Ministerial Correspondence Team Leader at the Ministry of Justice

HEO

Private Office and Parliament Directorate

Want to see how government really works? Join a team at the heart of ministerial decision-making, where every day brings new challenges, direct exposure to Ministers, and the chance to develop skills that will serve you throughout your career. We'll support you with active development opportunities and the chance to work flexibly in a team that values your contribution.

The Private Office and Parliament (POP) Directorate is recruiting a HEO Team Leader within the Ministerial Correspondence Support Team (MCST). This campaign is open to current civil servants on level transfer and suitable candidates on promotion.

Location:

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

Ways of Working

This role is available on a full-time, permanent basis.

Due to the nature of this role the successful candidate will be expected to primarily work from the office in 102 Petty France.

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

Existing Civil Servants will have their salary calculated in accordance with the Department’s pay on transfer / pay on promotion rules.  

Security Clearance

This role requires National Security Vetting given the access to sensitive information afforded by the job role. You can find more information by reviewing the information held in the following links:

United Kingdom Security Vetting: Applicant - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The vetting charter - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

In addition, there is a minimum UK residency requirement set by the Cabinet Office which is dependent on the security level required for the role.

This role requires SC and to be eligible to apply for this role you should have been present in the UK continuously for the past 5 years.

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.

About the role

We're recruiting for a HEO Team Leader role in a busy, dynamic team at the heart of government. The role of the HEO is critical to the effective and efficient running of MCST.

What you'll do: Lead the Account Management team in handling Ministerial correspondence across Private Office - responding promptly to Ministerial team requests and supporting accordingly as well as monitoring the service provided to Ministers’ Private Offices and policy teams, making improvements where required. Work collaboratively across the account management team and policy colleagues to ensure that correspondence cases are handled on time, chasing when necessary and ensuring deadlines are met. You will maintain close and effective working relationships with policy teams, executive agencies, Ministers’ Private Offices and other colleagues to ensure policy briefing is suitable for correspondence purposes. You will line manage the team of account managers, and would be a visible leader and point of contact for escalations and correspondence queries. The role may involve direct exposure to Ministers.

What we're looking for: Someone who thrives on building relationships, stays calm under pressure, and enjoys the challenge of keeping multiple plates spinning, working under pressure and to tight deadlines. You'll need strong interpersonal skills, excellent organisation, and the confidence to provide credible advice and leadership.

Why join us: This is an exciting time to be part of the Private Office and Parliament (POP) directorate. We're a friendly, collaborative team that supports each other to succeed. With a range of corporate workstreams and a culture of learning, POP is a place where you can develop, thrive and make a real impact.

Skills and Experience

We are looking for someone who has experience of:

Essential:

• Excellent organisational skills with the ability to manage workloads effectively and meet deadlines, often at short notice

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to convey information clearly across a range of channels

• Proven ability to work collaboratively with colleagues and senior officials across the organisation

• Demonstrated teamwork skills and flexibility to support colleagues across the wider directorate

• Proficient IT skills, including the use of Microsoft Office applications

• Ability to manage multiple priorities and remain composed under pressure

• Sound judgement in managing competing demands and prioritising effectively

• A high standard of written English, including excellent grammar, spelling, and punctuation

• Exceptional attention to detail and accuracy in all work

• Ability to build / manage / maintain stakeholder relationships

Desirable:

• Previous experience of working in a correspondence environment 

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

During the application process you will be asked to provide a CV 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, 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):

• Leadership (250 words)

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

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

Candidates Invited to Interview

Please note that interviews will be held virtually via Teams.

During the panel interview, you will be asked:

Behaviour-based questions to explore in detail what you are capable of. The Behaviours that will be covered by the panel are as follows:

• Leadership

• Delivering at Pace

• Managing a Quality Service

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

Strength 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)

Interviews are expected to take place in March 2026.

Contact information  

Please do get in touch with Leanne Gilshnan or Christine Olney if you would like to know more about the role or what it is like working in our team, via: leanne.gilshnan@justice.gov.uk and christine.olney@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.