Head of CTJU policy projects (up to 2 posts available)

Grade 7

Judicial and Legal Services Policy Directorate

The Judicial and Legal Services Policy (JLSP) Directorate is recruiting permanently for up to 2 G7 Head of Policy Projects team.

This campaign is open to current civil servants on level transfer and suitable candidates on promotion.

Candidates are reminded that to be eligible for this campaign; you must still be employed as a civil servant at the point of accepting the role. If you resign or your FTA contract ends before you are made and accept an offer, you will become ineligible and you will be withdrawn from the process.

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

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 Joint Unit and Judicial Resourcing Unit

The Joint Unit and Judicial Resourcing Unit (JUJR) is a high-profile, friendly and supportive team that works to drive improvement in the way the courts and tribunals operate. The roles in the Joint Unit are joint funded with MoJ and HMCTS.

The roles in JUJR sit within the Judicial and Legal Services Policy Directorate (JLSPD) in MoJ’s Policy Group JLSPD is responsible for managing the relationship between the department, the government and the judiciary and legal services profession.

The work of our team is varied and regularly attracts the interest of Ministers and the senior judiciary. Our focus is on improving performance and outcomes across the criminal, family and civil courts, and tribunals. CTJU manages the vital Concordat process, which determines the headline budget and sitting day allocations for HMCTS and is agreed with the Lord Chancellor and judiciary. In addition, the associated Monitoring Panels oversee in-year spend and sitting days across each jurisdiction and consider any impacts on allocations for future years.

In addition, we operate an established projects function with a varied programme of work including sprints and deep dives into areas of potential improvement; leading operational pilots to test new ideas; and running longer-term projects and programmes that bring key elements of the courts and tribunals landscape together to drive a shared agenda. A key factor of our work is driving continuous improvement and solving complex problems.

We are a joint unit, working to both the HMCTS leadership team and MoJ Policy Group. We work collaboratively, cutting through barriers, building strong relationships and developing robust and innovative approaches.

G7 head of Policy Projects team(s) - the role

We are looking for an enthusiastic and highly motivated individual to lead a project team in the Courts and Tribunals Joint Unit. This is a high-profile and fast-paced team, receiving extensive Ministerial interest. The team works closely with operational and policy partners to understand what is happening in the system, develop options to drive system improvement and inform advice to senior officials and Ministers.

This role will lead on delivery of high-profile policy projects. Projects vary from focused pieces of work that require a short-term, adaptable response, to more strategic pieces of work which will require the postholder to operate autonomously, working closely with senior officials, to put structures in place and develop work programmes to solve complex problems. The current work of the team includes:

• Streamlining the approval process for Crown Court transcripts to reduce the burden on the judiciary,

• Working with policy leads to jointly deliver a strategic review of the tribunal system

• Leading delivery of the Concordat process (which determines the headline budget and sitting day allocations for HMCTS and is agreed with the Lord Chancellor and judiciary ).

The role will involve line management of a small team with the opportunity to matrix manage broader teams on specific projects. It involves close engagement with operational partners on a series of varied and interesting policy projects, often working on issues that are political and strategic priorities for the department. The work can be fast-paced and would suit someone who is comfortable working with data, able to get up to speed on new issues quickly, driving progress themselves and comfortably balancing oversight of a number of different policy projects across our portfolio.

This role comes with a high degree of autonomy and the post holder will need to be able to set direction, build strong relationships with senior officials, and colleagues from across the courts and tribunals including operational partners.

This role therefore offers exposure to senior officials and the senior Judiciary and the chance to build relationships and find consensus, often on challenging issues across the courts and tribunals systems.

The role will involve delivering a variety of projects across the court system and developing and maintaining a strategic work programme ensuring the team is operating effectively. As part of the Unit SMT, you will champion a positive team culture and wellbeing, role-modelling civil service values and be expected to make a positive contribution to the wider Directorate.

Skills and Experience

The role will suit an individual who is able to motivate and lead a team, is confident in working with a variety of senior stakeholders, including ministers (and the Lord Chancellor specifically for the Concordat work), and is able to further policy development, working with subject experts:

Essential

• Strong track record of team leadership, managing and leading in a flexible manner to get the best out of the team, ensuring effective, timely delivery.

• Ability to set or support strategic direction in a fast-paced and complex policy environment across a wide range of stakeholders, both internal and external.  

• Confident policy professional - experienced in using an appropriate evidence base, including data, to inform policy development and delivery, and with a strong attention to detail.

• Excellent written and oral communication skills - ability to draft and present to a high standard.

• Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to prioritise effectively, and drive work forward autonomously.

Desirable

• Ability to work independently in an ambiguous environment.

• Knowledge of the court system

• Experience of working with Strategic Finance

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 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 following behaviour(s):

• Delivering at pace

• Working together

• Making effective decisions

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 of Delivering at pace. 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 the behaviours listed above 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:

• Delivering at pace

• Working together

• Making effective decisions

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

Interviews are expected to take place in late August/early September.

Contact information  

Please do get in touch with Eleanor Fray or Sarah Mahony (fray-mahony.jobshare@justice.gov.uk) if you would like to know more about the role or what it is like working in our team.