful candidates must be able to evidence the essential criteria below:
- HR generalist knowledge with practical experience of implementing people processes and supporting organisational change.
- Excellent stakeholder management skills with the ability to build strong, trust-based professional partnerships with a range of stakeholders quickly and effectively.
- Proven experience of developing business change strategies to support project initiatives which are tailored to the needs of the business
- Ability to design, plan and deliver people and business change activities and interventions, following best practice approaches and methodologies to support broader HR change programmes
- Excellent project management skills with experience of working within an organisation of significant scale and or complexity.
- Data and insights driven with experience of using business and behavioural insights which anticipate and shape the impact of people change programmes
- Demonstrable experience incorporating stakeholder analysis into engagement and communication plans which support change delivery
Desirable Knowledge, Experience and Skills:
- Detailed knowledge and understanding of HR Operating Models and Shared Services processes.
- Detailed knowledge and understanding of operational learning environments
Security clearance required:
Minimum Eligibility
All candidates are subject to BPSS security and identity checks prior to taking up post
All external candidates new to the Civil Service are subject to 6-month probation.