Economist

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.

Information required for D&A Recruitment Team    To be completed by Hiring Manager
Type of advertisement: Across-Government or External (encouraged)    Across Gov
Duration of campaign (2 weeks typically):    3 weeks
Vacancy role ID number(s) to be recruited to via this campaign    TBA
Funding arrangement (Please specify the funder, funding end date, cost code to be recharged etc)    2 x D&A, 1 x Digital
Are you offering badging? Please note that badging processes differ and may be more complex – please speak with Recruitment Team in the first instance     No
Does this/these post(s) attract a specialist allowance? If some roles attract/don’t attract an allowance, separate campaigns will need to run for these    No
Level of clearance required (Please state BPSS (standard for most campaigns), SC, CTC, DV)    BPSS
Business Case for approval attached    No (already approved)
Is this recruitment to be national or localised. If localised and/or London based, additional approval form HR and the Director are required.  Please attach.    National
    
Do you have the passion, values, and ability to help us solve the biggest problems of the justice system?

3 x G7 Economist posts, Economics Hub, Data & Analysis, Ministry of Justice 

1.    Overview

We currently have three G7 Economist vacancies in the Economics Hub within the Data & Analysis Directorate:

–    G7 Head of Digital, Data & Technology Economic Appraisal Team

These roles are open to existing analysts (GES badged) either on level transfer or on promotion.

Minimum requirements to apply:

Candidates must be able to show the relevant experience and skills and must meet the criteria for entry: 

Grade 7 – must meet all of the following:
•    You have significant work experience (a minimum of two years) evidencing use of data and/or analytical skills. Time spent on an analytical PhD can count towards this.
•    You have experience of managing projects
•    You have experience of leading or managing a team

We welcome applications from candidates based across the UK. Candidates will have the option of being based in the Leeds or London HQ offices (with flexible working arrangements available) or your nearest Justice Collaboration Centre or Justice Satellite Office. These are based at the following JCCs: Cardiff, Leeds, Nottingham, South Tyneside, Brighton, Ipswich and Liverpool, and the following JSOs: Ashford, Beverley, Haverfordwest, Hull, Merthyr Tydfil, Manchester, Newport, Birmingham, Sheffield, North Shields, Bristol, Wolverhampton, Weston-Super-Mare, Stafford, Truro, Winchester and Leeds.

Alternative locations may be available and will be discussed and agreed on the completion of background checks.

Interviews are likely to take place in October 2023 and will be held via MS Teams. We will keep a merit list for a year for those who successfully pass the interview board but who are not offered a post.

2. About Data & Analysis

We are passionate about improving justice outcomes through innovative research, data and analysis. 

In Data and Analysis, we provide high quality data and analysis helping to ensure strategic, policy, finance, corporate and operational decisions are based on robust evidence.

We create a culture in which people are empowered with the data and information to make excellent decisions; using cutting edge tools, techniques and collaboration; putting evidence at the heart of the justice system.

We are a multi-disciplinary team of around 650 staff that sits at the heart of the Ministry of Justice providing analytical support across a diverse and exciting agenda. We work in a dynamic and fast-paced context and our skills are in heavy demand across the Ministry of Justice. Our collaborations beyond government are seen as ground-breaking. The Data and Analysis community is made up of analysts and specialists including: Social Researchers, Economists, Operational Researchers, Statisticians, Data Engineers, Data Scientists and other data specialists (such as data strategists, data dissemination, generalists and assurance experts).

Why work in Data and Analysis?

In Data and Analysis, we want all our people to feel valued for who they are and for the work they do. We provide a warm, inclusive place to work and offer a wide range of flexibilities and benefits as part of our people offer to reward our staff.

What we offer 

•    Flexible working arrangements and a focus on equality of opportunity – including welcoming part-time and/or job-share arrangements, compressed hours, working from home or your nearest Justice Collaboration Centres or Justice Satellite Office.
•    Career development – regular development and promotion opportunities across a wide range of roles, career development support, with a generous individual learning and development budget.
•    Range of new areas of work and new tools and techniques – we pride ourselves on our excellent deployment of well-established analytical methods, but also our progress to date. Progress such as our ambitious and innovative transformation programme to leverage departmental data and drive evidence-based decision-making using cutting-edge tools and techniques (for example: experimentation, personalisation, artificial intelligence).
•    Analysis is at the centre of the Department’s decision making – our transformation programme is focused on maximising our impact on departmental outcomes. The Ministry of Justice’s Senior Team and our Ministerial Team want all decisions to be evidence driven – your analysis will be key in influencing decisions and real-world impact
•    Vibrant community – part of a multidisciplinary team that has a supportive culture and is looking to further develop the community with the help of everyone.
•    See the frontline and what your work is influencing – regular opportunities to visit our front-line service providers, including courts, prisons, and probation to better understand the areas your analysis is affecting.

3. What you’ll do  

The Economics Hub is a team of Economists, led by the MoJ’s Deputy Chief Economist. The Hub allows for an overview of the economic work happening across the whole of Data and Analysis, so offering an opportunity to understand the role of economics and economic analysis across all justice areas. Developing methods to assess the Value for Money (VfM) of all the MoJ’s main activities is a core theme.

