Reducing Reoffending Projects Lead (Job-share)

Grade 7

Probation and Reducing Reoffending Policy

The Probation and Reducing Reoffending Policy Directorate is recruiting permanently for a Grade 7 Reducing Reoffending Projects Lead on a job-share basis. This campaign is open to current civil servants on level transfer and suitable candidates on promotion.

This advert is to find a suitable Jobshare partner, who can work Mondays to Wednesdays at 22.2 hours (equivalent to 0.6 FTE)

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 or 5 Wellington Place Leeds).

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 Reducing Reoffending Policy Unit

The Reducing Reoffending team sits within the Probation and Reducing Reoffending Policy Directorate. Our work both for offenders in the community and within prison, is critical to improving rehabilitation and reducing the chances of reoffending.  

As a Directorate, we make a real difference: our policy has a tangible impact on the services provided for people who come into contact with the criminal justice system, whether that’s at court, in custody or in the community. This is a big part of why we’re so engaged in the work we do.  

Reoffending is one of the big social policy challenges of our time.  80% of offences are reoffences and reoffending is estimated to cost society £23 billion a year. The Reducing Reoffending Policy division leads work across Government to address the factors that can help to rehabilitate and improve outcomes for people in the criminal justice system, for example through providing access to mental health support and substance misuse treatment; securing accommodation; and helping them find employment.  

Reducing Reoffending Projects Lead - the role

This role will lead the Reducing Reoffending Projects team, to provide critical policy input to drive better reducing reoffending outcomes. It involves working with colleagues across Policy Group and HMPPS to rapidly develop solutions to specific issues in a timebound way.

The Reducing Reoffending Projects team own distinct projects that do not fall under BAU policy work, instead we focus on areas that require short term sprints and attention. For example, this could be to drive an important conversation or decision forward, to refresh a specific and high-profile policy or to scope out a project that is a Ministerial priority.

As an example, a recent project considered how we best target rehabilitative activity for offenders serving community sentences to ensure the best outcome for both them and the public, whilst ensuring we make most effective use of our investment.

This is an exciting opportunity to lead and deliver on high-profile projects that improve outcomes for the criminal justice system. This is a challenging, fast-paced role with significant interest from ministers and senior leaders, given the focus of projects in areas of urgent need. The post-holder will lead the scoping and definition of projects, lead the team to deliver high-quality input on challenging issues, and ensure successful handover of completed projects at their conclusion.

The post-holder will also be a key member of the Reducing Reoffending Policy SMT, shaping our team and the wider unit. 

Responsibilities    

• Leading the Reducing Reoffending Projects team, including line management of 2-3 staff, maintaining an inclusive and development-focused team culture.

• Setting direction and clear priorities for policy projects, with strong project management discipline to ensure delivery and protect the team’s capacity

• Providing expert advice on policy challenges, using a range of evidence to develop robust policy responses and solutions 

• Establish, build and maintain positive relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including other government departments, senior leaders and ministers.  

• Briefing ministers (in meetings and through submissions) on key issues

• Working with analytical, legal and communications colleagues to ensure our policy is informed by the best evidence and insight possible and that we communicate our policy intent with clarity and simplicity 

• Be a key part of the unit’s leadership team - contributing to our plans to make the directorate the most effective, efficient and enjoyable place to work

Skills and Experience

Essential:

• Outstanding end to end policy development skills, including problem definition, understanding of the evidence base, identification and appraisal of options, evaluation of impact; and a proven ability to set direction in a fast-paced and complex policy environment.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, as well as the ability to assimilate new information quickly, with experience of communicating complex and high-profile issues, including briefing Ministers.

• Experience of project management, defining and maintaining project scope and delivering high-quality projects to time.

• Excellent leadership skills, with an ability to plan and deliver a broad and challenging work portfolio, while fostering an inclusive and positive atmosphere, including during periods of change and uncertainty.

• Strong collaboration skills, building inclusive and mutually beneficial relationships with a wide network of internal and external stakeholders, to define and achieve common goals.

Desirable:

• Experience working in a policy context

• Experience working in the criminal justice system

Application process

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.

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.

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.

Successful applicants will be invited to an interview testing both Behaviours and Strengths. In addition, applicants will be offered an informal chat with the Jobshare partner to discuss the role and ways of working. This does not form part of the assessment process but will enable applicants to assess if the role is right for them before attending their interview.

Candidates invited to Interview

Please note that interviews will be carried out remotely.

You will be assessed against the following behaviours at the interview stage where you will be asked to provide examples of how you have demonstrated them. In addition, you will also be asked strength-based questions.

Behaviours:

The following Behaviours will be tested at Interview:

• Seeing the Big Picture

• Making Effective Decisions

• Leadership

• Delivering at Pace

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?

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

Success Profiles: Civil Service behaviours - GOV.UK

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 here.

Interviews are expected to take place in August 2026.

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.

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. Rebecca Fynn - Rebecca.fynn1@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.