Thank you for your interest in the Deputy Director, Recruitment & Retention Communications role

The justice system is a vital public service, relied on daily by victims, families, and communities. At the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), we are committed to upholding justice and delivering a resilient, world-class system for all.

Our work spans operations, policy, and major programmes. We focus on protecting the public, reducing reoffending, ensuring swift access to justice, and reforming services to meet growing demands.

The Deputy Director, Recruitment and Retention Communications, plays a pivotal role in supporting frontline services—particularly in prisons and probation—by leading strategic communications that attract and retain talent, build pride in public service, and highlight the critical role our staff play in public safety.

This is a key leadership role within our award-winning communications team. The successful candidate will bring energy, strategic vision, and deep expertise to drive recruitment marketing and internal engagement nationwide.

You will lead a high-performing team delivering strategic communications to support recruitment and retention across prisons, probation, and the magistracy. This includes local campaigns, aligning national messaging with operational needs, and ensuring our work reflects departmental priorities. Your leadership will build pride in public service and ensure resources are used effectively within a collaborative, high-impact culture.

You will inspire and manage a team under pressure, embedding a culture of excellence, innovation, and delivery—supporting the justice system’s mission to serve victims, reduce crime, and uphold the rule of law.

Simon Barrett

Director of Communications

The Ministry of Justice is a major government department at the heart of the justice system. We deliver some of the most fundamental public services including courts, tribunals, prisons, legal services, youth justice, probation services, and attendance centres.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) works to protect and advance the principles of justice. Our vision is to deliver a world-class justice system that works for everyone in society.

The justice system plays a crucial role in our success as a nation - keeping people safe, emphasising fairness, guaranteeing individual rights and giving businesses confidence to flourish.

The delivery of our three strategic outcomes are central to doing this:

Punishment that cuts crime: to rebuild confidence in the criminal justice system by protecting the public and reducing reoffending with a sustainable and effective prison and probation service.
Swifter justice for victims: to rebuild confidence in the criminal justice system by ensuring timely, just outcomes for victims and defendants through a modern and efficient criminal courts system.
A beacon for justice and the rule of law: to uphold the rule of law at home and abroad; promote our world-leading legal services, which contribute to economic growth; and deliver accessible and timely civil, family and administrative justice.

For more information on who we are and what we do, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice.

Job Title

Head of Recruitment and Retention Communications

Location

National

The MoJ is working to open more Justice Collaboration Centres and Justice Satellite Offices over time. Click here to learn more about where our currently open Justice Collaboration Centres and Justice Satellite Offices are, to identify where you may be based

Please note the requirements for travel and level of flexibility available as set out in the FAQs section.

Salary

The salary for this role is set within the MoJ SCS PB1 at £81,000 per Anum.

External candidates should expect their salary upon appointment to be £81,000 per annum.

Existing Civil Servants will be appointed in line with the Civil Service pay rules in place on the date of their appointment.

Contract Type

This role is being offered on a permanent basis.

This role has a minimum assignment duration of 3 years - in line with the deliverables identified. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by

The Role

This is an exciting opportunity for an exceptional communications leader to join the Ministry of Justice’s Communications Senior Leadership Team (SLT) in a new role as Deputy Director, Recruitment and Retention Communications, reporting into the Director of Communications.

In this senior leadership position, you will deal with some of the department’s highest priority issues. You will lead two teams in the Communications Directorate, which both play a critical role in the department’s delivery of frontline services.

Firstly, you will lead the Recruitment Marketing Team - setting the direction for recruitment marketing campaigns across our portfolio. These can range from multi-million-pound campaigns to recruit thousands of staff, such as our prison and probation officer recruitment campaigns, to smaller campaigns to recruit niche, hard-to-fill roles. The team’s work is critical to making sure that MoJ can deliver its priorities of delivering swift access to Justice, protecting the public and reducing reoffending.

Secondly, you will lead the Prisons Resourcing Communications Team which delivers high-impact communications to help build recognition for the work professionals do in prisons and support the retention of critical frontline staff.

The team has a central hub, as well as dispersed regional teams charged with building positive PR for prisons at a national, local and hyper-local level; supporting prisons in their local outreach and candidate communications; and working with HMPPS Communications to help prisons to improve their local internal communications and engagement activity.

