85173 - Senior Advisors in the Strategy and Innovation Directorate, (5 roles), Ministry of Justice

Diversity & Inclusion

The team embraces colleagues with a wide of previous experience, including from the private sector, within the justice system and across government. We want to maintain a diversity of background and experience to help us deliver the best results.

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

Job Description overview

We are recruiting for five exciting roles in the Strategy and Innovation Directorate, in each of the following teams:

• Priority Projects Unit (two roles)
• Strategy Unit (one role)
• Implementation Unit (one role)
• Innovation Team (one role)

We are looking for motivated, resilient, and adaptable individuals who can get to grips with new subject areas quickly to support the delivery of high-quality, high-priority work across the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).

Senior Advisors play a central role in leading and supporting teams. You will need to get to grips with new subject areas quickly, have strong analytical and problem-solving skills, and be able to communicate complex ideas clearly. You will need to be confident working independently and as part of project teams. You will need to be comfortable working with ambiguity, when supporting the delivery of complex and challenging work across MoJ’s policy and strategy. 

Each role will give you the opportunity to work with senior stakeholders, frontline staff, other government departments, ministers, and Senior Civil Servants.

Every member of our directorate plays a key role in shaping the team and driving forward our priorities. You will contribute regularly to team meetings, including occasionally chairing, and bring ideas for how we can continuously improve and make the team a great place to work. You will also be expected to lead or support corporate projects that contribute to shaping the culture and development of the team, such as wellbeing, diversity & inclusion, recruitment, or learning and development.

You will have access to many training opportunities on a range of topics, for example: leadership and coaching, effective writing, stakeholder engagement and partnership working.

Role 1: Priority Projects Team: Senior Policy Advisor

The Priority Projects Team (PPT) is a high-profile, friendly, and supportive team working at the heart of MoJ’s policy making function. We act as an in-house consultancy, working on projects of a few weeks to 6 months, to deliver on the department’s top policy priorities. We typically work in small project teams of up 5 people.

Each project is unique, fast-paced, and exciting. Recently our projects have covered policy areas including on victims, youth justice, legal aid, and prisons.  

About the roles

As a Senior Policy Advisor in the Priority Projects Team, you will:

• Lead or support the delivery of a range of high-priority policy projects which align with the Department’s priorities.
• Work collaboratively with PPT colleagues, policy professionals, analysts, lawyers, and operational colleagues to understand complex issues quickly to develop robust and evidence-based policy proposals.
• Produce high-quality written and oral briefings for senior officials and Ministers, distilling complex ideas into clear and concise advice. 
• Some roles will also involve line management responsibility for more junior staff members.
• Typical daily tasks may include:
  • Leading meetings and workshops with internal and external stakeholders
• Drafting key policy products, such as slides or briefings for ministers
• Leading desk-based research and policy analysis
• Planning out a workstrand for a project, setting clear milestones with senior colleagues

Role 2: Strategy Unit: Senior Strategy Advisor

About the Strategy Unit (SU)

The Strategy Unit are a small team which sits at the centre of MoJ. It is our role to develop the department’s strategy and provide the best possible advice to ministers on a range of important policy and delivery issues. We help the Department make better and more coordinated decisions, plan for the long-term, and achieve its aims across Whitehall.

The Strategy Unit helps to shape the future vision justice system by developing thinking in the Department’s longer-term plans.

The Strategy Unit’s work focuses on three closely related areas: 

1. Strategic projects. We help progress priority issues and address strategic gaps in the department’s thinking by leading projects on important cross-cutting or longer-term issues and opportunities. Recently this has included exploring which interventions are most effective at reducing crime, as well as how the department can deliver its services and outcomes more effectively and sustainably over the longer term.
2. Criminal justice system future demand. We help the department understand the long-term challenges the justice system may face and coordinate work across MoJ and government to develop plans for responding to those challenges. A key element of this is working closely with analytical colleagues and senior stakeholders to coordinate the department’s modelling of justice system demand – ensuring decisions are taken in a coordinated way across the system and in light of the best available evidence. 
3. Priorities and coordination. We set the strategic direction for the department in line with the Secretary of State’s priorities – ensuring our resources and policies are aligned with the Government’s agenda and that we can clearly articulate MoJ’s priorities across government. 

The team has a wide range of experience - some have worked in different parts of MoJ and other government departments, while others have joined from outside the Civil Service.

