This vacancy is only available to existing Civil Servant employees and employees of accredited non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs). Please review the "Eligibility" section before you apply.
General Information
Salary
The national salary range is £42,914 - £46,182 London salary range is £49,325- £53,081 Your salary will be dependent on your base location
Working Pattern
Full Time, Part Time, Part Time/Job Share, Flexible Working
Vacancy Approach
Cross Government
Location
Leeds, London
Region
London, Yorkshire and the Humber
Closing Date
20-Apr-2026
Post Type
Permanent
Civil Service Grade
SEO
Number of jobs available
1
Reserve List
12 Months
Job ID
16446
Descriptions & requirements
Job description
Turnaround Programme Manager
SEO
Youth Justice and Offender Policy Directorate
The Youth Justice and Offender Policy Directorate is recruiting permanently for an SEO Turnaround Programme Manager. This campaign is open to current civil servants on level transfer and suitable candidates on promotion.
• 102 Petty France, London
• 5 Wellington Place, Leeds
Occasional travel between the two locations may be required. We offer a hybrid working model, allowing for a balance between remote work and time spent in your base location (102 Petty France, London, or 5 Wellington Place, Leeds).
Ways of Working
At the MoJ we believe in 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.
Salary
Existing Civil Servants will have their salary calculated in accordance with the Department’s pay on transfer / pay on promotion rules.
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.
The Work of Youth Justice Policy Unit
The Youth Justice Policy Unit is a team of c.40 people responsible for policy development across the whole youth justice system and delivering the Turnaround early intervention programme. We are a friendly, high-performing team committed to making a real difference for some of the country’s most vulnerable children.
The aim of the youth justice system is to prevent offending by children and to support those who do offend in turning around their lives. Areas of focus in the unit include:
• Early Intervention and Local System Delivery – working across Government, with Arm’s Length Bodies and Youth Justice Services (YJSs) on policies and delivering the Turnaround programme, to address the needs of children at an early stage and work to prevent offending.
• Sentencing, Courts and Criminal Records – improving outcomes for children through the courts systems, custodial and community sentencing, and the criminal records regime.
• Remand, Custody and Resettlement – reducing the use of custodial remand and improving the youth custodial estate.
The unit also has a central role in terms of the funding and delivery of the youth justice system and responding to priority issues, such as serious youth violence and the issue of disproportionate outcomes for different groups of children.
Turnaround is the MoJ’s youth early intervention programme, launched in December 2022 and funded to March 2029. Grant funding is used by YJSs based in local authorities to support children on the cusp of the justice system. A recently published evaluation found that low offending rates were recorded among children supported by Turnaround, and reported other benefits for children and families as well as systemic change in multi-agency working.
The Turnaround team consists of 3 Programme Leads (2 in a job share), 3 Programme Managers (including this role), a Grant Manager, and Programme Officer. We work closely with youth justice policy teams, YJSs, the Youth Justice Board and Other Government Department officials.
Turnaround Programme Manager – the role
We are looking for a motivated and experienced programme professional. The role is fast paced, intellectually challenging and exciting and gives candidates the opportunity to work on a programme that is making a real difference by diverting children from the justice system.
Role description:
• Acting as main point of contact for YJSs, supporting them with reporting requirements and other grant obligations
• Supporting and challenging YJSs on their programme performance to ensure children get the holistic support they need to stay out of the justice system
• Ensuring proactive engagement with individual YJSs to unblock or escalate any emerging issues, working with colleagues in YJPU and across Government as appropriate
• Coordinating regular YJS regional engagement sessions and ensuring prompt reporting of data
• Briefing Senior Officer Responsible (Deputy Director of YJPU), ministers and other senior stakeholders both regularly and on an ad hoc basis
• Taking ownership of specific pieces of work to support aspects of programme delivery
Essential:
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, including the ability to work closely with YJSs on delivery of the programme, and support YJSs to improve their performance within an established framework
• Ability to work independently with strong planning and organisational skills, with excellent attention to detail
• Ability to manage a varied portfolio of work with strong time management skills and a successful track record of working on fast-paced tasks to strict deadlines
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, able to produce high quality briefing and reports, and synthesise complex topics for the target audience
• Ability to adapt and work effectively in response to stakeholder feedback
Desirable:
• Knowledge of the youth justice system, programme delivery, working with local government and/or grant management would be an advantage.
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 must ensure that any evidence submitted as part of your application, including your CV and statement of suitability, is 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 CV during the application process in order to assess any demonstrable experience, career history and achievements that are relevant to the role.
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.
If successful at the sift stage, you will be asked by the interview panel to provide examples of how you meet the additional behaviours listed below.
• Working Together
• Making Effective Decisions
• Managing a quality service
You will also be asked at least one strength question.
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.
Interviews are expected to take place in May 2026.
Contact information
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.
SEO
Youth Justice and Offender Policy Directorate
The Youth Justice and Offender Policy Directorate is recruiting permanently for an SEO Turnaround Programme Manager. This campaign is open to current civil servants on level transfer and suitable candidates on promotion.
