Strategy Lead

Grade 7

The Service, Strategy and Transformation Directorate is recruiting permanently for a Grade 7 Strategy Lead. 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.

Location:

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

• 102 Petty France, London

• National

We offer a hybrid working model, allowing for a balance between remote work and time spent in your chosen base location.

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

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 the largest government department, 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

This role sits within the Service Strategy & Transformation Directorate. We are responsible for: 

• Working across the Service Transformation Group (with Justice Digital, the Legal Aid Agency, Office of the Public Guardian and the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority), to understand and drive collaboration on current transformation and digital plans 

• Supporting digital development and innovation to enhance the victim experience throughout the criminal justice (CJ) process, implement recommendations from the Independent Sentencing Review and support probation workers in His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) 

• Identifying, encouraging and delivering new ways of working, acting as a critical friend to delivery partners and collaborating with a wider range of stakeholders to improve experiences for those in the CJ system. 

• Identifying cross-cutting transformation opportunities across the Ministry of Justice that can drive cutting-edge digital delivery, user experience, efficiencies and delivery of policy goals 

• Baselining and supporting performance and prioritisation across the Service Transformation Group 

• Bringing together all areas of the Group to collectively create a clear and compelling narrative for delivery over the next 3-5 years.  

• Engaging across the Ministry of Justice and its agencies to gain buy-in and support for our initiatives. 

• Supporting the Director General for Service Transformation with strategic and analytical activity. 

Strategy Lead - the role

We are looking for experienced and enthusiastic candidates to join the team as a Strategy Lead.

In this role, you will play a leading role in setting the strategy for the Service Transformation Group and monitoring delivery against it.

Our directorate works flexibly to suit the needs of the business, with team members based in London and nationally. This role is an excellent opportunity to work at the heart of MoJ in a vibrant environment, learning how Service Transformation Group operates within MoJ as well as the wider Civil Service.

Key responsibilities include:

• Work with senior officials and stakeholders across the Ministry of Justice and its agencies to understand existing transformation plans and identify opportunities for collaboration

• Using evidence and data, work to identify cross-cutting journeys throughout justice, including identifying how they could be practically delivered and defining the value of investment and prioritisation of this work

• Support the creation of a whole Group transformation and delivery plan, including business cases for the work which can be used in future spending cycles, capitalising on new digital opportunities and deployment of cutting-edge technology

• Work closely with the Head of Strategy for Service Transformation, to respond to high priority challenges and project-based work

• Operate in an agile and flexible manner, interfacing with Digital, Operational and Policy colleagues to capitalise on the benefits of working as a collective across the specialisms

• Collaborate with other members of the Strategy team and other teams throughout the Directorate to deliver effective proposals and solutions based on robust analysis and data

To note: the above list of key responsibilities is not exclusive or exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks that may be expected within the scope and grading of the post.

Skills and Experience

Narrative Required

Essential:

• An ability to translate complex and broad material - both qualitative and quantitative - into clear written or oral analysis and communications, including briefings and presentations

• Experience and knowledge of bringing strategic thinking, clarity and structure to broad and complex work across systems

• Experience following rigorous, evidence and data-based processes, to evaluate and assess options and performance

• An ability to be comfortable with ambiguity, including scoping work packages, self-organising and launching novel pieces of work

• Ability to operate effectively and flexibly in a fast paced, political and complex environment

• A strong delivery record, with experience designing and delivering solutions or policy which create measurable change

• Skills in establishing and maintaining excellent stakeholder relationships, and credibly engaging with senior leaders and external influencers

Desirable:

• Experience of working with or within central government, setting strategy, policy or supporting change programmes

• Direct experience of working in an agile way and delivering product-based or operational services

• Service transformation experience

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.

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):

• Seeing the Big Picture

Please also refer to the CS Behaviours framework for more details at this grade:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/717275/CS_Behaviours_2018.pdf

Experience

You will be asked to provide a CV during the application process in listing your career history and achievements that are relevant to the role. This will not be assessed.

You will also be asked to upload a Statement of Suitability of no more than 500 words stating how you meet the following essential experience criteria:

• An ability to translate complex and broad material - both qualitative and quantitative - into clear written or oral analysis and communications, including briefings and presentations

• Experience and knowledge of bringing strategic thinking, clarity and structure to broad and complex work across systems

Should we receive a large number of applications, we will sift primarily on the lead behaviour of Seeing the Big Picture. Successful applicants will then be invited to an interview, testing both behaviours and strengths.

Candidates invited to Interview

Please note that interviews will be carried out remotely.

During the panel interview, you will be asked behaviour-based questions to explore in detail what you are capable of, and strengths-based questions to also explore what you enjoy, and your motivations relevant to the job role.

There is no expectation or requirement for you to prepare for the strengths-based questions in advance of the interview, though you may find it helpful to spend some time reflecting on what you enjoy doing and what you do well.

You can refer to the CS Strengths dictionary for more details: Success Profiles - Civil Service Strengths Dictionary (publishing.service.gov.uk)

You will be asked by the interview panel to provide examples of how you meet the behaviours listed below.

• Seeing the Big Picture

• Communicating and Influencing

• Delivering at Pace

Interviews are expected to take place w/c 9^th and 16th February 2026 (dates are indicative and subject to change).

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.