39119 - Judicial Appointments Commission - Senior Policy Officer
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
Please note that the JAC is currently working remotely and this is expected to continue.
About the JAC
The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) is an independent public body, established in April 2006, to select judges in the courts and tribunals, and non-legal tribunal members. The JAC selects judicial candidates through fair and open competition, encouraging a wide range of quality candidates to apply for the posts that it advertises.
The JAC is responsible for designing, planning and running recruitment campaigns to select judicial office holders up to and including High Court Judges. We have a statutory duty to select solely on merit, while keeping our selection processes open to the widest range of applicants. We are committed to attracting applicants from as wide a field as possible and work closely with a range of organisations to promote vacancies to eligible candidates. We launch a new campaign for judicial posts every one to two weeks. These range from high volume campaigns for ‘entry level’ posts, attracting upward of 2,000 applicants, to small campaigns for senior roles, attracting a handful of highly qualified people.
More is on our website: http://judicialappointments.gov.uk
The Role
We are looking for a Senior Policy Advisor to join the Selection Policy Team of the JAC. You will be helping to ensure that the JAC fulfils its core statutory duty of selecting judges solely on merit. This is a key role in a vital public body that delivers complex and constitutionally sensitive work at pace.
The Selection Policy team works closely with the JAC’s Commissioners, operational teams, independent panel members and members of the judiciary to ensure the JAC identifies the very best candidates for judicial office. Working within this team, you will be:
- advising on current JAC selection policy and ensuring that it is implemented fairly and effectively in the delivery of selection exercises; and
- developing and improving policy and processes, supporting our key aims of increasing confidence in the quality of selections and becoming a recognised centre of excellence for appointments.
Though located at Clive House, Petty France, London, SW1H 9AJ, JAC staff are currently working remotely, at home, unless there are clear business or personal reasons for attending the office. While this may continue for a few months, it will be necessary for the successful postholder to work at the JAC location regularly once colleagues return to the office.
We offer a range of benefits including an attractive annual leave allowance, flexible working and choice of pension schemes. We actively encourage all staff to undertake learning and development as part of their personal objectives.
Main responsibilities of the role will include
- Providing advice, briefing, and guidance for Commissioners, senior staff and operational teams on selection exercise process and policy matters;
- Development, drafting, presentation, and delivery of new policy relating to the JAC selection process and selection tools;
- Ensuring that the JAC’s selection processes are fair and free from bias, working with equality and operational leads and Commissioners to meet the JAC’s statutory duties;
- Maintaining ownership of key delivery materials, templates and guidance relating to selection policy;
- Regularly reviewing and quality assuring the selection exercise process, liaising regularly with selection exercise teams to ensure best practice is understood and followed;
- Managing requests to seek legal advice from the in-house legal team;
- Providing support to the Head of Selection Policy and wider team as required.
Skills & Qualifications
In addition to meeting the required strengths and behaviours it is expected that successful applicants will have:
- Ability to engage and communicate confidently with senior staff, Board members, and the ability to build constructive relationships with a variety of internal and external partners and other stakeholders;
- Experience and understanding of working to published procedures, or operational policy, in a public sector environment;
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills and ability to target communications to a range of audiences.
Desirable criteria
- Knowledge and understanding of recruitment and selection processes would be advantageous, but is not essential.
- Strong IT skills, especially MS Word, MS Teams and Excel and the ability to quickly develop the skills to work with new IT solutions.
Behaviours
We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process
- Changing and Improving
- Making Effective Decisions
- Communicating and Influencing
- Delivery at Pace
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles and will assess your Behaviours throughout the process. If the number of applications are high, at sift applications will be considered against CV, Statement of Suitability the following behaviour;_ Making Effective Decisions
At Selection day, as well as all behaviours the following strengths will be assessed
- Explainer
- Influencer
- Problem Solver
Please note applicants who are invited for interviews, which will be conducted remotely, will be required to undertake a brief work exercise either before or on the day as part of the selection process
If after reading this job description and the application pack you require any further information about this vacancy, please contact Alex McMurtrie, Head of Selection Policy, on 07966 224631 or email alex.mcmurtrie@judicialappointments.gov.uk.
