Head of Strategic Insights

Grade 6

The Service, Strategy and Transformation Directorate is recruiting on a permanent basis for a Grade 6 Head of Strategic Insights. 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 (SS&T) Directorate, within the Service Transformation Group (STG). STG, is responsible for leading the transformation of the services the MoJ and its agencies deliver to the public. Its mission is twofold: to provide the best justice services in the world, powered by the happiest team in government. The SS&T Directorate within STG is responsible for:

• Service Transformation Strategy: Working across Service Transformation Group, to understand and drive collaboration on current transformation and digital plans; bringing together all areas of STG to collectively create a clear and compelling strategy for delivery over the next 3-5 years; baselining and supporting performance and prioritisation across STG.

• Transformation Office: Managing the transformation portfolio, including through the Transformation Committee (Director General level); analysing portfolio performance; building transformation programme capabilities; identifying cross-cutting opportunities and issues that block progress towards user outcomes; and recommending rebalancing efforts where needed.

• Transformation Delivery: Providing end-to-end service transformation delivery support to embed best practice approaches; 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 user outcomes.

• Innovation Engine: Accelerating systems-wide transformation through high-value investments in digital development and product innovation; piloting initiatives to test new ways of working in cross-functional teams to unlock value through innovation and create cutting-edge solutions to challenges in the justice system.

Head of Strategic Insights - the role

We are looking for an outstanding senior leader to establish and lead a new Strategic Insight function at the centre of STG’s transformation system.

As Head of Strategic Insight, you will lead a central capability responsible for developing a clear, system-level understanding of how transformation is performing across STG. You will bring together delivery signals, customer insight and wider evidence to identify emerging risks, diagnose complex cross-cutting challenges and ensure that leadership attention and intervention are focused where they will have the greatest impact on user outcomes.

You will operate across STG’s transformation landscape, partnering closely with strategy, transformation delivery, innovation and data colleagues, as well as agencies and other partner functions. You will ensure that delivery reality and customer experience are fully reflected in strategic decision-making, and build a function that helps STG move from retrospective reporting towards earlier diagnosis, targeted intervention and strategic learning.

This is an excellent opportunity for a senior leader who combines strategic thinking, analytical depth and strong judgement, and who is motivated by improving the way public services are understood, governed and improved.

Key Responsibilities

System-level insight and synthesis
Develop and maintain a coherent view of how transformation is progressing across STG priorities, integrating delivery signals, customer insight, operational evidence and wider context to identify risks, patterns, dependencies and opportunities.

Strategic problem-solving and diagnosis
Lead structured, insight-driven analysis of complex challenges arising across the STG transformation landscape, commissioning and overseeing deep dives to identify root causes, system dynamics and implications for delivery, strategy and intervention.

Governance and decision support
Shape input to ABR, QBR and MBR processes, ensuring discussions about STG transformation priorities are focused on diagnosis, decisions and action rather than retrospective narrative reporting.

Directing attention and intervention
Work closely with Transformation Delivery and Innovation teams to ensure issues arising across STG are clearly articulated, prioritised and directed to the most appropriate intervention pathway.

Strategic learning and feedback
Ensure insight from delivery and customer experience across STG informs strategic thinking, including refinement of priorities, OKRs, transformation approaches and future planning assumptions.

Leadership and capability building
Build and lead a high-performing Strategic Insight team, setting clear standards for analysis, synthesis and communication, and developing capability across the function and wider STG transformation system.

Skills and Experience

Essential

• Proven ability to structure and lead analysis of ambiguous, cross-cutting problems, translating them into clear hypotheses, priorities and actionable conclusions.

• Strong strategic thinking, with the ability to connect delivery reality, user outcomes and organisational priorities.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present complex issues clearly and credibly to senior audiences.

• Significant experience operating in complex transformation, delivery, strategy or analytical environments, with a strong understanding of how large-scale, cross-organisational change operates in practice.

• Demonstrable experience of generating and applying insight in complex systems, integrating quantitative and qualitative evidence to diagnose issues and inform decisions.

• Experience influencing senior stakeholders and supporting high-quality decision-making across complex organisational systems involving multiple teams, functions or agencies.

• Proven leadership capability, including building and developing high-performing teams and setting clear direction in ambiguity.

Desirable

• Experience in central government, public service reform or large-scale transformation contexts, particularly where change spans multiple organisations or services.

• Experience working at the intersection of strategy, delivery, digital and analytical functions to support cross-cutting decision-making.

• Familiarity with performance frameworks, including KPIs and OKRs, and the practical challenges of using them to assess progress and value in complex environments.

• Experience of delivery units, consulting or similar environments focused on system-level problem-solving, prioritisation and executive challenge.

• Experience supporting governance forums, executive decision-making or portfolio oversight, particularly where issues are politically, operationally or reputationally sensitive.

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.

Selection process details

Experience

You will be asked to provide a CV during the application listing any experience, 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 750 words stating how you meet the following criteria:

• Proven ability to structure and lead analysis of ambiguous, cross-cutting problems, translating them into clear hypotheses, priorities and actionable conclusions.

• Strong strategic thinking, with the ability to connect delivery reality, user outcomes and organisational priorities.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present complex issues clearly and credibly to senior audiences.

We know candidates can use AI tools to help them prepare, but you should use them carefully. We can usually tell when AI has been overused. The best presentations feel genuine, show reflection, and make clear what the candidate did, learned and contributed.

Candidates invited to Interview

Please note that interviews will be carried out remotely.

During the panel interview, you will be asked experience-based questions to explore in detail how you meet the essential and desirable criteria, 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)

Interviews expected to take place June 2026.