Key Responsibilities

Lead the Recruitment Marketing Team, setting the direction for recruitment marketing campaigns across our portfolio

Develop campaigns which, as well as, driving the right number of applications, focus on delivering numbers in the right locations in the country, and that diversity of applicants is representative of the communities we serve

Lead the procurement and management of a number of agencies who we work with on elements of campaign activity, including creative, channel planning and media buying. You will ensure these agencies are being held to account for delivering against our objectives, and delivering value for money for the taxpayer

Lead the Prisons Resourcing Communications Team which delivers high-impact communications to help build recognition for the work professionals do in prisons and support the retention of critical frontline staff

Lead on advice to seniors and Ministers, developing the team’s strategic approach, advising on budget breakdown, and ensuring evaluation is in place to ensure you can learn from what’s working and adapt your approach accordingly, as well as showcasing the team’s ROI

Ensure necessary approvals are in place for communications spend, both within the department and from Cabinet Office where required

Ensure the work of your team is executed to brilliant standards, fostering a culture of improvement and innovation, and evaluating performance on an ongoing basis

Develop strong networks, including engaging across the Government Communications Service
Lead a team of approximately 35 people, setting direction and ensuring high standards are met.

It is important through the recruitment process that you give evidence and examples of proven experience of each of the essential and desirable criteria.

Later on in the pack you will be told what is being assessed at which stage of the process.

Essential Experience:

You are experienced in leading teams of people at a strategic level. You will have experience of setting a vision and strategy to ensure diverse and geographically dispersed teams deliver against objectives
A proven track record of highly effective communication, negotiating and influencing at the most senior levels with internal and external stakeholders. You are able to communicate clearly and with confidence, both verbally and in written format. You communicate with impact, understanding how to tailor your communication to a wide range of audiences.
You have experience at operating in a senior Communications role, displaying clear understanding of marketing, with an ability to demonstrate clear judgement on complex issues in this environment

You are able to make effective decisions that consider the impact across all aspects of the organisation. You have sound financial acumen and can apply financial management principles when making decisions. You evaluate options, balancing the impact on factors such as people, processes, finance and strategy
You are able to manage budgets carefully and effectively, and able to advise on budget breakdown at all levels.

MoJ SCS Pay Band 1 Behaviours:

You will also be assessed against the following Behaviours during the Recruitment Process:

Communicating and influencing
Leadership
Seeing the bigger picture
Making effective decisions

Read more in the Civil Service Success Profiles Section.

Recruitment Process

The selection process will be chaired by the Director of Communications. Along with support from their senior leadership team.

Support during the selection process

If you need any support or have any questions during any stage of the selection process, please contact the SCS Recruitment Team scsrecruitment@justice.gov.uk.

Stages of the selection process

Application

You will need to complete the online application process accessed via the advertisement for this role.

This should be completed no later than 23:55 on 31^st August 2025. As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete:

Responses to the eligibility questions to check you are eligible to apply for the role.
A response to whether you would like to request reasonable adjustments during the selection process. The Disability Support section explains how adjustments can be made to the selection process to accommodate a disability.
You will also need to complete a CV and Statement of Suitability. It is important that your CV and Statement of Suitability give evidence and examples of how you meet the essential criteria set out on page 8.

Find out more information about our application process here.

After the Application Stage

You will be advised whether your application has been shortlisted for the next stage of the selection process. If you are shortlisted, we will contact you to arrange the next stage of the selection process. Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Panel Interview and Presentation

You will be invited to attend an interview and presentation with the selection panel. You will be asked to prepare a verbal 5-10 minute presentation based on a topic that will be provided in advance. The interview and presentation will last for approximately 45 minutes.

What is being assessed?

Behaviours, as listed on page 8.

After the Panel Interview

Following the interview, the performance of all candidates will be reviewed, and the successful candidate identified. All candidates will be notified of the outcome as soon as possible after the conclusion of all interviews. If you are not the successful candidate but you meet the standard required, you may be invited to have your details retained on a merit list to be considered for future SCS roles.

What are Behaviours?

The Civil Service recruits using Success Profiles and Behaviours are an element of Success Profiles used to see whether candidates are able demonstrate specific Behaviours associated with the role they are applying for during the selection process.

In this process the below Behaviours are most relevant to this role and will be assessed during the interview stage of the process.

The definitions of Behaviours are set out below:

Communicating and Influencing

You communicate clearly and with confidence, both verbally and in writing. You are open, honest and transparent in your communications. You communicate effectively with internal and external senior stakeholders to present information in a convincing and influential manner. You tailor your communication methods and content to the audience, simplifying strategic messages.

Leadership

You visibly demonstrate the organisation’s values in all your activity, leading authentically. You seek to engage staff in the aims of the organisation and communicate the organisation’s strategy in an inspiring way.

