44506 - Experimentation Lead – Experimentation and Evaluation Hub, Data & Analytical Services Directorate (2 roles available)

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Overview

We have 1-2 permanent roles in our Experimentation and Evaluation Hub within the MoJ Data & Analytical Services Directorate at Grade 7b, subject to qualifying conditions being met.

The successful candidate will have the option to be based in London (10 South Colonnade) or Leeds (5 Wellington Place) with flexible working arrangements available.

The salary will be negotiable within the Grade 7b pay range depending on your skills and expertise as assessed in the selection process. 

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ)

The Ministry of Justice is a major government department, at the heart of the justice system. We work to protect and advance the principles of justice. Our vision is to deliver a world-class justice system that works for everyone in society. A key priority is to become strongly data and evidence driven by ensuring it is used to improve our business performance and the justice system for our citizens.

Data and Analytical Services Directorate (DASD)

Data and Analytical Services Directorate (DASD) is a multi-disciplinary directorate of 300+ people from a range of professional and backgrounds and sits at the heart of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) 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 MoJ. We are a cross-disciplinary directorate with a supporting policy development and operational delivery with a mixture of generalist analysts and data users, data scientists, social researchers, operational researchers, statisticians and economists. 

The Experimentation and Evaluation Hub

The Experimentation and Evaluation Hub is a new team within DASD which sits at the heart of MoJ’s push to change the way we generate and use evidence. The hub focuses on increasing capacity, capability and quality in our use of experimentation and evaluation across the MoJ. From rapid cycle testing to develop new approaches to trialling new interventions, experimentation is still rare in government decision making. It involves a cultural shift in which we learn positively from failure, being transparent about what works and what doesn’t work. It is a more honest approach, in which we recognise that we don’t have all the answers, but in order to innovate we are willing to test out new ideas. 

What you’ll do

You will identify and lead projects independently and work as part of larger teams consisting of a range of analysts (such as social researchers, statisticians and data scientists) as well as interact with digital roles (product managers, user researchers, software developers etc.). The majority of projects will be conducted on the MoJ Analytical Platform for QA, version control and effective collaboration, and projects will include developing and testing new ideas, making the case for implementing and evaluating scaled-up approaches in digital and frontline services.

Specific responsibilities will be tailored to reflect your strengths and development needs, but you will also contribute to:

• Developing a departmental approach of (pre-)experimentation in all MoJ policy and operational development:

• selling and communicating the benefits of a ‘test, learn, adapt’ approach to innovate;

• seeing collaborative opportunities with our DASD data science hub

• listening and responding to challenge; 

• developing exemplar projects to facilitate culture change, and 

• supporting teams in setting up pre-experimental approaches within the department.

• Building a programme of small-scale tests and trials across the MoJ agenda. 

• Developing the departmental approach to experimentation being built into the earliest stages of large-scale reform programmes. Working to ensure adequate funding is available. 

• Bringing expertise into the MoJ to develop our learning, innovate and improve our evaluation and experimentation practice: linking in with cross-government expertise via the Cross-Government Evaluation Group (CGEG), the Trial Advisory Panel (TAP), the Cabinet Office What Works Team, HMT Evaluation Taskforce  and the Behavioural Insights Team. 

• Ensuring that evaluation/experimentation results are communicated in a way that has a real impact with decision makers, and that their perspectives and needs are considered where appropriate in evaluation design. 

• Developing the capacity of the team: working with the G6 and DASD Deputy Directors to develop innovative ways to expand resources. 

Who you are

We’re interested in people who have:

• significant experimentation experience: the applicant needs to have led a range of high-quality trials, testing and evaluations;

• good knowledge of data science techniques (such as machine learning, natural language processing, data visualisation and/or statistical modelling) on structured and unstructured data, ideally in cloud computing environments;

• evidence of achieving impact through seeking out opportunities and demonstrating innovation;

• ability to work collaboratively with diverse stakeholder groups, to forge partnerships and co-create projects;

• resilience, creativity and agility (e.g. ability to deal with uncertain situations and set-backs and find creative solutions);

• strong strategic thinking and problem solving aligned with organisational goals, with ability to identify opportunities for developing and promoting adoption and learning of trials capability and usage across the MoJ.

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. Try to avoid just listing technology keywords; we are interested in how you have used different tools to solve problems.

Your Statement of Suitability should be no more than 750 words and should give us examples of how your skills and experience match those needed for this role. Consider giving an example for each bullet point, in the skills requirements ‘Who you are’ section and use work you have completed to demonstrate how you meet each one. 

All these requirements are important for the job, however we do not expect candidates to be expert in all of them. Just give as much evidence as you can for each and make sure you cover ‘how’ you demonstrated the requirements and the impact of your work, as well as ‘what’ you did. Again, if you are interested in applying but are not sure you have all the skills listed, please do apply and give us the opportunity to consider you as a candidate.

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 a month. Other candidates that pass the interview will be kept on a merit list for 12 months. 

Presentation

At the interview we will be asked to give a five-minute presentation on an experimentation project you have delivered. Details of this will be sent to candidates before the interview.

Behaviours

The following behaviours will be tested:

● Leadership

● Managing a Quality Service

● Changing and Improving

In your examples you should include evidence on ‘how’ you demonstrated the requirements and the impact of your work, as well as ‘what’ you did.

Technical – Experimentation/Evaluation skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

● Experimentation expertise and technical leadership

● working practices (PM, QA, ethics, version control, etc.)

Technical – Analytical Competency

We'll assess you against the analytical competencies depending on these two options:

1. Existing analysts from all professions (GORS/GSS/GSR/GES) will be asked for evidence of how you meet the requirements of the relevant professional competency framework, with particular focus on communicating analysis and achieving impact.

2. Non-analysts who would like to join GSR, GORS, GES or GSG will be assessed on achieving impact with analysis (GORS Achieving impact with analysis / GSG Presenting and disseminating data effectively).

Please refer to the analytical profession frameworks in the appendix section for more information.

For Further Information

If you have any queries about the role or application process, or wish to discuss, please contact Rik Van de Kerckhove at Rik.VandeKerckhove1@justice.gov.uk or Rachel Dubourg / Alexy Buck (job-share) at buck-dubourg.jobshare@Justice.gov.uk 

Appendix

Civil Service Success Profiles used for selection process:

● https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles

Analytical profession frameworks used for assessing the technical analytical competency at interview:

● Government Social Research Service (GSR): https://tinyurl.com/y9gwny96

● Government Operational Research Service (GORS): https://tinyurl.com/y9q3akcg

● Government Statistician Group (GSG): https://tinyurl.com/y4mjpd23

● Government Economic Service (GES): https://tinyurl.com/ybh95rm5

For Further Information

If you have any queries about the role or application process, or wish to discuss, please contact Rik Van de Kerckhove at Rik.VandeKerckhove1@justice.gov.uk or Rachel Dubourg / Alexy Buck (job-share) at buck-dubourg.jobshare@Justice.gov.uk

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 - 44506.