Head of Office

G7

Judicial Appointments and Conduct Ombudsman

The Judicial Appointments and Conduct Ombudsman (JACO) is recruiting permanently for a Grade 7 Head of Office. 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

Our main operational base in is London, with an operational site in Leeds. Regular travel between the two locations may be required. All JACO staff are expected to attend their base location (102 Petty France or 5 Wellington Place) at least 2 days a week. This hybrid working arrangement is not contractual and staff could be asked to attend their base location more frequently.

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

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 the Judicial Appointments and Conduct Ombudsman

We are a small, independent, arm’s length body that supports the Judicial Appointments and Conduct Ombudsman (the Ombudsman) to fulfil his statutory duties and support public confidence in the justice system.

The Ombudsman’s role is to review how complaints about judicial conduct have been handled by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (or a Magistrates’ Advisory Committee). The Ombudsman also considers complaints from candidates for judicial office about the Judicial Appointments Commission’s selection exercises. The Ombudsman can review whether the correct process was followed but cannot comment on whether a judicial office holder has committed misconduct or whether a candidate should have been appointed to judicial office. The Ombudsman can make recommendations for redress or to support improvements in the system.

We help ensure that conduct and appointments processes are robust, consistent and open to scrutiny by conducting and managing investigations into complaint handling and providing advice to the Ombudsman. We aim to provide a timely, consistent and transparent service that is clear, accessible, professional and responsive to the people who use it. We work constructively with the MoJ, JCIO and JAC while preserving the Ombudsman’s independence.

MoJ is responsible for JACO’s funding and a range of support services. We are supported by the sponsorship and ALB teams within MoJ. 

Potential candidates are asked to identify:

• Any past or present links (either personal or professional) with the bodies whose actions the JACO can review; and

• Any matters which might create, or which might be perceived as creating, a conflict of interest that might impact on the respective independence of the JACO investigation process and the bodies whose actions he can review. 

The recruitment manager and the Ombudsman will consider whether any such matters would be sufficient to make the candidate ineligible for appointment. 

Head of Office - the role

The JACO Office is looking for a Grade 7 Head of Office to provide senior leadership to our team of nine staff. This is a new role to strengthen strategic direction, improve organisational resilience and to ensure effective and timely delivery of JACO’s statutory duties.

You will provide overall leadership supported by two SEOs who oversee investigations and business operations. You will drive continuous improvement, effective risk management and confidence in JACO’s overall performance and independence; and support the teams to focus on high quality investigations and business management functions.

Main Activities / Responsibilities

The job holder will be required to undertake the following duties and responsibilities:

Supporting the Ombudsman’s statutory role

• Lead the development and delivery of JACO’s strategy, business plan and priorities, supported by effective governance, risk management and delivery planning.

• Provide high-quality advice to the Ombudsman on remit, complex or sensitive investigations, service complaints, litigation, stakeholder issues and matters affecting public confidence.

• Set and maintain standards for quality, consistency, fairness and timeliness in investigations, draft reports and recommendations.

Leading the office

• Provide visible and inclusive leadership to the JACO Office, creating a professional, supportive and high-performing working culture.

• Line manage the two SEO leads, setting clear expectations and supporting effective delivery through others.

• Strengthen organisational resilience by improving ways of working, planning, prioritisation and use of resources.

Overseeing governance, performance and improvement

• Use feedback, complaints, management information and case learning to improve quality, timeliness, accessibility and the experience of people who use JACO’s service.

• Identify and lead proportionate improvements, including through better use of information, assurance, innovation and technology.

Managing relationships and independence

• Build constructive relationships while protecting the Ombudsman’s independence, including with MoJ sponsors, the Lord Chancellor and Lady Chief Justice’s Private Offices, the Public Bodies Centre of Expertise and bodies within the Ombudsman’s remit.

Communications and information rights

• Support clear, accurate and accessible communications about JACO’s role and work, including promoting transparency through the annual report.

• Oversee JACO’s approach to data protection, Freedom of Information, Subject Access Requests and related information rights or litigation issues.

Skills and Experience

Essential:

• Experience of working in, or closely with, a statutory, regulatory, ombudsman, investigatory or complaint-handling environment, including handling or overseeing sensitive complaints, litigation, information rights or related casework issues in a way that aligns with requirements and protects independence, fairness and public confidence.

• Excellent judgement and the ability to provide clear strategic advice on complex, sensitive or high-risk matters, including issues with legal, operational, reputational or stakeholder implications.

• Experience of leading operational and/or corporate functions with the ability to set direction, prioritise effectively, manage risks and ensure delivery in a coherent, resilient and sustainable way.

• Effective leadership and people management skills, including experience of leading through others, setting clear expectations, developing capability, and supporting teams through change while maintaining an inclusive, respectful and high-performing culture.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with experience of drafting, reviewing or quality assuring advice, reports and recommendations.

• A track record of improving organisational performance, including the use of management information, learning, feedback, assurance processes and innovation to improve quality, timeliness, consistency and resilience.

• Experience in stakeholder management with the credibility and confidence to build constructive relationships whilst maintaining appropriate independence.

Desirable:

• Knowledge of the judiciary and courts. 

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

You will be asked to provide a CV during the application process to assess any demonstrable experience, career history and achievements that are relevant to the role.

Behaviours

During the application process you will be asked to provide an example of how you have met the following behaviours (see Annex A for more information):

• Leadership (Lead)

• Seeing the Big Picture

• Making Effective Decisions

• Communicating and Influencing

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

Success Profiles: Civil Service behaviours - GOV.UK

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 carried out remotely.

Prior to the interview all candidates will undergo a written exercise and at interview you will be assessed against your experience, behaviours and Strengths.

Behaviours:

• Leadership (Lead)

• Seeing the Big Picture

• Making Effective Decisions

• Communicating and Influencing

It may help to use one or more examples of a piece of work you have completed or a situation you have been in and use the WHO or STAR model to explain:   

• WHO - What it was? How you approached the work/situation? What the Outcomes were, what did you achieve? Or

• STAR - What was the Situation? What were the Tasks? What Action did you take?  What were the Results of your actions?

Strengths:

It is difficult to prepare for strength type questions. However, you can think through your answers, focus on your achievements and aspects you enjoy and decide how these can be applied in the organisation and role. While strengths questions are shorter and we do not expect a full STAR response, the panel is interested in your first reaction to the question and information or reasoning to support this. Further information on Civil Service Strengths can be found via this link Success Profiles: Strengths - GOV.UK

You will be expected to complete a written exercise as part of your interview.

Interviews are expected to take place in July 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. Clare.Wormald@justice.gov.uk / Heather.Wrankmore@judicialombudsman.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.