Head of Irregular Migration Policy

Grade 6

Civil, Tribunals and Administration of Justice Directorate (CTAJ)

The Civil, Tribunals and Administration of Justice Directorate is recruiting permanently for a Grade 6 Head of Irregular Migration Policy. This campaign is open to current civil servants on level transfer and suitable candidates on promotion.

Location:

Successful candidates will have the option to be based at one of the following locations:

1. 102 Petty France, London

2. 5 Wellington Place, Leeds

Occasional travel between the two locations may be required.  We offer a hybrid working model, allowing for a balance between remote work and time spent in your base location (102 Petty France or 5 Wellington Place Leeds)

Ways of Working

At the MoJ we believe and promote alternative ways of working, these roles are available as:

• Full-time, part-time or the option to job share

• Flexible working patterns

• Flexible working arrangements between base locations, MoJ Hubs and home.

If we receive applications from more suitable candidates than we have vacancies for at this time, we may hold suitable applicants on a reserve list for 12 months, and future vacancies requiring the same skills and experience could be offered to candidates on the reserve list without a new competition.

We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce and pride ourselves as being an employer of choice. To find out more about how we champion diversity and inclusion in the workplace, visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity

Salary

Existing Civil Servants will have their salary calculated in accordance with the Department’s pay on transfer / pay on promotion rules.  

Security Clearance

This role requires National Security Vetting given the access to sensitive information afforded by the job role. You can find more information by reviewing the information held in the following links:

United Kingdom Security Vetting: Applicant - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The vetting charter - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

In addition, there is a minimum UK residency requirement set by the Cabinet Office which is dependent on the security level required for the role.

This role requires CTC and to be eligible to apply for this role you should have been present in the UK continuously for the past 3 years.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ)

MoJ is the largest government department, employing over 90,000 people with a budget of approximately £10 billion. Each year, millions of people use our services across the UK - including at 500 courts and tribunals, and 133 prisons in England and Wales.

Further information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice

The Work of the Irregular Migration Policy Unit

Tackling Irregular Migration and clearing the asylum backlog is one of the Prime Minister’s top priorities. With responsibility for legal aid and the courts/tribunal system, the MoJ and its wider agencies have a critical role in meeting the Government’s objectives.

The Irregular Migration Policy team is a small unit within the wider CTAJ directorate, though we will shortly be joining with the Tribunals and Fees team as a new Division. The Unit has overarching responsibility for shaping and implementing policy across the MoJ in this area, and in particular, in ensuring the fair and effective administration of the immigration appeals system.

The Immigration and Asylum Tribunal is facing exceptional demand pressures, largely due to the high level of asylum claims and related drive to clear the asylum claim backlog. The team works across Government and the MoJ to shape policy proposals across this area in response to this challenge. The team is also responsible for implementing any justice reforms in this area, including those driven by policy changes in the wider asylum and immigration system. As such we work closely with stakeholders (including the Home Office, HMCTS, Judicial Office & the Legal Aid Agency).

We also support the Home Office more broadly in relation to justice interests in the wider asylum and immigration system and work closely with a range of other teams on several interesting and cross-cutting areas, including on Foreign National Offenders (FNOs).

Head of Irregular Migration Policy - the role

We are looking to recruit a Grade 6 Head of Irregular Migration Policy, to lead the team responsible for driving MoJ policy on Irregular Migration - working closely with a range of cross government stakeholders and MoJ agencies, including key delivery partners such as HMCTS, Judicial Office and the Legal Aid Agency, as well as with analysts, legal and finance leads. This post holder will also work closely with Home Office policy and operational teams.

This is a high profile and fast paced role; the post holder will be required to respond to developments and changing priorities at short notice.

The role will include:

• Providing the highest quality advice to Ministers to help shape and define the direction of irregular migration policy, advising Ministers and senior officials on the more contentious aspects of the policy area, including risks and mitigations, and ensuring that Ministerial policy decisions are implemented at pace.

• Initiating policy development and implementation in this high profile area, working at pace and in partnership with analytical, legal and operational colleagues.

• Developing and maintaining influential and effective relationships with key stakeholders in the Home Office and with contacts within MoJ policy and function teams, as well as with HMCTS and LAA operational teams, and representing the Department at cross-Government meetings, particularly with the Home Office.

