Job Description

Job title: Senior Strategy Advisor, Strategy Unit

Grade: SEO

Duration: Permanent

Directorate: Strategy, Priorities and Innovation

Location:

Successful candidates will have the option to be based at one of the following HQ locations:

1. 102 Petty France, London

2. 5 Wellington Place, Leeds

(Occasional travel between Leeds and London may be required)

The MoJ’s central Strategy, Priorities and Innovation Directorate (SPI) is recruiting permanently for a Senior Strategy Advisor (SEO, Band B equivalent). This campaign is being run externally and so is open to all who consider themselves suitable for the roles and meet the eligibility criteria in the wider advert within Civil Service Jobs.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ)

The MoJ is one of the largest government departments, employing over 90,000 people, with a budget of over £10 billion. Each year, millions of people use our services across the UK - including at 500 courts and tribunals, and over 100 prisons in England and Wales.

Further information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice

The Strategy, Priorities and Innovation Directorate

The Strategy, Priorities and Innovation Directorate sits at the heart of the MoJ. We work collaboratively to provide strategic leadership across the department: supporting effective governance, driving innovation and surging high-capability teams into priorities for the justice system.

The Directorate is made up of several functions, including the Strategy Unit, the Innovation Team, the Priority Projects Team and Board Secretariat, that combine to identify, help establish and collectively embed strategic justice system priorities. We:

• Shape long-term strategic outcomes for the justice system.

• Promote efficient integration across the MoJ and its agencies to serve the justice system.

• Connect the justice system across the public sector and wider partners.

The Work of the Strategy Unit

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Strategy Unit. It is our role to provide integrated, system-wide advice to ministers on a range of important policy, transformation and delivery issues. We help the Department make better and more coordinated decisions, plan for the long-term, and achieve its aims across the public sector and beyond. The Strategy Unit’s work includes:

• Strategic coordination. We support coordination across the department, including alignment with central government strategy and the department’s strategic priorities. This work requires us to deliver regular key briefings for the Secretary of State and Permanent Secretary, bringing together a collective departmental position.

• Intelligence gathering. We work with key thinkers and senior leaders both within and outside the department to understand emerging and evolving priorities in justice. As a central team, we rely on our ability to build relationships across the Department, draw on them to get things done and balance interests to build consensus. We use this intelligence to inform strategic development and delivery across the department - ensuring our resources and policies are aligned.

• Strategic projects. We help to shape long-term strategic outcomes for the justice system, working across the department to develop consensus around our strategic position. We also undertake projects to investigate specific strategic questions and develop recommendations for senior leaders.

Senior Strategy Advisor - The Role

We’re looking for a Senior Strategy Advisor to join the Strategy Unit. We undertake challenging work and are often asked to balance urgent commissions alongside projects that need thought and structure. There is no typical day within our team and in any given week you might scope a new project, draft advice for the Permanent Secretary or prepare papers for Cabinet. A Senior Strategy Advisor is a great role for someone seeking to apply their abilities to some of the most important issues facing society, while developing their knowledge and understanding of Government and the justice system.

We have a flat structure and so you can expect a lot of independent work and opportunities to engage and advise senior leaders. You can also expect variety and flexibility. We cover the whole remit of the Department, which will give you the chance to gain experience on topics ranging from how to manage prison capacity, to the future shape and size of the justice system.

The Strategy Unit is a collaborative team. Members are often asked to support projects across the team, providing a breadth of strategy experience. The team is also encouraged to work on corporate activities like learning and development, induction, staff engagement and others.

The team has a wide range of experience - some have worked in different parts of MoJ and other government departments, while others have joined from outside the Civil Service. 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

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

Application process

You will be assessed against the Civil service success profiles framework.

Sift

You will need to submit an anonymised CV and Statement of Suitability as part of your

application.

Your CV (anonymised) should show us your work history and previous experience. It should be well structured, succinct, and written in clear language.

Your Statement of Suitability should be no more than 750 words and should give us

examples of how your skills and experience meet those needed for this role. Consider

giving examples that cover the below requirements and use work you have completed to

demonstrate your experience.

We are looking for applicants who can:

1. Think critically and analytically. This role will require you to understand and assess trade-offs and break down complex problems. For example, you might need to assess the impacts of funding decisions for different parts of the criminal justice system or develop recommendations for tactical or longer-term actions based on a project’s findings. To succeed, you will need to be comfortable interpreting and analysing different types of information from a variety of sources and thinking critically to develop advice.

2. Be sensitive to the wider context. We work at the heart of the Department and closely with the centre of Government. You will need to be able to develop an understanding of how your work fits into the Department’s priorities and provide strategic insight, drawing on your understanding of the wider context to ensure communications are clear, effective and relevant.

3. Build relationships and work collaboratively. As a central team, we rely on our ability to work together as a team and develop relationships across the Department, to get things done and build consensus. We also have a part to play in building relationships with officials in other departments and external experts, drawing on these to further MoJ’s interests or bringing in fresh thinking.

4. Work flexibly and at pace. Finally, no two days are the same in the Strategy Unit, so we are looking for applicants who can work flexibly in picking up new tasks and supporting your peers, as well as delivering at pace and managing your workload effectively. You’ll also need to be comfortable working in an ambiguous environment where priorities can change at short notice.

Should we receive a large number of applications, we will do an initial sift on the statement of suitability.

Candidates invited to Interview

Please note that interviews will be carried out remotely via MS Teams.

You will be required to give a 5-minute presentation at interview. Details of this will be sent to those candidates invited for interview.

Behaviours - You will be asked by the interview panel to provide examples of how you meet the behaviours listed below. “The Star Method" (Annex A, see below) may be a helpful way to structure your answers.

1. Making Effective Decisions

2. Seeing the Big Picture

3. Working Together

4. Delivering at Pace

Strengths - You will also be asked about Strengths which are not notified in advance. 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 from February 2026.

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. Contact: Olivia Lohoar, Self, Strategy Lead - Olivia.LohoarSelf@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.