Ministry of Justice

Job role: Principal Research Officer

Grade: G7

FTA Duration: 12 months

Location: National

About us

HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is responsible for the administration of criminal, civil and family courts and tribunals in England and Wales. Our roles support our service users and colleagues, where people and businesses access potentially life-changing justice.  We’re looking for individuals who are committed to public service and want to make a difference in people’s lives in delivering justice. If you’re interested in developing a career with a real purpose, please apply.

About the team

The Strategy and User Insight division drives HMCTS’ direction and decision-making.  We do this by using our collective expertise to develop HMCTS priorities which have users at heart. This is done through:  

• Strategy and planning that supports the organisation’s vision and purpose 
• Using insight and evidence to guide service delivery and continuous improvement, helping enable access to justice for all 
• Providing a range of expertise including on innovation, inclusion, workforce planning and evaluation 

This role sits in the User Insight team. Our purpose is to enhance the user experience, improve access to justice ​and ensure HMCTS is efficient and effective.

 What the team does: 

• Delivering actionable user insight to service and operational teams to continually improve services and reduce costs
• Understanding how to make HMCTS work better for all users and measure the impacts
• Providing user insight to shape the present and future direction of HMCTS, and help it become a user-centric organisation
• Representing users so that we can ensure the user’s voice is heard
• Using data and understanding of users to provide recommendations for further research, analysis and service design

How the team does it​

·       Collaborating across HMCTS, MoJ, wider government and the third sector​ by building and maintaining relationships so stakeholders know how and when to approach us to include user evidence in decision making​​

·       Understanding HMCTS evidence needs​; working with HMCTS boards and forums to ensure we identify all the areas where user insight is required​

·       ​Embedding insight capability into projects from the outset to ensure we work as efficiently and effectively as possible.​

·       Ensuring we are prioritising projects where we can have the greatest impact on both the service user and the wider organisation.​​

·       Utilising a range of research methods​ and analytical techniques to develop user insight and communicate and embed actionable recommendations 

About the role

This is an exciting opportunity to join HMCTS’s Insight function. You will be part of a multidisciplinary team, comprised of social researchers, behavioural scientists, and operational researchers, setting the direction for the use of research to create insight across digital services, customer services, and operational delivery teams. This is a hands-on research role within the courts service at a crucial time of change.

You will be carrying out research and evaluation to improve HMCTS services and the systems and processes underpinning our services. Projects will focus on the users of HMCTS services (e.g. defendants and claimants) and professional users of HMCTS systems and processes (e.g. court staff and judges). The role will have a key focus on understanding Civil, Family and Tribunal services. You will be working in a fast-paced operational environment where things can change quickly, but where there is a real opportunity to help shape frontline services. 

We are looking for someone who is experienced and passionate about research and insight, with the skills to successfully manage and lead across several projects and disparate stakeholders, and the ability to distil and communicate knowledge with clarity.

Your role as the Principal Research Officer encompasses several key aspects (but not limited to):

•  Managing two SEO GSR researchers to develop and apply research and insight
• Delivering quantitative and qualitative research projects that enable HMCTS to make timely, evidence-based decisions.
• Designing research projects and evaluations; conducting secondary analysis of data and/ or undertaking primary research.
• Undertaking primary research to generate staff and public user insights.
• Analysing and synthesising a range of evidence to present compelling summaries and narratives of knowledge.
• Communicating succinctly the results of analysis and managing relationships effectively with operational colleagues, senior stakeholders and external organisations to ensure maximum impact of analytical work being delivered.
• Providing advice, with support of senior analysts, on the outcomes of research and analysis.
• Build and maintain excellent relationships with service teams, senior leaders, key stakeholders and research and insight communities across government and the external research community. 

You will be required to work in a flexible way and undertake any other duties reasonably requested by line management which are commensurate with the grade and level of responsibility of this post.

The civil, family and tribunals team’s work over the next year is likely to include quantitative and qualitative work on improving access to justice in civil, family and tribunal services as well as improving the operational performance of services through the analysis of a wide evidence base including management information data, user experience data and primary research with users including citizens, court staff, judiciary and the third sector.

Who are we looking for? (Person Specification)

The ideal candidate for this position should demonstrate:

Essential

• An existing member of the Government Social Research (GSR) profession.
• Experience of conducting social research, including quantitative and qualitative research from development of research materials (survey questionnaires, qualitative topic guides, and data collection instruments), surveys, fieldwork (including qualitative interviews), and analysis of data
• Have experience of, and appreciate the strengths / weaknesses of, a wide range of research methods (quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, evaluation) to apply a multi-disciplinary approach.
• Ability to manage work flexibly and adapt as priorities change.
• Knowledge and experience of applying data analysis and statistical methods skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including an ability to develop strong relationships with a range of stakeholders and identify their insight needs, and work closely and collaboratively with them.  

Desirable

• Knowledge of Civil, Family or Tribunals’ jurisdictions.
• Experience of conducting in-house research to develop an understanding of the organisation’s users.
• Familiar with statistical packages such as SPSS, SAS or R.

Application Process

Please submit a CV, a statement of suitability (up to 750 words) demonstrating how you meet the person specifications outlined in the advert, and an example (up to 250 words) of the behaviour ‘Making Effective Decisions’.
 
Please ensure you cover both ‘what’ you do but also ‘how’ you do it. (i.e., the effective skills, knowledge & experience needed to undertake the role).  
 
In the event of a high volume of applications, the panel may perform a preliminary sift on the behaviour ‘Making Effective Decisions’. Candidates who pass the initial sift will be progressed to a full sift. 

Interview

If successful at sift, you will be invited to attend a remote interview You will be assessed against the following:

Success Profiles Behaviour Questions (Grade G7)

•  Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service

GSR Technical Framework

• Using & Promoting Social Research
• Technical Skills - You will be asked to prepare a 5-minute presentation followed by questions from the panel in relation to the GSR professional competencies. The presentation brief will be shared with you in advance of your interview.

Further details

The successful candidate will be required to travel to London on occasion, however base location can be flexible. Travel to other HMCTS sites will also be required in line with business needs.

This is a full-time position only due to the nature of the role.

Fixed Term Appointments (FTA) on Promotion

MoJ employees may apply for FTA opportunities in MoJ that are advertised at a higher grade than their current substantive grade. Where an employee accepts an FTA on promotion, this promotion will be temporary, and the employee will revert to their substantive grade upon return to their home business area, as per the loan policy for OGD loans. Before applying, employees must seek approval from their line managers to ensure they can be released for the duration of the FTA and can return to their substantive role at the end. If there is no role available at the end of the FTA, the employee will be subject to redeployment and potentially redundancy procedures.

About our benefits

We reward our people for their hard work and commitment. We have a number of family

friendly and flexible working polices that will help you achieve a healthy work-life balance. In addition, we offer a range of employee benefits which include generous annual leave, a highly competitive contributory pension scheme, childcare benefits, season ticket and bicycle loans.

Proud to Serve. Proud to keep justice going.