About the role 

Team members are often asked to support projects across the team, providing a breadth of strategy experience and so there is no typical day. In any given week, you might scope a new project, draft advice for a Minister, prepare papers for Cabinet, work with analysts and other departments to understand the impacts of a decision on justice system demand or develop a plan for helping the Department articulate a medium-term strategy. A Senior Strategy Advisor is a great role for someone seeking to bring their intellect and abilities to bear on some of the most important issues facing society, while developing their knowledge and understanding of Government and the justice system. 

We have a flat structure, and given we work at the centre of the Department you can expect a lot of independent work and significant opportunities to engage and advise senior officials and Ministers. You can also expect variety and flexibility. We cover the whole remit of the Department, which will give you the chance to gain experience on topics ranging from how to manage prison capacity to the future shape and size of the justice system.

Role 3: Implementation Unit: Senior Implementation Advisor

About the Implementation Unit (IU)

The first Implementation Unit was launched in the Cabinet Office in 2012 to oversee implementation across Government, support departmental capacity and provide hard-hitting advice on specific implementation issue. Since then, a number of other departments including MoJ, have set up their own Implementation Units just like the one at the centre, so they can benefit from the same innovative approaches to problem solving.

The MoJ’s IU sits at the centre of the department. The key focus of our work is carrying out ‘deep dive’ projects, which help senior colleagues understand implementation problems and support the development of deliverable policies.

To inform our project findings we blend policy, data analysis and gather evidence from the frontline. We present our projects to senior stakeholders, including Ministers, providing evidence-based recommendations and actions to improve policy implementation and delivery.

About the role

As Senior Implementation Adviser you will take a leading role in conducting “Deep Dive” projects, working at pace and with a high degree of autonomy to deliver projects across all of the following project phases:

1. Project scoping
2. Fieldwork
3. Quantitative analysis
4. Qualitative analysis
5. Final report
6. Lessons learnt

You will be expected to take a leading role, as part of small project team, in conducting “Deep Dives”, using structured problem-solving tools to understand implementation and policy challenges and make evidence-based recommendations.

The successful candidate will be able to work at pace, with a high degree of autonomy, to deliver projects against objectives covering a wide and varied remit in 8-12 weeks.

You'll need to be organised and able to see projects through from start to finish, identifying potential barriers to progress and pro-actively implementing solutions. You'll also be confident in running workshops, focus groups and interviews to gather views and information from stakeholders, frontline providers and service users.

You should have excellent problem-solving and analytical skills (e.g. constructing logical issues trees and forming hypotheses) to understand what quantitative data is needed to support your project’s findings, and be able to turn this data into clear visuals to get the key messages across.

Building good relationships with colleagues and other government teams is also important, and you'll need to communicate your findings clearly and persuasively to senior stakeholders, using excellent oral and written communication skills to senior staff, both in writing and orally.

Your main responsibilities will include:

• Proactively engaging with commissioning teams and key stakeholders to identify and clarify the purpose and objectives of each project
• Producing detailed project timetables, taking into account all major milestones and deadlines
• Monitoring progress against the timetable, escalating issues where necessary
• Lead the development of the fieldwork plan, identifying relevant participants and drafting semi-structured interview scripts that are tailored to different audiences
• Leading fieldwork interviews and focus groups to gather qualitative evidence
• Joining up with data and analysis colleagues where relevant to commission data analysis to support the project
• Leading the qualitative analysis, identifying key themes from interviews and focus groups
• Organising project findings into a storyboard, and drafting the final report, considering how best to present both qualitative and quantitative data and taking into account the commissioning team’s priorities
• Communicating the project findings clearly to the commissioning team and wider stakeholders
• Conducting post-project ‘lessons learnt’ sessions, identifying ways to improve processes and ways of working across the team

Role 4: Innovation Team: Senior Innovation Advisor

About the Innovation Team

The Ministry of Justice is determined to be one of the most forward-thinking departments in government, taking steps to experiment and use the latest tools and techniques to drive ever better service delivery.

We want to build a culture where everyone is listened to and encouraged to think differently, always considering how things can be done better and what lessons can be learnt from other sectors.

The Innovation Team is helping to steer this culture change. We are responsible for raising the profile of innovation within the Ministry of Justice, linking up ideas and teams across the department, supporting teams to test their innovative ideas, and providing teams with the guidance and tools to help them think and work innovatively.

