Policy Adviser, Criminal Justice System Secretariat in the Courts, Criminal and Family Justice Directorate

In order for Policy Group to meet its evolving business needs all Policy Group staff are expected to attend their base location (102 Petty France or 5 Wellington Place Leeds) at least 2 days a week. This hybrid working arrangement is not contractual and as a result staff could be asked to attend their base location more frequently.

Ways of Working
At the MoJ we believe and promote alternative ways of working, these roles are available as:

• Full-time, part-time or the option to job share


• Flexible working patterns


• Flexible working arrangements between base locations, MoJ Hubs and home.

If we receive applications from more suitable candidates than we have vacancies for at this time, we may hold suitable applicants on a reserve list for 12 months, and future vacancies requiring the same skills and experience could be offered to candidates on the reserve list without a new competition.

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

Salary
New entrants to the Civil Service will be expected to join on the minimum of the pay range.
If you are already a civil servant and are successful in an external recruitment competition for a role with us, your starting pay will be the better of:

• promotion terms or transfer terms, as appropriate; or


• pay on appointment arrangements (minimum of pay range), The role is challenging but rewarding, and sits right at the heart of the Criminal Justice System, supporting Ministers in ensuring the system is modern, effective and efficient. You will be joining a small team that is friendly, supportive and fun, and has adopted flexible working practices to ensure personal wellbeing and a genuine life/work balance.


The team runs the Criminal Justice Board (CJB), chaired by the Lord Chancellor, and other groups which form the governance framework which has national oversight of the CJS. On behalf of the Secretary of State, Ministers, and the Permanent Secretary, the team sets the governance agenda, delivers its objectives and oversees the implementation of its activity, driving change across the CJS. The team champions cross-system and collaborative ways of working and identifying opportunities to improve the CJS in the long term.

The team is also responsible for the relationship between the national CJB and Local Criminal Justice Boards. There are ample opportunities to visit national, regional and local colleagues to gain a full understanding of how national policy is delivered on the ground.

Responsibilities will include:

• providing professional secretariat support to cross-criminal justice governance structures (e.g, co-ordinating the arrangement of meetings, developing effective agendas, commissioning and drafting impactful papers, working closely with private offices, drafting accurate minutes and driving work between meetings);


• working at pace to respond to changing priorities and diary commitments;


• Managing relationships with Local Criminal Justice Boards (LCJBs);


• Building effective relationships and working with colleagues across the department and CJS (including HO, Crown Prosecution Service, and police) to ensure issues are brought to governance fora at the right time to support effective decision making at the necessary level.


• understanding and interpreting information from a range of sources to horizon scan, identify upcoming issues and concerns in the CJS, creating coordinated plans to bring them to the relevant governance forums for effective decision-making;


• drafting briefings for ministerial meetings with leaders in the CJS, working collaboratively and often at pace to identify contributors and collate advice, You will also be asked to provide a Statement of Suitability of no more than 500 words to explain how you meet the essential skills for the role, outlining your relevant experience, as well as explaining your motivation for applying.


Behaviours
Please provide examples of how you have met each one of the behaviours listed below (see Annex A for more information):


• Delivering at Pace


• Working Together


• Managing a Quality Service


• Seeing the Big Picture


Please also refer to the CS Behaviours framework for more details at this grade (Level 3 - Grade HEO or equivalent): https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/717275/CS_Behaviours_2018.pdf

Should we receive a large number of applications, we will sift primarily on the lead behaviour of Delivering at Pace. Successful applicants will then be invited to an interview, testing both behaviours and strengths.

Candidates invited to Interview
Please note that interviews will be carried out remotely.

During the interview, we will be assessing you on Behaviours and Strengths from the success Profiles framework.

You can refer to the CS Strengths dictionary for more details: Success Profiles - Civil Service Strengths Dictionary (publishing.service.gov.uk)

Interviews are expected to take place in w/c 13th May.

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.

Contact information
Please get in touch with Amy Daly (Amy.Daly@justice.gov.uk) if you would like to know more about the role.

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.
Additional Information 1

Working Arrangements & Further Information

The MoJ offers Hybrid Working arrangements where business need allows. This is an informal, non-contractual form of flexible working that blends working from your base location, different MoJ sites and / or from home (please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas). All employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in an office, subject to local estate capacity.

Some roles will not be suitable for Hybrid Working. Similarly, Hybrid Working will not suit everyone's circumstances. Arrangements will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate(s) and subject to regular review.

For nationally advertised roles, the successful candidate(s) will be appointed to a MoJ office location, which may include their nearest Justice Collaboration Centre or Justice Satellite Office. This will be discussed and agreed on the completion of pre-employment checks.

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.

MoJ candidates who are on a specialist grade, will be able to retain their grade on lateral transfer.

All candidates who are currently in receipt of Mark Time / Pay Protection should ensure they are familiar with the new policy on permanent and temporary promotion which can be found on the employee intranet.

Flexible working hours

The Ministry of Justice offers a flexible working system in many offices. Standard full time working hours are 37 hours per week. MoJ welcomes part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns, where they meet the demands of the role and business needs. All applications for part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns will be considered in accordance with the MoJ's Flexible Working policy.,
• 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

We are looking for an enthusiastic and highly motivated individual to join the Criminal Justice System (CJS) Secretariat as an HEO Policy Adviser. It is a high-profile and fast-paced team, and you will have regular exposure to Ministers and senior officials.,
• strong organisational skills with ability to manage multiple competing priorities and be flexible to respond to reactive pressures.


• ability to build strong relationships and communicate effectively with peers as well as senior stakeholders.


• ability to keep one eye on the bigger picture whilst maintaining keen attention to detail.


• ability to make effective decisions within own remit and responsibility level.


• high standard of accuracy and attention to detail, with strong writing and editing skills, grammar and spelling.


• experience of delivering within a fast-paced environment, meeting deadlines and escalating emerging issues and risks., 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)., Delivering at Pace - 250 word limit
Working Together - 250 word limit
Managing a Quality Service - 250 word limit

MoJ is the largest government department, employing over 90,000 people with a budget of approximately £10 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.
Further information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice

What We Do
The Court Recovery, Criminal and Family Justice Directorate sits at the heart of MoJ's policy agenda, working to reform complex systems that deal with some of the most vulnerable members of our society. The teams in the Directorate work to ensure that the criminal and family justice systems are straightforward, efficient, work for everyone, and are focused on solving people's problems in a way that reserves court for the more complex issues.

Within the Directorate is the Criminal Court Policy and Criminal Justice Strategy Unit. The teams help create a modern courts and justice system by leading policy development on criminal court reform. We work across the Criminal Justice System tackling strategic risks and enabling ministers to provide firm leadership through the Criminal Justice Board and other cross-system governance structures.

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.

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.

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 moves to or from another employer or moves across the Civil Service this can have implications on your eligibility to carry on claiming childcare vouchers. You may however be eligible for alternative government childcare support schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. More information can be found on GOV.UK or Childcare Choices. You can determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.


• Paid paternity, adoption and maternity leave.


• Free annual sight tests for employees who use computer screens.


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

• To Shared Service Connected Ltd (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com);


• To Ministry of Justice Resourcing team (resourcing-management-office@justice.gov.uk);


• To the Civil Service Commission (details available here)


The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As a Disability Confident employer, MoJ are committed to providing everyone with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, talent and abilities, by making adjustments throughout all elements of the recruitment process and in the workplace. MoJ are able to offer an interview to disabled candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns., Delivering at Pace
Working Together
Managing a Quality Service
Seeing the Big Picture
Strengths may also be assessed at interview but these are not shared in advance.

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'.