Head of Closed Material Procedure Projects

Grade 7

International, Rights & Constitutional Policy Directorate

The International, Rights & Constitutional Policy Directorate (IRCPD) is recruiting permanently for a Grade 7 Head of Closed Material Procedure Projects. This campaign is open to current civil servants on level transfer and suitable candidates on promotion.

Vetting:

This role requires applicants to already hold DV level clearance which will be verified prior to interview. Please do not apply if you do not hold DV status.

Location:

Successful candidates will be posted to 102 Petty France, London

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 Team

Closed Material Procedure (CMP) is a process that allows senior courts across the UK to consider sensitive material whilst protecting that information. CMP operates within a number of different jurisdictions including the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC), the Employment Tribunal, the Parole Board and certain civil proceedings. CMP in a civil context was reviewed by Sir Duncan Ouseley, former High Court Judge, and his report (the Ouseley report) was published in November 2022. The previous Government responded to this review on 29 May 2024 and accepted a number of Sir Duncan’s recommendations to improve the CMP system.

Following this, a new team was established to take on responsibility for Closed Material Procedure (CMP) policy - which up to then had not had an overall owner in Government - and deliver the accepted recommendations from the Ouseley report.

The team sits within the Rights Policy Division (RPD), part of the International, Rights and Constitutional Policy Directorate which is a busy and friendly directorate with a wide-ranging policy portfolio covering human rights, international justice, devolution, the Crown Dependencies, and the wider corporate functions for the MoJ’s Policy Group.

This is a great opportunity for a talented G7 to work on a high-profile and sensitive area at a critical time, operating with a high level of Ministerial interest and a complex wider context involving national security considerations, legal challenges and handling sensitivities.

Head of Closed Material Procedure Projects

The CMP team consists of two G7-led sub teams working to implement the Ouseley report recommendations and, more broadly, to ensure the coherence and effectiveness of the CMP system as a whole.

We are recruiting for a G7 to head up the projects side of the team, which leads on implementing some of the key recommendations from the report including: setting up a secure facility in Northern Ireland to facilitate work on CMP cases there and developing a database to house secure judgments from CMP cases. You will work alongside a second G7-led team which leads primarily on the policy elements of the recommendations. There is currently one SEO in each team.

The post holder will play a crucial role in setting the strategic direction for their team, defining and ensuring delivery of team objectives, shaping the culture, and developing and maintaining relationships with internal and external stakeholders. This will be a highly varied role involving exposure to a range of functions, from finance and commercial to digital and project management. It will involve developing and overseeing delivery plans as well as leading stakeholders towards shared goals. It would suit someone who enjoys tackling complex problems in often technical and sensitive areas; can demonstrate strong leadership skills and personal resilience; and has a proven track of delivering through others, often specialists.

As this is an evolving area led by a relatively small team, the shape of the team and specifics of the role may be subject to change to respond to business need. As such, we are also looking for individuals who are motivated team players with a willingness to flex across requirements - and similarly there is opportunity to be involved in areas outside the postholder’s remit should there be interest.

Skills and Experience

Main Activities/Responsibilities

• Oversight and leadership of the projects elements of the team’s work, which are currently primarily setting up a secure facility in Northern Ireland to facilitate work on CMP cases there and developing a database to house secure judgments from CMP cases;

• Working with key partners to deliver the team’s objectives, including finance, commercial and digital among others, and being able to translate that work for non-specialists;

• Briefing and advising Ministers and seniors on the work of the team as required;

• Providing effective team management, including setting clear direction, objectives, oversight, performance management and overall culture for the team with the other G7 lead;

• Making a positive contribution to the leadership of the wider Division and Directorate.

Essential:

• Leadership skills and experience of delivering through others in an inclusive way;

• Ability to manage competing demands, including responding to short-term issues whilst maintaining progress on longer-term activities;

• Strong communication skills and the ability to communicate complex issues to a range of audiences, including seniors and non-specialists;

• Strong ability to collaborate and work well with others on shared goals;

• Excellent stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to build and maintain relationships and influence across Government and externally;

• Experience of working in a policy and/or project environment;

• Ability to make sound judgments and provide well-articulated advice;

• The confidence and skills to act independently and proactively drive areas of work forward;

• Experience of working with Ministers and/or other senior stakeholders;

• Holds DV clearance.

Desirable:

• Knowledge or awareness of the national security landscape;

• Project delivery/implementation, including experience of commercial and digital processes;

Additional Information:

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 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 750 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 Leadership behaviour. (see Annex A for more information):

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 Statement of Suitability. Successful applicants will then be invited to an interview, testing both behaviours and strengths.

Candidates invited to Interview

It is our intention to hold all interviews in person, however if for whatever reason this is not possible, all interviews will be held virtually. The interview position will be confirmed with candidates successful at the sift stage.

All candidates will be offered the same form of interview.

At the interview stage, you will be assessed against behaviours where you will be asked to provide examples of how you have demonstrated them. In addition, you will be asked to deliver a short presentation and will also be asked strength-based questions.

Behaviours:

• Leadership

• Communicating and influencing

• Making effective decisions

• Delivering at pace

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

Success Profiles: Civil Service behaviours - GOV.UK

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

Presentation:

Further details on the presentation will be provided to those successful at the sift stage.

Date:

Interviews are expected to take place in August / Early September 2026

At interview stage, if candidates do not score high enough to be appointed to a G7 role, but have passed the minimal requirements, they could be offered a role at SEO.

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 at dajinder.rana@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.