Location:
Successful candidates will have the option to be based at one of the following locations:• 102 Petty France, London
• 5 Wellington Place, Leeds
Occasional travel between the two locations may be required. We offer a hybrid working model, allowing for a balance between remote work and time spent in your base location (102 Petty France, London, or 5 Wellington Place, Leeds).
Ways of Working
At the MoJ we believe in 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
Existing Civil Servants will have their salary calculated in accordance with the Department’s pay on transfer / pay on promotion rules.
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
The Work of Youth Justice Policy Unit
The Youth Justice Policy Unit is a team of c.40 people responsible for policy development across the whole youth justice system and delivering the Turnaround early intervention programme. We are a friendly, high-performing team committed to making a real difference for some of the country’s most vulnerable children.
The aim of the youth justice system is to prevent offending by children and to support those who do offend in turning around their lives. Areas of focus in the unit include:
• Early Intervention and Local System Delivery – working across Government, with Arm’s Length Bodies and Youth Justice Services (YJSs) on policies and delivering the Turnaround programme, to address the needs of children at an early stage and work to prevent offending.
• Sentencing, Courts and Criminal Records – improving outcomes for children through the courts systems, custodial and community sentencing, and the criminal records regime.
• Remand, Custody and Resettlement – reducing the use of custodial remand and improving the youth custodial estate.
The unit also has a central role in terms of the funding and delivery of the youth justice system and responding to priority issues, such as serious youth violence and the issue of disproportionate outcomes for different groups of children.
Turnaround is the MoJ’s youth early intervention programme, launched in December 2022 and funded to March 2029. Grant funding is used by YJSs based in local authorities to support children on the cusp of the justice system. A recently published evaluation found that low offending rates were recorded among children supported by Turnaround, and reported other benefits for children and families as well as systemic change in multi-agency working.
The Turnaround team consists of 3 Programme Leads (2 in a job share), 3 Programme Managers (including this role), a Grant Manager, and Programme Officer. We work closely with youth justice policy teams, YJSs, the Youth Justice Board and Other Government Department officials.
Turnaround Programme Manager – the role
We are looking for a motivated and experienced programme professional. The role is fast paced, intellectually challenging and exciting and gives candidates the opportunity to work on a programme that is making a real difference by diverting children from the justice system.
Role description:
• Acting as main point of contact for YJSs, supporting them with reporting requirements and other grant obligations
• Supporting and challenging YJSs on their programme performance to ensure children get the holistic support they need to stay out of the justice system
• Ensuring proactive engagement with individual YJSs to unblock or escalate any emerging issues, working with colleagues in YJPU and across Government as appropriate
• Coordinating regular YJS regional engagement sessions and ensuring prompt reporting of data
• Briefing Senior Officer Responsible (Deputy Director of YJPU), ministers and other senior stakeholders both regularly and on an ad hoc basis
• Taking ownership of specific pieces of work to support aspects of programme delivery
Skills and Experience
Essential:
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, including the ability to work closely with YJSs on delivery of the programme, and support YJSs to improve their performance within an established framework
• Ability to work independently with strong planning and organisational skills, with excellent attention to detail
• Ability to manage a varied portfolio of work with strong time management skills and a successful track record of working on fast-paced tasks to strict deadlines
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, able to produce high quality briefing and reports, and synthesise complex topics for the target audience
• Ability to adapt and work effectively in response to stakeholder feedback
Desirable:
• Knowledge of the youth justice system, programme delivery, working with local government and/or grant management would be an advantage.
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 and statement of suitability, is 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 CV 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, with reference to the Skills and Experience listed above.
Please also refer to the CS Behaviours framework for more details at this grade:
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.
If successful at the sift stage, you will be asked by the interview panel to provide examples of how you meet the additional behaviours listed below.
• Working Together
• Making Effective Decisions
• Managing a quality service
You will also be asked at least one strength question.
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 May 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: Joanne Simpson and Helen Hildebrand (jobshare) – simpson-hildebrand@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.
Additional Information
Working Arrangements & Further Information
The MoJ offers Hybrid Working arrangements where business need allows. This is an informal, non-contractual form of flexible working that blends working from your base location, different MoJ sites and / or from home (please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas). All employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in an office, subject to local estate capacity.
Some roles will not be suitable for Hybrid Working. Similarly, Hybrid Working will not suit everyone’s circumstances. Arrangements will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate(s) and subject to regular review.
For nationally advertised roles: All successful candidates will be appointed to the nearest viable office nearest to their home postcode and on its respective pay scale. This will be at either a HQ building (subject to desk allocation, a Justice Collaboration Centre (JCC) or a Justice Satellite Office (JSO) – See Map. All employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in an office, subject to local estate capacity).
For current MoJ employees, your base location will need to be changed to the nearest viable office (to your home postcode), either at a HQ building, JCC or JSO within the National Office Network and moved its location’s respective pay scale (any legacy arrangements/locations will need to be amended).
