Head of Strategic Priorities
Location: National*
Closing Date: 03 June 2025
Interviews: From 16 June 2025
Grade: 6
(MoJ candidates who are on a specialist grade, will be able to retain this grade on lateral transfer)
Salary: London: £73,115 - £83,585; National: £68,967 - £78,842
Working pattern: Full-time, part-time, flexible working
Contract Type: Permanent
*We offer a hybrid working model, allowing for a balance between remote work and time spent in your local office. Office locations can be found ON THIS MAP
We’re recruiting for a Head of Strategic Priorities here at Justice Digital, to be part of our warm and collaborative Strategic Priorities team.
The Strategic Priorities Team supports the smooth and effective running of the Justice Digital function; it is an opportunity to work at the most senior levels of the function and influence the way in which the function operates, as well as to build a broader understanding of the MoJ as a whole.
This is a varied role that requires a deep understanding of, and interest in, both the strategy and ways of working of Justice Digital, the Service Delivery Transformation Group, and the Ministry more broadly. It has a wide remit that requires first class management and co-ordination, quick thinking, and the ability to facilitate and persuade. You will need to juggle many priorities and be able to turn your hand to a wide range of matters; you will be equally comfortable being “hands on" and delivering as you are leading.
To help picture your life at MoJ Justice Digital please take a look at our blog and our Digital and Technology strategy 2025
The Head of Strategic Priorities will manage key relationships with MoJ and external stakeholders; oversee a team which ensures the Justice Digital Senior Leadership Team (SLT) is focussed on the right things; and lead the Strategy & Operations Change Function. More specifically this means:
Manage key relationships with MoJ and external stakeholders:
Know what executive boards and senior meetings are happening, ensuring that the right people have seen and approved papers and that consistent messages are being delivered.
Work closely with Private Offices, including that of the Director General, to establish, maintain and deliver a forward look of joint priorities.
Work closely with Chiefs of Staff to build and tell a compelling story of the work of Justice Digital.
Be credible and influential across departments.
Be a skilled leader who can confidently communicate the value of Justice Digital to digital and non-digital stakeholders.
Oversee a team which ensures the SLT is focussed on the right things:
Understand the roles and responsibilities of the SCS cadre in Justice Digital.
Build and maintain a forward plan of corporate, delivery and operational activities to inform SLT agendas.
Build agendas for SLT meetings to ensure they are discussing the right things at the right time.
Facilitate director-level discussions, or arrange facilitation where it is required.
Ensuring that the right information is available at the right time for SLT sessions to enable data-led decision-making.
Lead the Strategy & Operations Change Function:
Coach and lead a dedicated delivery team in Agile and Lean practices as a recognised expert who advocates these approaches, continuously reflecting and encouraging the team to work in new and innovative ways.
Mediate and mend relationships, communicating with stakeholders at all levels to manage expectations and facilitate high-risk and complex discussions, often under constrained timescales.
Identify and challenge organisational processes of increasing complexity, coaching the organisation to inspect and adapt processes through implementation of new processes.
Lead a continual planning process in a very complex environment, being able to plan beyond delivery and identify dependencies in plans across services.
Coach other teams as the central point of expertise and accelerate the teams’ development cycles.
If this feels like an exciting challenge, something you are enthusiastic about, and want to join our team please read on and apply!
37 hours per week and flexible working options including working from home, working part-time, job sharing, or working compressed hours.
A £1k per person learning budget is in place to support all our people, with access to best in class conferences and seminars, accreditation with professional bodies, fully funded vocational programmes and e-learning platforms
Staff have 10% time to dedicate to develop & grow
Generous civil service pension based on defined benefit scheme, with employer contributions of 28.97% from April 1st 2024 (Contribution Rates)
25 days leave (plus bank holidays) and 1 privilege day usually taken around the Kings’ birthday. 5 additional days of leave once you have reached 5 years of service.
Compassionate maternity, adoption, and shared parental leave policies, with up to 26 weeks leave at full pay, 13 weeks with partial pay, and 13 weeks further leave. And maternity support/paternity leave at full pay for 2 weeks, too!
Wellbeing support including access to the Calm app.
Bike loans up to £2500 and secure bike parking (subject to availability and location)
Season ticket loans, childcare vouchers and eye-care vouchers.
5 days volunteering paid leave.
Free membership to BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT.
Some offices may have a subsidised onsite Gym.
Essential
You can build relationships and trust easily with people at different levels of an organisation and manage a wide range of issues with diplomacy and discretion.
You have experience of working with senior leaders and private offices to respond to, and deliver, complex requests for information, and can confidently shift context across a wide range of subject matters, and between strategic thinking and hands on delivery.
You have deep knowledge of a range of Agile and Lean tools and techniques, with an ability to coach within and outside of the team; represent, and be an advocate for, these tools and techniques; be innovative, and keep up to date with the latest trends. You have situational awareness of what each team is working on and the ability to ensure that working practices are iterated to achieve effective delivery.
You have experience in ensuring the health of the team and can facilitate conflict resolution and accelerate team performance. You can motivate your teams to work transparently and ensure that their work is understood externally, creating an open and collaborative environment to work in.
You have expertise in solving issues and unblocking problems, driving teams and setting the pace, ensuring teams are working towards delivery commitments. You have a proven track record of managing various dependencies across teams, departments or government as a whole.
You can communicate effectively across organisational, technical and political boundaries, understanding the context. You can advocate and communicate what a team does to create trust and authenticity.
Willingness to be assessed against the requirements for BPSS clearance
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service D&I Strategy.
Candidates must submit a CV and two application questions (up to 500 words each), which describes how you meet the requirements set out in the Person Specification above.
Your answers to the application questions should demonstrate the following selection criteria using the STAR method:
You have experience of working with senior leaders and private offices to respond to, and deliver, complex requests for information, and can confidently shift context across a wide range of subject matters, and between strategic thinking and hands on delivery.
You have expertise in solving issues and unblocking problems, driving teams and setting the pace, ensuring teams are working towards delivery commitments. You have a proven track record of managing various dependencies across teams, departments or government as a whole.
In Justice Digital, we recruit using a combination of the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability and Success Profiles Frameworks. We will assess your Experience, Technical Skills and the following Behaviours during the assessment process:
Leadership
Communicating & Influencing
Delivering at Pace
Working Together
A diverse panel will review your application against the Person Specification above.
Successful candidates who meet the required standard will then be invited to a 1-hour panel interview held via video conference.
Should we receive a high volume of applications, a pre-sift based on your experience of working with senior leaders and private offices to respond to, and deliver, complex requests for information, and can confidently shift context across a wide range of subject matters, and between strategic thinking and hands on delivery will be conducted before the sift.
Should you be unsuccessful in the role that you have applied for but demonstrate the capability for a role at a lower level, we reserve the right to discuss this opportunity with you and offer you the position without needing a further application.
A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months, from which further appointments may be made.
Please review our Terms & Conditions which set out how we recruit and provide further information related to the Justice Digital Recruitment Terms & Conditions role and salary arrangements.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact recruitment@digital.justice.gov.uk