26486 - Workforce Strategy - Prison Office Pay Policy (Band B/ SEO)

Overview

Do you enjoy working on important, challenging and fast paced work? Do you want a new challenge and want to work as part of a collaborative team working closely with operational colleagues and colleagues across Whitehall to advise ministers on prison officer pay and pay strategy?

Prison Policy Directorate is looking to recruit a motivated, enthusiastic Band B (SEO) with a proven track record of policy development and collaborative working.

About the Ministry of Justice

MoJ is one of the largest government departments, employing around 70,000 people (including those in the Probation Service), with a budget of approximately £9 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. We work to protect the public and reduce reoffending, and to provide a more effective, transparent and responsive criminal justice system for victims and the public.

We work in partnership with other government departments and agencies to reform the criminal justice system, to serve the public and support the victims of crime. We are responsible for making new laws, strengthening democracy, and safeguarding human rights. This role supports MoJ’s priority to improve public safety and reduce reoffending by reforming prisons, probation and youth justice.

Workforce Strategy team

The Workforce Strategy team in MoJ’s Prison Policy Directorate is responsible for producing and implementing Workforce Strategy policy proposals for prisons and probation. The strategy aims to deliver a diverse and professional workforce, and capable leaders to transform offender services, supported by effective recruitment and retention of staff, employee relations (ER) strategy and pay strategy.

Job description

This role is responsible for contributing significantly towards:

• developing HMPPS medium and long-term pay strategy;
• project managing the annual pay review body pay round,
• working closely with HMPPS colleagues to jointly produce the government’s written and oral evidence to the review body, and the government’s response to the review body report.

The role requires working effectively with Employee Relations colleagues on the implementation of the ER strategy and the links between pay and employee relations.

It offers an excellent opportunity for high performing individuals to be at the centre of one of Whitehall’s most interesting policy areas: prison policy. This is a demanding role developing policy that supports prison staff. You will work in partnership with HMPPS pay and reward colleagues, MoJ Finance, MoJ HR, ministerial private offices and colleagues across other government departments whose pay is also governed by pay review bodies.

You will be able to prioritise the most urgent and important work, adjust priorities swiftly and have a track record in high quality policy development and briefing ministers and senior officials often at short notice.

We are a friendly team who supports each other and is committed to providing our people with a range of interesting work and development. We are looking for people to join us who are enthusiastic team members, flexible and keen to contribute to the wider Directorate and Department, and who are committed to supporting the MoJ’s wider values of purpose, openness, humanity and working together.

Line management responsibilities

The post may line manage others – currently 1 Band C.

Skills and experience

• The successful candidate must be confident operating in a complex, sometimes unpredictable and fast-moving environment.
• Excellent oral communication and stakeholder management skills are essential, as is the ability to develop and draft written advice and briefings.
• The ability to make sound judgements and provide well-articulated arguments.
• Skilled in policy development, and managing policy projects.
• Knowledge of prisons/probation is desirable but not essential.

Behaviours

The successful candidate will need to demonstrate Civil Service Behaviours in Success Profiles at Band B (Level 3 SEO):

1.            Making effective decisions

2.            Seeing the big picture

3.            Communicating & Influencing

4.            Working Together

5.            Delivering at pace

If we receive a high level of applications we will sift on the lead behaviour of making effective decisions.

Flexible working

Yes. This is a full-time post based in either 102 Petty France, London, where staff are expected to be in the London office at least 3 days per week; or in our Leeds office at 5 Wellington Place, Leeds, where staff are expected to be in the Leeds office at least 3 days a week, and travelling to London for key meetings occasionally as necessary.

Applications for job shares or flexible working will be considered.

Expected Start Date and Term

As soon as possible.

Sift and interview dates

We expect to carry out the sift in early June with interviews to follow.

For further information about this role please contact simon.thornhill@justice.gov.uk