Head of Digital Communications (Grade 6)

Ministry of Justice

About the Ministry of Justice
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) plays a pivotal role in the UK, shaping systems and services that affect millions of lives. From civil courts and tribunals to prisons and probation, we uphold justice, support victims, promote rehabilitation, and safeguard public safety. We also regulate legal services and ensure sentences are enforced—placing us at the heart of issues that impact daily life.

About the Role
We are seeking a Head of Digital Communications to lead our digital engagement and creative strategy across the MoJ group and its arm’s-length bodies (ALBs). This is a senior leadership role, central to the MoJ communications function, and instrumental in shaping the department’s digital direction.

You will report into the DD Strategic Communications, Digital and Campaigns, and work closely together to provide strategic leadership for our digital output—driving innovation, building capability, and collaborating with ministers, senior officials, and No 10 to deliver high-impact, insight-led campaigns.

What You’ll Do

Strategic Leadership & Innovation

• Lead the development and implementation of MoJ’s digital strategy across all platforms and channels.

• Embed a ‘digital-first’ mindset across the department and ALBs—making digital engagement integral to communications planning.

• Serve as the professional lead for digital within MoJ and represent the department in the cross-government Heads of Digital network.

• Act as strategic advisor on digital engagement and creative content, shaping responses to politically sensitive and complex issues.

Digital Engagement & Creative Content

• Champion earned digital activity—using partnerships and influencers to reach audiences beyond MoJ’s owned channels.

• Lead the delivery of high-quality, engaging digital content across a variety of formats including video, audio, animation, and infographics.

• Develop innovative campaigns in collaboration with creators, policy teams, and campaign leads to extend reach and impact.

Insight & Evaluation

• Strengthen audience insight and data use to inform strategies and content decisions.

• Embed a culture of continuous improvement, using robust evaluation to measure effectiveness and inform future activity.

• Enhance social media monitoring to identify and mitigate reputational risks—working closely with press colleagues.

Team Leadership & Capability Building

• Lead a multidisciplinary team of digital experts—content creators, social media managers, campaign specialists, designers, and analysts.

• Build a high-performing team culture that is creative, agile, and delivery-focused.

• Upskill colleagues across the MoJ group in digital tools, platforms, and emerging content trends.

Cross-Government Collaboration

• Build strong partnerships across Whitehall and the wider public sector.

• Manage key relationships, including with Design102, creative agencies, and other suppliers.

• Work with campaign teams to integrate digital into communication objectives and paid media strategies.

Person Specification
We’re looking for someone who is:

• An experienced digital communications leader, with a strong track record of delivering high-impact campaigns in complex environments.

• A skilled strategic thinker and influencer, comfortable working with ministers, senior officials, and across government.

• A confident leader, capable of building and motivating creative, fast-paced teams.

• Passionate about digital innovation, with deep knowledge of platforms, formats, and trends.

• Committed to insight-led and data-driven approaches—able to test, learn, and iterate effectively.

• Experienced in developing content across multiple formats for a range of social platforms.

• Resilient under pressure, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and tight deadlines.

• A clear and compelling communicator—able to translate complex ideas into accessible content.

Assessment Criteria
As part of the application process, you will be asked to submit a CV and provide competency-based examples aligned to the Government Communication Professional Competency Framework (PDF).

You are also asked to prepare a short presentation - please prepare a max 7-minute presentation (allowing 3 mins for questions) on the subject of:

“In this role, how would best go about making use of earned partnerships to help explain MOJ reform plans to the public?"

Behaviours Assessed

• Communicating and Influencing

• Leadership

Technical Skills Assessed

• Comms Insight - Digital

• Comms Ideas - Digital

• Comms Implementation - Digital

• Comms Impact - Digital