Some of MoJ’s terms and conditions of service are changing as part of Civil Service reform. The changes will apply to staff joining MoJ who are new to the Civil Service. Staff joining MoJ from other civil service employers will transfer onto the new MoJ terms if they are already on 'modernised' terms in their current post or onto 'unmodernised' MoJ terms if they are on 'unmodernised' terms at their current post. Details will be available if an offer is made.
MoJ candidates who are on a specialist grade, will be able to retain their grade on lateral transfer.
All candidates who are currently in receipt of Mark Time / Pay Protection should ensure they are familiar with the new policy on permanent and temporary promotion which can be found on the employee intranet.
Flexible working hours
The Ministry of Justice offers a flexible working system in many offices. Standard full time working hours are 37 hours per week. MoJ welcomes part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns, where they meet the demands of the role and business needs. All applications for part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns will be considered in accordance with the MoJ’s Flexible Working policy.
Benefits
The MoJ offers a range of benefits:
Annual Leave
Annual leave is 25 days on appointment and will increase to 30 days after five years’ service.
There is also a scheme to allow qualifying staff to buy or sell up to three days leave each year. Additional paid time off for public holidays and 1 privilege day. Leave for part-time and job share posts will be calculated on a pro-rata basis.
Pension
The Civil Service offers a choice of pension schemes, giving you the flexibility to choose the pension that suits you best.
Training
The Ministry of Justice is committed to staff development and offers an extensive range of training and development opportunities.
Networks
The opportunity to join employee-run networks that have been established to provide advice and support and to enable the views of employees from minority groups to be expressed direct to senior management. There are currently networks for employees of minority ethnic origin, employees with disabilities, employees with caring responsibilities, women employees, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees.
Eligibility
Staff on fixed term appointments must have been recruited through fair and open competition.
Vacancies advertised “cross-government” are only open to all Civil Service employees and employees of accredited non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) who were appointed on merit following a fair and open competition; or were appointed to a permanent post through an exception in the Civil Service Commissioners' rules.
Support
- A range of ‘Family Friendly’ policies such as opportunities to work reduced hours or job share.
- Access to flexible benefits such as voluntary benefits, retail vouchers and discounts on a range of goods and services.
- For moves to or from another employer or moves across the Civil Service this can have implications on your eligibility to carry on claiming childcare vouchers. You may however be eligible for alternative government childcare support schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. More information can be found on www.www.GOV.UK or Childcare Choices. You can determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.
- Paid paternity, adoption and maternity leave.
- Free annual sight tests for employees who use computer screens.
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles. Should you feel that the recruitment process has breached the recruitment principles you are able to raise a formal complaint in the following order
- To Transformative Business Services (0345 241 5359 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk);
- To Ministry of Justice Resourcing team (resourcing-management-office@justice.gov.uk);
- To the Civil Service Commission (details available here)
As a Disability Confident employer, MoJ are committed to providing everyone with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, talent and abilities, by making adjustments throughout all elements of the recruitment process and in the workplace. MoJ are able to offer an interview to disabled candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns.
You will be able to request reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process within the application form. If you need additional help completing the application form, please contact the TBS Recruitment Enquiries Team.
For more information on applying for a role as a candidate with a disability or long-term condition, please watch our animated videos.
Diversity & Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.
Redeployment Interview Scheme
Civil Service departments are expected to explore redeployment opportunities before making an individual redundant. The MoJ is committed, as part of the Redeployment Interview Scheme, to providing opportunities to those who are 'at risk of redundancy'.
MoJ is able to offer an interview to eligible candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns. Candidates will not be eligible for the Redeployment Interview Scheme if they are applying on promotion.
Civil Service Nationality Rules
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
- UK nationals
- nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window) https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
- individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
- Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules
Reserve list
A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made for the same or similar roles.
Contact Information
MoJ:
If you require any assistance please call 0345 241 5359 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk
Please quote the job reference 16446
HMPPS
If you require any assistance please call 0345 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk
Please quote the job reference 16446
Job Description Attachment
-
Turnaround Programme Manager JD.docx (Job Description Attachment)
Application form stage assessments
Experience
We will assess your experience for this role via the following methods
CV or Work History, Statement of Suitability
Statement of Suitability
Guidance for the Statement of Suitability
As set out in job ad "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.
Evidence of Experience
CV or Work History, Statement of Suitability
Interview stage assessments
Interview Dates
Interviews are expected to take place in May 2026
Behaviours
Making Effective Decisions
Seeing the Big Picture
Communicating and Influencing
Strengths
Strengths will be assessed but these are not shared in advance. To learn more about Strengths and how they are assessed please click here.
Other Assessments
Which assessment methods will be used?
Presentation
Level of security checks required
Baseline Personnal Security Standard (BPSS)
Use of Artificial Intelligence (Al)
Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.