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General Information

Working Pattern
Full Time, Part Time/Job Share, Flexible Working
Vacancy Approach
External
Location
National
Region
National
Closing Date
24-Aug-2025
Post Type
Permanent
Civil Service Grade
SCS 1
Number of jobs available
1
Reserve List
12 Months
Job ID
8068

Descriptions & requirements

Job description

As Deputy Director for the Public Bodies Centre of Expertise, you will lead a team of c.35 people and directly line manage 2 G6s. These G6s manage the respective branches of the team:

  • Partnership, Strategy and Reviews – responsible for corporate sponsorship of 19 of the MoJ sponsored public bodies, and oversight of the framework of sponsorship for all 35. This team provides the golden thread between the department and its public bodies, by forging strong and trusting relationships to ensure each body is supported and that the department is assured of their delivery. Within this branch sits the MoJ Public Bodies Review team who lead often high-profile and in-depth reviews of our public bodies, to ensure that they remain fit for purpose, and operating with appropriate efficiency, effectiveness, governance and efficiency. 
  • Public Appointments – Public appointees play an important role in public life on the boards of public bodies and in statutory offices. Our appointment processes are designed to ensure that the best people, from the widest possible pool of candidates, are appointed to these roles. The MoJ is the department with the most public appointments – c.2,200 in total. The Public Appointments team manages the process for about 500 of these, which means that at any one time, the team are running around 40 appointment and reappointment processes. The team also has responsibility for the wider framework governing how the department manages the remaining 1,700 appointments.

The role will put you in a unique position – it spans breadth of the organisation, and requires collaborative working with colleagues in every area of the department and across Whitehall to make sure that MoJ’s public bodies are represented and that MoJ practices align with central guidance including the Arm’s Length Bodies Sponsorship Code of Good Practice, and the Governance Code on Public Appointments.

As Deputy Director for the team, you will play a critical role – you will need to build and maintain strong relationships with the Senior Sponsors (roles held by Directors General in MoJ), senior leaders across the Department, Chairs and CEOs of the public bodies, and colleagues in Cabinet Office and No10.

Sitting in the finance function, you will be an active member of the leadership of the Financial Strategy and Partnerships Directorate, and broader finance function. This role is a great opportunity to get experience of finance and strategy, and work across all corporate functions and disciplines.



Additional Information
The post holder will be required to undertake the following duties and responsibilities:
  • Build strategic and operational understanding of MoJ sponsored ALBs, through outreach and engagement at all levels of seniority within and outside the Department.
  • Develop strong partnership relationships with the Senior Sponsors (as delegated by the Permanent Secretary), policy sponsors, the Accounting Officers of Non-departmental Public Bodies, Office Holders, and Board members and other non-executives to ensure that each organisation is well governed and operates in an efficient and effective manner to deliver public services in line with the Secretary of State’s priorities.
  • Provide regular reporting on assurance and risks affecting Public Bodies to Senior Sponsors, the Principal Accounting Officer, and the Departmental Audit and Risk Assurance Committee.
  • Oversee the overall governance arrangements between the MoJ and its public bodies, including maintenance of Framework Documents, reflecting each organisation’s purpose, responsibilities, and oversight arrangements.
  • Oversee and deliver MoJ’s public appointment processes to support ministerial decisions, in line with the Cabinet Office Governance Code on Public Appointments. This involves oversight of all 2,200 public appointments, and direct management of around 500 of these.
  • Engage with the Cabinet Office Public Bodies team and deliver a demanding and high-profile programme of Cabinet Office mandated reviews of public bodies.
  • Leadership of an expert and engaged team of c.35, and management of a budget of c£2m.

We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and a sense of belonging. To find out more about how we do this visit:  https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity.

Diversity & Inclusion

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 Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.


Contact Information
If you require any assistance please contact us on scsrecruitment@justice.gov.uk. Please quote the job reference in your email to enable us to support you more quickly.

Application form stage assessments

Experience
We will assess your experience for this role via the following methods
CV or Work History, Statement of Suitability
Evidence of Experience
CV or Work History, Statement of Suitability

Interview stage assessments

Interview Dates
Week commencing 15th September
Behaviours
Leadership
Communicating and Influencing
Seeing the Big Picture
Delivering at Pace
Making Effective Decisions
Strengths
Strengths will be assessed but these are not shared in advance. To learn more about Strengths and how they are assessed please click here.

Other Assessments

Which assessment methods will be used?
Presentation
Use of Artificial Intelligence (Al)
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.
Level of security checks required
DBS Basic
Security Clearance (SC)