Candidates invited for interview, will be asked to undertake a written assessment as part of the selection process. All selection days interviews are currently being undertaken remotely, using Microsoft Teams.
Working Arrangements & Further Information
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.
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 any moves across the Civil Service may have implications on your ability to carry on claiming childcare vouchers
- Paid paternity, adoption and maternity leave.
- Free annual sight tests for employees who use computer screens.
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.
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
1- To Shared Service Connected Ltd (0845 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com);
2- To Ministry of Justice Resourcing (resourcing-services@justice.gov.uk);
3- To the Civil Service Commission (details available here)
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity.
There is a guaranteed interview scheme (GIS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
Grading Structure Review
The Ministry of Justice is currently undergoing a review of posts which are currently graded at Band A to realign our grading structure with the majority of the wider Civil Service.
Posts advertised at Band A may be graded at either Grade 6 or Grade 7 once the review has taken place.
02/12/2020, 23:55 hours.
If you require any assistance please call 0845 241 5359 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com Please quote the job reference - 39119.
For any information about the role please contact Ian Thomson at Ian.Thomson@judicialappointments.gov.uk
To apply for roles in MOJ you will need to confirm your employment history for at least 3 years prior to the date of application so that pre-employment checks (BPSS) can be undertaken. If you have spent significant time abroad (a total of 6 months in the past 3 years) you would be required to give a reasonable account of the reasons why.
For some roles you will be required to successfully complete National Security Vetting at Counter Terrorism (CTC), Security Clearance (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV) level as a condition of appointment. To meet CTC/SC/DV requirements you will normally need to have been resident in the UK for at least 3/5/10 years prior to the date of application (The level of checks that are required are stated in the advert).
If you do not meet the above requirements, you may still be considered if, for example:
- You've been serving overseas with HM Forces or in some other official capacity as a representative of HM Government
- You were studying abroad
- You were living overseas with parents
In such cases you will need to be able to provide referee cover for the period(s) of residence overseas. The duration of overseas residence and the country of abode will also be taken into account.
Success Profiles will enable a fairer and more inclusive method of recruitment by enabling us to assess the range of experiences, abilities, strengths, behaviours and technical/professional skills required for different roles. This flexible approach to recruitment focuses more on finding the right candidate for the specific role. To find out more about Success Profiles to support your application please click here for further guidance.
We have provided detail of the assessment stages and areas being assessed to help you prepare for completing your application form, and to advise of what will be assessed following this, if you successfully pass the application stage.
Application form stage assessments
Interview stage assessments
A Great Place to Work for Veterans
The "Making the Civil Service a Great Place to work for veterans" initiative includes a guaranteed interview scheme to those who meet the minimum criteria to provide eligible former members of the Armed Forces with opportunities to secure rewarding jobs. Allowing veterans to continue to serve their country, and to bring highly skilled individuals with a broad range of experience into the Civil Service in an environment, which recognises and values your previous service in the Armed Forces.
For further details about the initiative and eligibility requirements visit : https://www.gov.uk/government/news/making-the-civil-service-a-great-place-to-work-for-veterans
Redeployment Interview Scheme
Civil Service departments are expected to explore redeployment opportunities before making an individual redundant. The MoJ are committed, as part of the Redeployment Interview Scheme, to providing opportunities to those who are 'at risk of redundancy'.
MoJ are able to offer an interview to eligible candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns. Candidate's will not be eligible for the Redeployment Interview Scheme if they are applying on promotion.
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
· UK nationals
· nationals of the Republic of Ireland
· nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
· nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window) https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families
· nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
· individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
· Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules
This Vacancy is closed to applications.