You create an inclusive and fair culture which creates a sense of belonging by treating staff as individuals and actively valuing diversity within the organisation. You empower teams and individuals to excel by creating a shared vision and objectives and demonstrate trust in staff by giving autonomy.

Seeing the Big Picture

You understand the wider context of the organisation’s work, considering the political, social, economic, and technological environment both currently and in the future. You create and implement strategies to achieve the organisation’s aims and meet the needs of the public. You promote the organisation externally, advocating positive outcomes for the sector you operate within. You motivate staff by ensuring they understand how their work fits into the big picture.

Making Effective Decisions

You make defensible, objective and fair high-impact decisions, considering the impact on the service user and wider organisation.

You are willing to take ownership of your decisions, being transparent and open about the reasons for them. You effectively analyse data to make evidence-based decisions, whilst being comfortable taking considered risks based on the best evidence available. You consult with others to incorporate views and professional expertise, ensuring appropriate individuals are involved in the decision-making process. Please click here or more information on Behaviours and Success Profiles.

As part of the application process you need to submit a Statement and CV. Both your Statement and CV should demonstrate how you meet the essential experience outlined in the Person Specification section.

Ensure you read through the role information thoroughly and identify the essential criteria for each area. You should ensure you provide evidence for each of the essential experience and/or abilities and/or technical skills which are required for the role in your Statement and CV. You may not be progressed to the next stage of the assessment process if you do not provide this evidence.

When structuring your Statements try to:

Group evidence of the same experience and technical skills together by using subheadings and paragraphs. This will help to ensure you are writing about the experience that is directly relevant for the role you are applying for.
You should ensure that you detail recent and relevant examples of the essential experience required for the role and describe the outcome that came from this.

Providing a name-blind CV and Success Profile Statements

In both your CV and Success Profile Statements please remove references to any personal information that could identify you. For example:

Name and title
Educational institution names
Age and gender
Email address
Postal address and telephone number
Nationality and immigration status.

This will help us to recruit based on your knowledge and skills, and not on your background, gender or ethnicity.

Recruiting this way is called name-blind recruitment.

For more information on how to write your Statement and CV please visit the Civil Service Careers Website.

Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing

Our departmental values - purpose, humanity, openness and together - are at the heart of our commitment to create a culture where all our people are able to thrive and flourish in the workplace.

We want to attract and retain the best talent from diverse backgrounds and perspectives. We want everyone to be the best of themselves, to feel supported and have a strong sense of belonging in the workplace. Our commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive workforce is reflected in all of our people policies and strategies.

Benefits

As a Ministry of Justice employee, you’ll be entitled to a large range of benefits which include but are not limited to:

Pension

The Civil Service Pension Scheme is one of the best workplace pension schemes in the UK public sector. For SCS 1 roles, you will start with a base salary of £76,000. In addition, through automatic enrolment to the Civil Service Pension Scheme, we will contribute £22,000 to your pension, providing a total reward package of £98,000.

Visit www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk for more details.

Generous Annual Leave and Bank Holiday Allowance

25 days annual leave on entry, increasing on a sliding scale to 30 days after 5 years’ service. This is in addition to 8 public holidays. This will be complemented by one further day paid privilege entitlement to mark the King’s Birthday.

Flexible Working

While not every type of flexible working will be suitable for every role and business area, flexible working can take many forms and The Ministry of Justice is committed to delivering its business effectively and sustainably by creating modern and inclusive workplaces that enable smart, flexible and hybrid working.

For more information on our amazing benefits including our Civil Service Pension Scheme, annual and special leave, and our Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing schemes please visit our Senior Civil Service website.

What reasonable adjustments can be made if I have a disability?

We welcome and encourage applications from all candidates and are committed to supporting all candidates to take part in the recruitment process. This includes supporting individuals who have a disability by making reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process.

We are also able to provide support to candidates who require adjustments to the assessment process due to more temporary difficulties (e.g. linked to a recent injury).

We will ask you within your application form if you would like to request reasonable adjustments. If you feel you require any kind of support and/or would like to discuss this with someone, please indicate ‘yes’ to requesting reasonable adjustments and ensure that you respond to the Reasonable Adjustments Scheme team by email.

There are a range of disabilities such as physical, neurological, intellectual or learning difficulties and mental health conditions which may underpin candidates’ requests for reasonable adjustments.

We understand that the support requested will be unique to every candidate and we will work with you to help you to identify your individual requirements.

We make reasonable adjustments so that all candidates are given a fair opportunity to undertake the recruitment process. Therefore, disclosing information regarding your disability or access requirements will have no impact on the outcome of your application, regardless of your request or the role you have applied to.

