Policy Advisor

The Joint Unit is a unique team funded and resourced equally across MoJ Prisons Directorate and HMPPS. Our team provides advice to senior officials, Ministers, and across Government, on immediate challenges in the prison and probation system, as well as leading longer-term strategic planning and preparations. We work collaboratively across a wide range of policy and operational topics with colleagues across the MoJ, HMPPS and other government departments. Our areas of focus are often high priorities for the Government and include a mixture of reactive work and planned project delivery. Examples of the projects we have worked on include: leading on election planning, coordinating and delivering work across major areas of criminal justice reform, bidding for sustainable funding settlements for prison and probation, delivering a strategic cross-justice system response to prison capacity pressures, reviewing operational approaches to policies such as vetting, support for prisoners on remand, delivery of prisoner resettlement services, and probation supervision requirements. We are a friendly, enthusiastic and collaborative team with a strong emphasis on ensuring members feel happy, supported and engaged in their work. We are committed to delivering high-quality and impactful projects, working closely with partners, and supporting everyone to play their part to improve prison and probation services. We have a strong commitment to personal and career development, helping everyone to grow and fulfil their potential. The role will vary depending on the priorities of MoJ/HMPPS at the time. We are looking for someone who is flexible, motivated, and keen to take on new challenges. Some examples of the type of work are set out below. We will be conducting information sessions to give you a bit more insight into what the Joint Unit is like and an opportunity to ask questions. These will run on:

• Wednesday 13th May, 17:00 - 17:45
• Thursday 14th May, 12:00 - 12:45
If you would like to attend, please email abby.kramer@justice.gov.uk to register your interest. The job holder will be required to carry out the following responsibilities, activities and duties:
• Helping to develop evidence-based policy, providing research and written input into both published and internal pieces of work.
• Building good working relationships with a wide range of stakeholders - particularly HMPPS and other government Departments.
• Being familiar with the internal and external governance and project management arrangements for key projects, including attending meetings and/or Boards on behalf of the team, developing papers, co-ordinating and supporting effective project management and otherwise feeding in as appropriate.
• Communicating regularly with senior leaders and stakeholders, presenting ideas and feeding back from these meetings to the team.
• Supporting the team to brief Ministers, including working closely with colleagues to meet tight ministerial deadlines and requests.
• Input to short term problem-solving on urgent issues.
• Assisting in drafting briefing, submissions and similar pieces of work.
• Providing secretariat support for monthly Capacity Strategy Forum meetings.
The duties/responsibilities listed above describe the post as it is at present and is not intended to be exhaustive. The job holder is expected to accept reasonable alterations and additional tasks of a similar level that may be necessary. Significant adjustments may require re-examination under the Job Evaluation Scheme and shall be discussed in the first instance with the job holder., During the application process you will be asked to provide a written statement of suitability of no more than 500 words, alongside a CV (no more than 2 pages) and will be assessed across 3 Behaviours: Seeing the Big Picture (lead), Communicating & Influencing and Working Together. Candidates invited to Interview Please note that interviews will be carried out remotely. During the panel interview, you will be asked behaviour-based questions to explore in detail what you are capable of, and strengths-based questions to also explore what you enjoy, and your motivations relevant to the job role. There is no expectation or requirement for you to prepare for the strengths-based questions in advance of the interview, though you may find it helpful to spend some time reflecting on what you enjoy doing and what you do well. You can refer to the CS Strengths dictionary for more details: Success Profiles - Civil Service Strengths Dictionary (publishing.service.gov.uk) During the panel interview, you will be asked behaviour-based questions on the following behaviours (set out in the civil service success profiles framework).
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
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., In line with our hybrid working policy, employees must be present in the office for at least 60% of their working hours, which equates to three days per week. 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). 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. Standard full time working hours are 37 hours per week excluding breaks which are unpaid. HMPPS 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 HMPPS' Flexible Working policy. If you are a current NPS employee, this vacancy may be available on a Loan basis for up to 2 years. Applications are invited from suitable qualified staff. The Loan/Secondment is subject to the approval of the selected candidate's Business Unit, which should be obtained before confirmation of appointment., Behaviours Application Form Question Word Limit 250 Communicating and Influencing Seeing the Big Picture Working Together Experience We will assess your experience for this role via the following methods CV or Work History, Statement of Suitability Statement of Suitability Guidance for the Statement of Suitability Please outline why you believe your experience, skills and abilities make you a suitable candidate for the role, referring to the job description and additional role information within the job advert. Evidence of Experience CV or Work History, Statement of SuitabilityInterview stage assessments Interview Dates To Be Confirmed Behaviours Communicating and Influencing Seeing the Big Picture Working Together Strengths Strengths will be assessed but these are not shared in advance. To learn more about Strengths and how they are assessed please click here. Level of security checks required DBS Standard

