36149 - Team Leader - Policy Correspondence Team (Leeds)

£24,002 - £31,973
3
12 Months
National
Leeds
5 WELLINGTON PLACE LEEDS, LS1 4AP
HEO
C
Permanent
Full Time
Business Management & Improvement, Policy

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

The Ministry of Justice Policy Correspondence Team is responsible for drafting replies to the majority of letters the department receives from MPs, external organisations and members of the public. It is key to the department’s success in communicating with the outside world.

Members of the team work closely with MoJ policy teams to make sure the policy position is reflected accurately in correspondence, and with ministers’ private offices to make sure responses are drafted in line with ministerial preferences.

There is now an opening in the team for a HEO team leader, who will be responsible for managing a team comprising of EO drafters. The role will require the post-holder to manage the team’s work, ensuring the relevant targets are met. This is an excellent opportunity for those wishing to develop their policy skills, as the post-holder will have to agree policy lines that satisfy both the relevant policy team and the minister, which can be challenging when confronted with complex cases.

This role is ideal for a talented and enthusiastic individual wanting to develop their existing people management and leadership skills.

You will need to be highly organised, and in possession of excellent written and oral communication skills. You will need to keep your team briefed and motivated, allocating work to make the most of their strengths, while ensuring they are stretched, coached and that they continue to develop.

Person specification

  • Excellent communication skills – essential;
  • a keen eye for detail – essential;
  • comfortable using Excel to record data – essential.

Key Responsibilities

Roles in the Policy Correspondence Team are challenging and fast-paced. Post holders will need to be adaptable and resilient, ready to undertake a diverse range of tasks. Specifically, the post-holder must be able to:

  • Grasp the essentials of various policy areas in order to quality review drafts.
  • Maintain close and effective working relationships with policy teams, executive agencies, ministers’ private offices and other colleagues to ensure policy briefing is suitable for correspondence purposes.
  • Work collaboratively with other team members to meet relevant targets while working to challenging deadlines. At all times support team members to develop and improve practice, including encouraging creativity in drafting where possible.
  • Provide support to policy teams to produce new lines for correspondence purposes, ensuring that the message is compelling, persuasive, relevant and accurate.
  • At all times seek to deliver clear, empathetic, respectful and timely responses to queries which address correspondent concerns, clarify policy and contribute to the overall smooth handling of departmental public communications.
  • Monitor the service provided to ministers’ private offices and policy teams, and make improvements where required.

Application

We recruit using Success Profiles and CV. We will assess your application against the behaviours below. Please provide examples (detail the situation, your action and results) of how you have met each one of these behaviours.

  • Leadership
  • Delivering at Pace
  • Developing Self and Others
  • Managing a Quality Service

You can find a definition of these Behaviours here. We will be looking at how you meet the expectation for the grade of role you are applying for: Level 3 - HEO or SEO equivalent.

Should we receive a large number of applications, we will sift primarily on the lead behaviour - Leadership.

Interview

The interview will be a blend of questions about Strengths and Behaviours needed for the role. For Behaviours, use the link above to understand the expectations at the grade of role you are applying for: Level 3 - HEO. You can find out definitions of Strengths here.

You will be required to complete a test prior to your interview. Details of this will be sent to those candidates who are invited for interview.

If you are interested in finding out more about the role, please contact Diana Opoku at Diana.Opoku@justice.gov.uk

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.  

Expected week commencing 24th August 2020

19/08/2020, 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 - 36149.

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.

In the event that we receive a large volume of applications we reserve the right to conduct the sift based on one lead behaviour. The chosen lead behaviour for this campaign is Leadership.
if you feel that your application has not been treated in line with the Civil Service Recruitment Principles, please contact SSCL (Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com) in the first instance

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

Behaviours
Leadership - 250 word limit
Delivering at Pace - 250 word limit
Developing Self and Others - 250 word limit
Managing a Quality Service - 250 word limit
Experience
CV
A sift based on the lead behaviour, Leadership, may be held if a large number of applications are received. If a large number of applications remain after the initial sift, your application will be progressed to a full sift, where all behaviours will then be considered.

Interview stage assessments

There is 1 interview stage for this vacancy.
Behaviours
Leadership
Delivering at Pace
Developing Self and Others
Managing a Quality Service
Strengths may also be assessed at interview but these are not shared in advance.
Additional Assessment(s)
Written Exercise

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.