How we can support you

There are many types of reasonable adjustments that can be made during assessment processes, and the type or combination you choose to request will depend on your individual requirements.

Examples of some types of adjustments include:

Extra time to complete assessments
Providing a break within an assessment
Providing interview questions in a written format at the interview as well as orally
An interview at a certain time of day
Coloured overlays or different fonts for assessment materials.

This is not intended to be an exhaustive list but rather some examples of how we can support you during the SCS Recruitment Process.

Whilst we aim to confirm all adjustments requested, there may be occasions where this isn’t possible. For example, if a candidate were to request that they are not assessed on a specific behaviour outlined in the job advert this would not be possible because the behaviour has been identified as important for the job role and all candidates are assessed against this criterion. If an adjustment cannot be provided, the reasons for this will be explained to you during your contact with the reasonable adjustment scheme team.

Help with your application

During the application process, we will ask you if you require reasonable adjustments. You will need to contact us by email to discuss this with a member of the team. It is important you tell us as early as possible if you would like to request reasonable adjustments so that the recruitment process runs smoothly for you.

If you do decide during the process that you do require adjustments and you have not completed all your assessments, please contact the SCS recruitment team in advance of your next assessment.

If you have any questions in advance of making your application regarding reasonable adjustments for the assessment process, please contact the SCS recruitment team at scsrecruitment@justice.gov.uk.

Do you offer a Disability Confident Scheme for Disabled Persons?

As a Disability Confident employer, the MoJ are able to offer an interview to disabled candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns. This could be in terms of the advertised essential skills and/or application form sift criteria. Within the application form, you will be asked if you would like to be considered for an interview under this scheme, so please make us aware of this when prompted.

Can I apply if I am not currently a civil servant?

Yes.

Is this role suitable for part-time working?

This role is available for full-time or flexible working arrangements (including job shares). To discuss your needs in more detail please get in touch with the SCS Recruitment Team.

Where will the role be based?

If successful you will be based nationally. Relocation costs will not be reimbursed.

This role will also require travel to other MOJ offices.

Can I claim back any expenses incurred during the recruitment process?

Unfortunately we will not be able to reimburse you, except in exceptional circumstances.

Am I eligible to apply for this role?

For information on whether you are eligible to apply, please visit Gov.UK.

Is security clearance required?

Yes. If successful you must hold, or be willing to obtain, security clearance to SC level. More information about the vetting process can be found here.

Will this role be overseen by the Civil Service Commission?

No. However, the recruitment process will still be governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles.

What do I do if I want to make a complaint?

The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles.

Should you feel that the recruitment process has breached the recruitment principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should contact scsrecruitment@justice.gov.uk in the first instance.

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department you are able to raise a formal complaint in the following order.

To Shared Service-Connected Ltd (0845 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 08.00 - 18.00) or e-mail Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com)
To Ministry of Justice Resourcing (resourcing-services@justice.gov.uk)
To the Civil Service Commission (https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/contact-us/)

What should I do if I think that I have a conflict of interest?

If you believe that you may have a conflict of interest you must declare it by contacting SCS Recruitment on scsrecruitment@justice.gov.uk before submitting your application.

We will ensure that we will treat all personal information in accordance with data protection legislation, including the General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018.

Data Sharing

To process your application your personal data will be shared with the Ministry of Justice SCS Recruitment Team, campaign Panel Members and anyone else necessary as part of the recruitment process.

The legal basis for processing your personal data is:

Processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest. Personal data are processed in the public interest because understanding civil servant experiences and feelings about working in the Civil Service can inform decision taken to improve these experiences, and ultimately organisation performance.

Sensitive personal data is personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, and the processing of genetic data, biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person's sex life or sexual orientation.

The legal basis for processing your sensitive personal data is:

Processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest for the exercise of a function of the Crown, a Minister of the Crown, or a government department: it is important to know if groups of staff with specific demographic characteristics have a better or worse experience of working for the Civil Service, so that appropriate action can be taken to level this experience;

Processing is of a specific category of personal data and it is necessary for the purposes of identifying or keeping under review the existence or absence of equality of opportunity or treatment between groups of people with a view to enabling such equality to be promoted or maintained.
Please note if you are successful in your application your sensitive personal data will be used as part of the on-boarding process to build your employee record.

For further information please see the GDPR Privacy Notice.

Advert Closing Date	Sunday 31^st August 2025
Outcome of CV and Statement of Suitability	w/c 8^th September 2025
Panel Interview and Presentation	w/c 22^nd September 2025