Essential
• Strong communication skills (both written and verbal).
• An ability to explain information clearly and concisely.
• Ability to work with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Attention to detail.
• A willingness to work through uncertainty.
Desirable
• An understanding of the Criminal Justice System.
• Experience of working on criminal justice or related issues., 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.
  
  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. Location: Successful candidates will have the option to be based at one of the following locations: (occasional travel between Leeds and London may be required): 1. 102 Petty France, London 2. 5 Wellington Place, Leeds Since 2019, the MoJ has separated its head office operations across two sites: Leeds and London. Applications from candidates wishing to be based in either location are welcome in this campaign. Successful candidates may choose equally between these two exciting environments; however, we are committed to expanding the presence of the Policy Group in our northern hub. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) MOJ is one of the largest government departments, employing over 90,000 people (including those in the Probation Service), with a budget of approximately £9.5 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.

The national salary range is £39,803 - £43,783, London salary range is £42,817 - £48,824. Your salary will be dependent on your base location,
• 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, Existing Civil Servants will have their salary calculated in accordance with the Department's pay on transfer / pay on promotion rules., Annual Leave -The holiday year runs from 1 March. If you work a non standard work pattern your leave entitlement may be expressed in either hours or days as appropriate. Leave entitlement is calculated on a pro-rata basis and you will be advised of your actual entitlement on appointment. If you were appointed internally and your leave was previously calculated in days, this will continue to be the case. Bank, Public and Privilege Holidays -You are entitled to 9 days (66 hours 36 minutes) in recognition of bank, public and privilege holidays. Pension -The Civil Service offers a choice of two pension schemes, giving you the flexibility to choose the pension that suits you best. Work Life Balance HM Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) is keen to encourage alternative working arrangements. Work life balance provides greater opportunities for staff to work more flexibly wherever managers and establishments can accommodate requests to do so. HMPPS offers flexible working subject to completion of a satisfactory probationary period and NVQ Season Ticket Advance -After two months' service, you'll be eligible to apply for a season ticket advance to purchase a quarterly or longer-period season ticket for travel between home and your place of work Childcare Vouchers For any moves across the Civil Service may have implications on your ability to carry on claiming childcare vouchers Training HMPPS is committed to staff development and offers a range of training and development opportunities, including areas such as Equality and Diversity, Dealing with Challenging Behaviour, Suicide Prevention and Anti Bullying Programmes -There are opportunities to access promotion programmes and HMPPS provides a variety of training appropriate to individual posts -All staff receive security and diversity training and an individual induction programme into their new roles Eligibility -All candidates are subject to security and identity checks prior to taking up post -All external candidates are subject to 6 months probation. Internal candidates are subject to probation if they have not already served a probationary period within HMPPS -All staff are required to declare whether they are a member of a group or organisation which the HMPPS considers to be racist 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 Transformative Business Services (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk);
• To Ministry of Justice Resourcing team (resourcing-management-office@justice.gov.uk);
• To the Civil Service Commission (details available here)
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. You will be able to request reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process within the application form. If you need additional help completing the application form, please contact the TBS Recruitment Enquiries Team. For more information on applying for a role as a candidate with a disability or long-term condition, please watch our animated videos. Diversity & Inclusion The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy. 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 is committed, as part of the Redeployment Interview Scheme, to providing opportunities to those who are 'at risk of redundancy'.