• Leading and developing a high functioning policy team, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, innovation and diversity in policy making.

• Taking a wider responsibility for culture and staff experience across the Directorate and beyond.

Skills and Experience

Essential:

• Excellent strategic thinking skills, including the ability to set direction for a portfolio of work in a high-profile, high-pressured and complex policy area.

• Ability to lead, manage and mobilise experts, including analytical and legal as well as operational teams, to deliver policy outcomes through and with others.

• Highly effective communication skills and the ability to analyse, interpret and translate complex policy and legislative issues into clear advice for Ministers.

• Personal credibility and excellent stakeholder and relationship management skills, with the ability to build effective relationships, influence and challenge at senior levels, including with colleagues in OGDs and operational organisations.

• Ability to establish and manage a high performing team, creating a culture of diversity, inclusion and continuous improvement.

• Ability to manage staff through periods of ambiguity and change, and to help teams navigate the day-to-day complexity of working with OGDs and operational organisations.

Desirable:

• Knowledge and understanding of illegal migration policy.

Candidates applying from HMPPS should note that the Ministry of Justice does not have the same conditions of employment as HMPPS. It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure they are aware of the terms and conditions they will adopt should they be successful.

The MoJ is proud to be Level 3 Disability Confident. Disability Confident is the approach through which we offer guaranteed interviews for all people with disabilities meeting the minimum criteria for the advertised role as set out in the job description.

Application process

You will be assessed against the Civil service success profiles framework.

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.

Experience

You will be asked to provide a CV during the application process in order to assess any demonstrable experience, career history and achievements that are relevant to the role.

You will also be asked to upload a Statement of Suitability of no more than 1250 words stating what you would bring to the role, with reference to the Skills and Experience listed above.

Behaviours

During the application process you will be asked to provide an example of how you have met the following behaviour (see Annex A for more information):

• Working together

• Leadership

• Communicating and Influencing

• Making Effective Decisions

• Delivering at pace

Please also refer to the CS Behaviours framework for more details at this grade:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/717275/CS_Behaviours_2018.pdf

Should we receive a large number of applications, we will sift primarily on the lead behaviour of Working together. Successful applicants will then be invited to an interview, testing both behaviours and strengths.

Candidates invited to Interview

Please note that interviews will be carried out remotely.

During the panel interview, you will be asked behaviour-based questions to explore in detail what you are capable of, and strengths-based questions to also explore what you enjoy, and your motivations relevant to the job role.

There is no expectation or requirement for you to prepare for the strengths-based questions in advance of the interview, though you may find it helpful to spend some time reflecting on what you enjoy doing and what you do well.

You can refer to the CS Strengths dictionary for more details: Success Profiles - Civil Service Strengths Dictionary (publishing.service.gov.uk)

During the panel interview, you will also be expected to prepare a 5-minute presentation, the topic for which will be provided to candidates when invited to interview.

Interviews are expected to take place in early January 2025.

Contact information  

Please do get in touch if you would like to know more about the role or what it is like working in our team. Jenny Pickrell, (jenny.pickrell@justice.gov.uk)

Annex A - The STAR method

Using the STAR method can help you give examples of relevant experience that you have. It allows you to set the scene, show what you did, and how you did it, and explain the overall outcome.

Situation - Describe the situation you found yourself in. You must describe a specific event or situation. Be sure to give enough detail for the job holder to understand.

• Where are you?

• Who was there with you?

• What had happened?

Task - The job holder will want to understand what you tried to achieve from the situation you found yourself in.

• What was the task that you had to complete and why?

• What did you have to achieve?

Actions - What did you do? The job holder will be looking for information on what you did, how you did it and why. Keep the focus on you. What specific steps did you take and what was your contribution? Remember to include how you did it, and the behaviours you used. Try to use “I" rather than “we" to explain your actions that lead to the result. Be careful not to take credit for something that you did not do.

Results - Don’t be shy about taking credit for your behaviour. Quote specific facts and figures. Explain how the outcome benefitted the organisation or your area. Make the outcomes easily understandable.

• What results did the actions produce?

• What did you achieve through your actions and did you meet your goals?

• Was it a successful outcome? If not, what did you learn from the experience?

Keep the situation and task parts brief. Concentrate on the action and the result. If the result was not entirely successful describe what you learned from this and what you would do differently next time. Make sure you focus on your strengths.