About the role

We are looking for motivated individuals who have a passion for innovation. You will need to be able to communicate complex information clearly and persuasively to senior stakeholders, using excellent oral and written communication skills.

You will need to have excellent problem-solving, project management and analytical skills (e.g., constructing logical issues trees and forming hypotheses) to support teams in developing innovative solutions to complex problems.

You will need to establish collaborative relationships with stakeholders from across the MoJ to understand complex issues quickly and ensure that links are made with the relevant policy and operational teams.

Your main responsibilities will include:

• Refining and embedding the piloting guidance and standards within MoJ.
• Working with Analytical and Functional colleagues to improve MoJ’s capability to learn from pilots and trials.
• Supporting teams to assess, understand and improve their innovation maturity.
• Exploring and embedding funding and delivery models to encourage innovation.
• Enhancing our ability to use data and evidence to support effective and efficient innovation.
• You will be responsible for scoping and delivering innovation projects, as well as providing support, advice, and guidance to colleagues across the department who are delivering innovation.

Skills and Experience

Essential:

• Deliver at pace – you will be highly organised with the ability to manage yourself and others to deliver agreed goals and objectives, including being able to prioritise your own tasks. You will be able to work within a team to put structure around a complex problem, set realistic expectations with senior colleagues, and regularly monitor progress to keep work on track, but reassess priorities if the situation changes. 
• Make effective decisions – you will have good problem-solving skills and will be able to identify work with a broad range of relevant, credible, and sometimes conflicting or incomplete information to make clear recommendations which take into account the broader context. This will include working with both quantitative and qualitative data.
• See the bigger picture – we work at the heart of the Department and closely with the centre of Government. You will need to be able to develop an understanding of how your work fits into the Department’s priorities and provide strategic insight, drawing on your understanding of the wider context to ensure communications are clear, effective, and relevant.

Desirable:

• Experience of working in a policy project environment and/or strategy consulting experience would be an advantage.
• A good understanding of or experience of working within the justice system.

Previous experience in the Ministry of Justice is not essential.

Candidates applying from HMPPS should note that the Ministry of Justice does not have the same conditions of employment as HMPPS. It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure they are aware of the terms and conditions they will adopt should they be successful.

Application process

You will be assessed against the Civil service success profiles framework.

Application

You will be asked to provide a CV during the application process in order to assess any demonstrable experience, career history and achievements that are relevant to the role. Your CV should be no more than two pages long. It should be well structured, succinct, and written in clear language.

You will also be asked to upload a Statement of Suitability of no more than 750 words. This should give examples of the essential and desirable skills and experience for this role. Consider giving examples that cover all the requirements, and use work you have completed to demonstrate your experience.

Applicants invited for interview 

You will be required to give a 5-minute presentation at interview. Details will be sent to those candidates who are successful at the sift stage. You will also be asked to provide evidence for the following behaviours:

• Delivering at Pace
• Making Effective Decisions
• Seeing the Bigger Picture
• Communicating & Influencing

The MoJ is proud to be Level 3 Disability Confident. Disability Confident is the approach through which we offer guaranteed interviews for all people with disabilities meeting the minimum criteria for the advertised role as set out in the job description.

We expect interviews to take place in April 2024.

Annex A - The STAR method

Using the STAR method can help you give examples of relevant experience that you have. It allows you to set the scene, show what you did, and how you did it, and explain the overall outcome.

Situation - Describe the situation you found yourself in. You must describe a specific event or situation. Be sure to give enough detail for the job holder to understand.

• Where are you?
• Who was there with you?
• What had happened?

Task - The job holder will want to understand what you tried to achieve from the situation you found yourself in.

• What was the task that you had to complete and why?
• What did you have to achieve?

Actions - What did you do? The job holder will be looking for information on what you did, how you did it and why. Keep the focus on you. What specific steps did you take and what was your contribution? Remember to include how you did it, and the behaviours you used. Try to use “I” rather than “we” to explain your actions that lead to the result. Be careful not to take credit for something that you did not do.

Results - Don’t be shy about taking credit for your behaviour. Quote specific facts and figures. Explain how the outcome benefitted the organisation or your area. Make the outcomes easily understandable.

• What results did the actions produce?
• What did you achieve through your actions and did you meet your goals?
• Was it a successful outcome? If not, what did you learn from the experience?

Keep the situation and task parts brief. Concentrate on the action and the result. If the result was not entirely successful describe what you learned from this and what you would do differently next time. Make sure you focus on your strengths.