Senior Policy Advisor, Deaths in Detention Secretariat

SEO

Prisons Directorate

The Deaths in Detention Secretariat is recruiting permanently for an SEO Senior Policy Advisor. 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

• 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).

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

The Work of the Deaths in Detention Secretariat

This is an exciting and unusual opportunity to work across government to prevent deaths in all forms of state detention, from prisons to Mental Health Act detention, police custody and immigration detention.

The team provides the secretariat to both the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody (IAPDC) and the Ministerial Board on Deaths in Detention (MBDD). The IAPDC is a non-departmental public body which advises Ministers and officials on reducing and preventing deaths in all forms of state detention - that is, prisons and Approved Premises, immigration detention, Mental Health Act detention, and police custody. It is sponsored by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), Home Office, and Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). For more information about the IAPDC visit iapdeathsincustody.independent.gov.uk.

The MBDD brings together Ministers, senior officials, the IAPDC, and key stakeholders to enable learning and sharing of lessons across detention settings and to commission impactful work across detention to reduce and prevent deaths. It is advised and supported by an Expert Stakeholder Group (ESG) of charities, relevant scrutiny bodies, and other organisations and offices such as the Chief Coroner.

The MBDD meets twice a year and is co-chaired by the Minister of State for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending, the Minister for Policing and Crime, and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Women's Health and Mental Health. It sets priorities for departments and agencies to make policy and operational changes to via a workplan held jointly with the IAPDC, which the Board commissions to work with co-sponsor department and detention settings to deliver impactful work to address risks and issues impacting deaths.

The Board is currently completing a process of reform, with new governance being put in place, to ensure greater impact, transitioning from the previous Ministerial Board on Deaths in Custody (and its associated Ministerial Council on Deaths in Custody), into its new form and structures.

While the IAPDC and MBDD are jointly funded and co-sponsored by MoJ, the Home Office, and DHSC, the secretariat team is hosted by MoJ and sits in the Scrutiny and Prisoner Outcomes Division with the Prisons Directorate. Further information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice.

Senior Policy Advisor - the role

As Senior Policy Advisor, the postholder will be responsible for leading the research and policy work of the Board and the IAPDC. This is a unique role which combines providing advice to Ministers and senior officials with support for an expert advisory body that is independent of Government, working collaboratively across three departments and four detention settings - prisons, policing, immigration detention centres, and Mental Health Act detention.

The successful candidate will have the opportunity to work with leading sector experts and senior leaders to carry forward work to prevent deaths in detention. They must have excellent influencing, collaboration and networking skills, and be a high-quality researcher and drafter, capable of bringing together complex information from multiple evidence sources to reach clear conclusions.

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

• Work in collaboration across MoJ, the Home Office, and DHSC to implement the priorities of the Ministerial Board, supporting policy and operational priorities across departments and agencies to prevent deaths in detention.

• Lead on supporting the IAPDC’s research and communications. This includes developing research and evidence to inform advice to Ministers and departments on how to prevent deaths in detention as well as drafting advice for ministers and senior officials, research reports and briefings, select committee evidence, and ministerial correspondence. It also includes overseeing the communications output and stakeholder engagement of the IAPDC.

• Wider activity to support the work of the Ministerial Board, including through the delivery of high-quality written materials for each Board meeting and supporting the delivery of its meetings, workplan, and other activities.

• Line managing an HEO to help deliver the policy and communications output of the Panel and to manage the business of the Ministerial Board.

Skills and Experience

Essential:

In your application, you will need to demonstrate how you meet the following Civil Service behaviours:

• Seeing the Big Picture:

  • Examples of seeing the big picture at HEO and SEO grades or equivalent are when you:

    • understand the strategic drivers for your area of work

    • align activities to contribute to wider organisational priorities

    • remain alert to emerging issues and trends which might impact your work area

    • seek out and share experiences to develop knowledge of the team’s business area

    • understand how the strategies and activities of the team create value and meet the diverse needs of all stakeholders

• Working together

  • Examples of working together at HEO and SEO grades or equivalent are when you:

    • encourage joined up team work within your own team and across other groups

    • establish professional relationships with a range of stakeholders

    • collaborate with these to share information, resources and support

    • invest time to develop a common focus and genuine positive team spirit where colleagues feel valued and respect one another

    • put in place support for the wellbeing of individuals within the team, including consideration of your own needs

    • make it clear to all team members that bullying, harassment and discrimination are unacceptable

    • actively seek and consider input of people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives

• Communicating and influencing:

  • Examples of communicating and influencing at HEO and SEO grades or equivalent are when you:

    • communicate in a straightforward, honest and engaging manner - choosing appropriate styles to maximise understanding and impact

    • encourage the use of different communication methods, including digital resources and highlight the benefits, including ensuring cost effectiveness

    • ensure communication has a clear purpose and takes into account people’s individual needs

    • share information as appropriate and check understanding

    • show positivity and enthusiasm towards work, encouraging others to do the same

    • ensure that important messages are communicated with colleagues and stakeholders respectfully, taking into consideration the diversity of interests

Desirable:

In addition to demonstrating that you meet the above civil service behaviours, it is desirable that candidates also meet the following additional criteria:

• Knowledge or experience of policy or operational processes for keeping people safe in custodial settings such as prisons, police custody, immigration detention or secure health settings.

• Knowledge or experience of human rights law and wider frameworks to protect lives.

• Experience and expertise in influencing and managing relationships with Parliamentarians, press, civil society and the charity sector, and other strategic stakeholders.

Additional Information

• 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.

• 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 500 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 following behaviour(s):

• Seeing the Big Picture

• Working Together

• 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 Statement of Suitability and the lead behaviour Seeing the Big Picture. 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.

At interview you will be assessed against behaviours 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

• Working Together

• 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?

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 via this link Success Profiles: Strengths - GOV.UK

You will also be asked to prepare and make a short presentation.

Interviews are expected to take place September 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: sam.johnston-hawke@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.