Deadline: 23:55 hours Sunday 10 May 2026

Planning, Performance and Risk Directorate

The Ministry of Justice is a major government department at the heart of the justice system. We deliver some of the most fundamental public services including courts, tribunals, prisons, legal services, youth justice, probation services, and attendance centres.

The new Planning, Performance and Risk Directorate has been created to strengthen the Ministry of Justice’s ability to deliver departmental priorities by bringing together performance insight, delivery assurance and targeted intervention within a single, cohesive structure.

The directorate ensures that our existing performance and planning processes are robust, evidence-based, and aligned to departmental priorities and the Justice Delivery Plan and delivering a new programme of performance activity to influence the culture and behaviour of the organisation.

The directorate reflects the ambition from the Permanent Secretary and the Deputy Prime Minister to deliver a step change in performance management across the department and build a high-performance culture. We will support the Permanent Secretary, Deputy Prime Minister and Ministerial team with greater transparency, assurance and oversight through the new Justice Performance Board.

The Directorate has five divisions, including the Planning and Performance Capability Office; the Performance Analysis Division; the Performance Delivery Unit; the Risk unit and the Departmental Operations Centre (DOC).

Information about the MoJ and its priorities can be found at www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about

About the Role

The post holder will be a trusted senior advisor to the Director PPR, ensuring the Directorate operates smoothly, strategically and with impact. You will help the Director deliver a step change in transparency, assurance and performance, and ensure the Directorate’s time, energy and resources are aligned to departmental priorities and the Justice Delivery Plan. You will be dealing with senior leaders across the department and beyond and it will require judgement, pace, excellent coordination and the ability to simplify complex issues.

You will also lead the Directorate’s small Business Management function which comprises a HEO Business Manager and EO Diary Manager. Leading this small team and working across the COO Group to bring in additional HR and finance expertise when needed you will ensure high quality corporate support, risk, finance, and HR management, and effective governance.

This role will involve some travel and periodic attendance at our London office. Expectations around on‑site presence will be agreed with the successful candidate and may evolve over time in line with business requirements.

What the Role Offers

• A central position supporting one of the Ministry’s most strategically important Directors.

• Direct involvement in improvements to our performance, planning, risk, improvement and resilience across the department.

• Opportunity to shape governance, culture and ways of working across a high-profile Directorate.

• Significant visibility across Executive Committee (ExCo) Boards, corporate centres and cross-government partners.

Main Activities / Responsibilities

• Act as a senior advisor to the Director, providing rapid, clear analysis of issues, risks and opportunities across the directorate

• Monitor and drive the delivery of cross-cutting strategic initiatives

• Shape and manage the Directorate’s forward plan and internal governance, including working with Deputy Directors to develop and maintain the directorate’s workforce plan.

• Tracking spend against the directorate budget and working with Deputy Directors on the directorate’s financial and workforce forecasts.

• Work with Deputy Directors to embed organisational learning

• Coordinate Directorate-level responses to corporate commissions, audits, FOIs, PQs and ministerial correspondence.

• Build strong relationships with senior stakeholders, including Executive Committee (ExCo), private offices, ministers’ offices, DGs, cross-government partners and Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs).

• Take forward special projects and discrete initiatives to improve directorate performance, efficiency and effectiveness

• Lead the Business Management function, ensuring high-quality support across finance, HR, risk, planning and communications.

• Oversee the HEO Business Manager and EO Diary Manager.

Essential Criteria

• Strong ability to exercise sound judgement at pace, including prioritising competing demands, handling sensitive issues with discretion, and advising senior leaders on risks, trade-offs and opportunities.

• Demonstrated ability to synthesise complex information from multiple sources and present it clearly and succinctly to support decision-making.

• Experience of leading and motivating teams, and of delivering outcomes through others, including during periods of organisational change.

• Strong organisational, planning and coordination skills, including managing forward plans, governance cycles or corporate returns.

• Excellent interpersonal skills, with a proven ability to build trusted relationships and influence across organisational boundaries.

Desirable criteria

• Experience working in or alongside performance, planning, risk, or delivery assurance functions.

• Good understanding of MoJ or wider Civil Service corporate processes, including finance, workforce planning, risk or business management.

• Experience of working across organisational boundaries, for example with corporate centres, Arm’s Length Bodies or central government partners.

We may consider any evidence within the application form that demonstrates meeting the desirable criteria as set out in the job description. This will only be after essential criteria is scored and where there is a need to differentiate between closely scored candidates.

Management Responsibilities

• Direct line management of one HEO Business Manager.

• Leadership of an EO Diary Manager.

Application Process

The selection process will include an interview assessing Civil Service behaviours. There may also be a further informal discussion with the Director.

Candidates are asked to submit a CV, a statement of suitability, and behaviour examples as part of their application. At sift, applications may be assessed using all the information provided. Where the number of applications is high, an initial sift may be conducted using the Seeing the Big Picture behaviour only. Candidates who pass the sift will be invited to interview, where additional behaviours will be assessed.

To apply for this role, please submit the following:

1. Curriculum Vitae (CV)
Your CV should set out your employment history and key responsibilities, with particular emphasis on relevant experience relevant. Your CV must be no more than 2 sides of A4.

2. Statement of suitability (750 words)
Please provide a written statement explaining why you are suitable for the role. This should draw on your skills and experience and demonstrate how you meet the essential criteria set out in the job description. The statement of suitability should focus on your experience of operating at senior level, providing advice and coordination for senior leaders, and exercising judgement in complex or fast-paced situations.

3. Behaviour statements (250 words each)
Please provide examples against the following Civil Service Behaviours:

• Seeing the Big Picture

• Making Effective Decisions

Your examples should clearly describe the situation, the actions you took, and the impact or outcome.

Please refer to the Civil Service Behaviours Framework for more details at this grade.

Interview

At interview you will be tested on the following behaviours:

• Seeing the Big Picture

• Making Effective Decisions

• Working Together

• Leadership

Contact information   

If you would like to know more about the role or what it is like working in the Planning & Performance team, please contact pprd-recruitment@justice.gov.uk

General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) 2018: The information provided by you in this application and the supporting documentation will be used to consider your suitability for the post. Following the exercise, the papers will be kept for one year or the period of the appointment, whichever is less and then reviewed and deleted if appropriate.