The Economics Hub is made up of 5 G7 areas: Business Cases, Cost-Benefit/VfM and Environmental appraisal, Cost-Benefit/VfM Frameworks and Unit Costs databases, Wider Economic Research and Data, Digital and Technology (DDaT) appraisal. All G7’s work on Economics research projects if they have time and a flexible team structure means junior and G7 resources are shared across projects. 

The Economics Hubs’ work and remit focus on 4 core areas. In addition to offering economic expertise and guidance in line with the Green Book and the Cost-Benefit/ VfM frameworks being created by the Hub, the other three areas are as follows:
•    Offering governance via the Business Case and Impact Assessments sign-off processes and through the newly establish Economics Projects Board, 
•    Carrying out new and novel economic research into justice specific areas to better understand how to carry out VfM assessments. 
•    Developing cost-benefit methods and supporting their application to the MoJs growing portfolio of Digital & Technology programmes and services.

The Hub works collaboratively with a range of policy, operational, finance, and analytical stakeholders across MoJ and OGD’s to create guidance and to ensure best practices are being embedded in MoJ and across the analytical function. 

The Roles

There are three roles available. They will be allocated to the successful candidates on the basis of their skills and experience alongside their personal preferences.

Post 1: G7 Head of Business Cases
•    Proactively supporting business case project teams to develop high quality economic appraisals by utilising knowledge of the Green Book and offering guidance and advice throughout the development stages. 
•    Acting as the Economic Keyholder for business cases. 
•    Analytical leadership for a small number of business cases as need/demand arise, these are picked up at the discretion of the MoJ Chief Economist.
•    Identifying future opportunities to improve the general analytical approach towards economic appraisals and developing frameworks to promote change (e.g. inflation, optimism bias, sensitivity analysis). 
•    Leading the Business Case Network, sharing knowledge/information and developing teach-in sessions to upskill analysts working on business cases. 
•    Line management of 1 HEO/SEO (1 Economist). 

Post 2: G7 Head of Wider Economic Research
•    Scoping out economic analysis that can fill key evidence gaps in the MoJ. Lead on carrying out such analysis within their own team and/or by contracting out research projects externally. 
•    Supporting the creation of new VfM methods alongside the other Economics Hub G7’s to support the creation of the Cost-Benefit/VfM framework. 
•    Coordinating and leading the Economics Projects Board by supporting the Chief Economist and DCE to sign-off various research projects. 
•    Coordinating with the Evaluation and Prototyping Hub to outline strategies and ways in which the two Hubs can work together to carry out VfM in the MoJ. 
•    Leading analytical research work requested by senior MoJ staff to help inform decision making and setting departmental strategies. 
•    Line management of 1 SEO (1 Economist). 

Post 3: Head of Digital, Data and Technology Economic Appraisal

•    Working closely with a team of DDaT Performance Analysts, to provide a range of analytical support to Digital & Technology programmes and services. 
•    Developing and maturing an appraisal framework for monetising the costs and benefits of DDaT services, which will include creating, testing, and implementing new economic methodologies. 
•    Bringing innovative economic thinking to the area as economic analysis in the DDaT space is a relatively nascent area of work in Government. 
•    Supporting digital business cases to HMT.
•    Tracking and monitoring financial and economic benefits of ongoing digital transformation programmes.
•    Carrying out economic analysis to support DDaT bids in Spending Reviews.
•    Embedding new analytical processes within the DDaT area upskilling digital colleagues on key economic principles to apply in their work.
•    Being an active member of project boards where services are designed for outsourcing by leading on the development of sensible options for outsourced services and conducting appropriate economic appraisals. 
•    Performing a wider economic leadership role as an expert on appraising DDaT proposals.

4. Who you are

The following experience and skills will be required:

For all three posts:

•    Strong economic skills and Green Book knowledge and the experience of applying both to Cost-Benefit and VfM analysis. 
•    Leadership skills that inspire teams and partners to work collaboratively and empowers them to deliver in the face of competing stakeholder priorities. 
•    The ability to clearly communicate complex and technical economic techniques to both analytical and non-analytical colleagues. 
•    The ability to prioritise, influence and shape the development and direction of economic projects which address core justice system issues while bringing in a variety of views and feedback from other relevant professional groups. 
•    Experience of designing complex analytical projects and conducting scoping work with a range of stakeholders. 
•    Good project management ability across multiple programs of work and strong organisational skills. 

The following experience and skills are desirable:

For all three posts:

•    Knowledge of the Magenta Book and its evaluative techniques/ methodologies however, this is not a necessity. 
•    Prior line management experience however, this is not a necessity. 

5. How to apply 

You’ll need to submit an anonymised CV and Statement of Suitability as part of your application. You will not be considered if you do not provide both. 

Your CV should be no more than 2 pages long and should show us your work history and previous experience. It should be well structured, succinct and written in clear language. 

