Ministry of Justice

The Performance and Business Support Team (PBST) is recruiting permanently for an AO Correspondence Logger/Drafter in the Policy Correspondence Team. This campaign is being run externally and so is open to all who consider themselves suitable for the role and meet the eligibility criteria in the wider advert within Civil Service Jobs.

Location:

Successful candidates will be based at 102 Petty France, London.

We offer a hybrid working model, allowing for a balance between remote work and time spent in your base location (102 Petty France)

Ways of Working

At the MoJ we believe and promote alternative ways of working, these roles are available as:

·       Full-time, part-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.

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

Salary

New entrants to the Civil Service will be expected to join on the minimum of the pay range. 

If you are already a civil servant and are successful in an external recruitment competition for a role with us, your starting pay will be the better of:

·            promotion terms or transfer terms, as appropriate; or

·            pay on appointment arrangements (minimum of pay range)

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ)

MOJ is one of the largest government departments, employing over 90,000 people, with a budget of approximately £10 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.

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

The Work of PBST

PBST sits at the heart of the Policy Group and is responsible for a broad range of corporate functions. This includes supporting our Director General and running his Private Office, alongside the drafting of correspondence. In addition, the team, manages our budgets and spend, workforce data and estates. PBST also has a governance function which includes supporting our Group’s Senior Management Team, overseeing information assurance and communications, not to mention developing a first-class learning and development offer.

Correspondence Logger/Drafter - The role

The MoJ Policy Correspondence Team is responsible for drafting replies to the majority of letters the department receives from MPs, external organisations and members of the public. It is key to the department’s success in communicating with the outside world.

This is a unique opportunity to gain invaluable insight into the workings of the department, the policies for which it is responsible and seeing exactly how the department functions and the key issues that are affecting correspondents. Members of the team work closely with MoJ policy teams to make sure the policy position is reflected accurately in correspondence, and with ministers’ private offices to make sure responses are drafted in line with ministerial preferences.

You will be expected to liaise with colleagues and officials alike at all levels. The post holder will be expected to show determination, flexibility and commitment. Training will be provided, and development opportunities are available and actively encouraged.

We are recruiting for a correspondence logger/drafter to work across ministerial portfolios within the MoJ. This is a high-accountability, fast-paced post. The successful candidate will be responsible for drafting high quality responses to both Ministerial and Treat Official correspondence. The successful candidate will manage their own caseloads ensuring they meet deadlines in a timely manner. Additionally, there will be opportunities for line management duties and further leadership development. You will need to be organised and have a high standard of written and oral communication skills.

Skills and Experience

Essential:

• Excellent written and oral communication skills using a variety of communications channels
• Excellent organisational skills and the ability to work to deadlines
• Excellent planning skills
• Excellent IT skills including using Microsoft Outlook and Word
• The ability to manage a varied workload, and to identify priorities proactively
• The ability to form and maintain productive relationships with stakeholders and colleagues.
• You will be able to manage competing demands and prioritise appropriately
• A high standard of written English, including grammar, spelling and punctuation
• Excellent attention to detail
• Delivering at Pace
• Managing a Quality Service
• Working Together

Key Responsibilities

Roles in the Policy Correspondence Team are challenging and fast-paced. Post holders will need to be adaptable and resilient, ready to undertake a diverse range of tasks including all of the following:

• Accurate scanning and logging of all incoming correspondence on the department’s correspondence case management system, in a timely manner.
• Safely store hard copies of correspondence for records.
• Maintain close and effective working relationships with a wide range of colleagues and senior officials.

·       Work collaboratively with other team members to meet relevant targets while working to challenging deadlines.

·       Take part in joint work to continually improve processes in the team

·       Draft clear, empathetic, respectful replies using policy cleared lines in response to correspondents’ queries, and deliver them in a timely manner

·       Deliver excellent customer service to colleagues and stakeholders.

Candidates applying from HMPPS should note that the Ministry of Justice does not have the same conditions of employment as HMPPS. It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure they are aware of the terms and conditions they will adopt should they be successful.

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.

Application process

You will be assessed against the Civil service success profiles framework

You must ensure that any evidence submitted as part of your application, including your CV, statement of suitability and behaviour examples, are truthful and factually accurate. Please note that plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own.

Experience

You will be asked to provide a work history during the application process in order to assess any demonstrable experience, career history and achievements that are relevant to the role.

You will also be asked to upload a Statement of Suitability of no more than 500 words stating what you would bring to the role using the behaviour Delivering at Pace as a guide, with reference to the Skills and Experience listed above.

Behaviours

During the application process you will be asked to provide an example of how you have met the following behaviour (see Annex A for more information):

·       Delivering at Pace

Please also refer to the CS Behaviours framework for more details at this grade: Level 1 - AO 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 Delivering at Pace. Successful applicants will then be invited to an interview and testing behaviours

Candidates invited to Interview

Please note that interviews will be carried out remotely.

During the interview, we will be assessing you on Behaviours from the success Profiles framework. The Behaviours assessed at interview will be:

During the panel interview, you will be asked behaviour-based questions to explore in detail what you are capable of.

Interviews are expected to take place late January 2025.

Contact information

If you are interested in finding out more about the role, please contact Sarah Hollis at Sarah.Hollis@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.