5a. Selection Process 

There will be an initial sift of applicants through comparing submitted evidence against the ‘Who you are’ bullets. This usually takes two weeks, depending on the number of applications. 

Those who make it through the initial sift will be invited to a Civil Service Success Profile interview. In the Civil Service we use Success Profiles to help us find the right person for the job. We will be using a mixture of methods to assess your abilities, strengths, experience, technical skills and behaviours. We highly recommend learning about Success Profiles and using the Situation, Task, Action, Result and Reflection (STARR) framework when structuring your answers.

The highest scoring candidates that pass the interview will be offered the roles. The whole process can take up to a month. 

Behaviours

You will be assessed against the Civil service success profiles framework at interview stage:

•    Communicating and Influencing  
•    Changing and Improving 
•    Seeing the Bigger Picture 

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 
 
As well as the three civil service behaviours stated above, you will be assessed on two sets of the GES professional competencies at interview.

•    Professional Competency (1) Knowledge & Skills 
 
o    GES – Analysis of Data. 

•    Professional Competency (2) Influence & Impact 

o    GES – Effective communication. 

For more information regarding Professional Competency (2) please refer to the analytical profession internet link below. Please note that some aspect of the GES professional competency may overlap with the MoJ competencies listed above. We therefore recommend that in providing evidence for the professional competency, candidates focus on the technical and methodology aspects of the competencies that are specific to the economics profession. We will use evidence presented for the MoJ competencies in assessing the wider skills candidates have.

6. Applicants invited for Interview  

You will be required to give a 5-minute presentation at interview. Details of this will be sent to those candidates who are invited for interview. 

7. Further Information 

If you require any additional information about the role, please contact: Alex Wilks (MoJ Chief Economist) Alex.Wilks@justice.gov.uk or Andrew Meads (MoJ Deputy Chief Economist) Andrew.Meads@justice.gov.uk

Salary

The national salary range is £54,358 - £61,585, London salary range is £58,847 - £66,670 Your salary will be dependent on your base location

Additional Information

Working Arrangements & Further Information

The MoJ offers Hybrid Working arrangements where business need allows. This is an informal, non-contractual form of flexible working that blends working from your base location, different MoJ sites and / or from home (please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas). Some roles will not be suitable for Hybrid Working. Similarly, Hybrid Working will not suit everyone’s circumstances. Arrangements will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate(s) and subject to regular review.

For nationally advertised roles, the successful candidate(s) will be appointed to a MoJ office location, which may include their nearest Justice Collaboration Centre or Justice Satellite Office. This will be discussed and agreed on the completion of pre-employment checks.

Some of MoJ’s terms and conditions of service are changing as part of Civil Service reform. The changes will apply to staff joining MoJ who are new to the Civil Service. Staff joining MoJ from other civil service employers will transfer onto the new MoJ terms if they are already on ‘modernised’ terms in their current post or onto ‘unmodernised’ MoJ terms if they are on ‘unmodernised’ terms at their current post. Details will be available if an offer is made.

Flexible working hours

The Ministry of Justice offers a flexible working system in many offices.

Benefits

The MoJ offers a range of benefits:

Annual Leave

Annual leave is 25 days on appointment and will increase to 30 days after five years’ service.

There is also a scheme to allow qualifying staff to buy or sell up to three days leave each year. Additional paid time off for public holidays and 1 privilege day. Leave for part-time and job share posts will be calculated on a pro-rata basis.

Pension

The Civil Service offers a choice of pension schemes, giving you the flexibility to choose the pension that suits you best.

Training

The Ministry of Justice is committed to staff development and offers an extensive range of training and development opportunities.

Networks

The opportunity to join employee-run networks that have been established to provide advice and support and to enable the views of employees from minority groups to be expressed direct to senior management. There are currently networks for employees of minority ethnic origin, employees with disabilities, employees with caring responsibilities, women employees, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees.

Support

• A range of ‘Family Friendly’ policies such as opportunities to work reduced hours or job share.
• Access to flexible benefits such as voluntary benefits, retail vouchers and discounts on a range of goods and services.
• For moves to or from another employer or moves across the Civil Service this can have implications on your eligibility to carry on claiming childcare vouchers. You may however be eligible for alternative government childcare support schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. More information can be found on GOV.UK or Childcare Choices. You can determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.
• Paid paternity, adoption and maternity leave.
• Free annual sight tests for employees who use computer screens.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by 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 you are able to raise a formal complaint in the following order

• To Shared Service Connected Ltd (0845 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am – 6pm) or e mail Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com);
• To Ministry of Justice Resourcing team (resourcing-management-office@justice.gov.uk);
• To the Civil Service Commission (details available here)

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As a Disability Confident employer, MoJ are committed to providing everyone with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, talent and abilities, by making adjustments throughout all elements of the recruitment process and in the workplace. MoJ are able to offer an interview to disabled candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns.

You will be able to request reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process within the application form. If you need additional help completing the application form, please contact the SSCL Recruitment Enquiries Team.

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.