About the job

Job summary

This position is based Nationally

Job description

We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and a sense of belonging. To find out more about how we do this visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity.

The following experience and skills will be required:

• Knowledge and experience of applying economic and analytical skills in a policy or project delivery context (for example, business case development, cost-benefit analysis in line with HMT Green Book, evaluation in line with HMT Magenta Book).

• Strong Microsoft Excel skills, experience of producing analysis using large datasets and dealing with complex spreadsheets. 

• Strong written and oral communication and interpersonal skills and the ability to explain complex technical data and analytical concepts and practices to non-technical stakeholders, including senior leaders and ministers.
• Managing partners’ expectations over time, dealing constructively with challenges and where appropriate adapting the analytical or data programme when requirements and circumstances change.
• Strong ability to plan, prioritise and lead an analytical project with challenging and competing timelines.
• The following qualifications, in line with the GES professional framework requirements:
  • Have a first or upper second-class honours degree in economics (or international equivalent), or a postgraduate degree in economics. If it is a joint degree, at least 50% of the course modules must be in economics.
  • Have studied both macroeconomics and microeconomics.

The following experience and skills are desirable:

• Knowledge and experience of coding in R and/or Python.
• A proven ability to independently lead analytical projects in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience of managing and developing others, prioritising and delegating tasks in line with organisational objectives.

Information required for D&A Recruitment Team    To be completed by Hiring Manager

Type of advertisement: Across-Government or External (encouraged)    External

Duration of campaign (2 weeks typically):    2 weeks

Vacancy role ID number(s) to be recruited to via this campaign    APPJ26

Funding arrangement (Please specify the funder, funding end date, cost code to be recharged etc)    D&A Funded

Are you offering badging? Please note that badging processes differ and may be more complex – please speak with Recruitment Team in the first instance     No

Does this/these post(s) attract a specialist allowance? If some roles attract/don’t attract an allowance, separate campaigns will need to run for these    Yes

Level of clearance required (Please state BPSS (standard for most campaigns), SC, CTC, DV)    BPSS
Business Case for approval attached    Yes

Is this recruitment to be national or localised. If localised and/or London based, additional approval form HR and the Director are required.  Please attach.    National
    
Do you have the passion, values, and ability to help us solve the biggest problems of the justice system?

SEO Economist, Data & Analysis, Ministry of Justice 

1.    Overview

We have 1 role in the Agile Economics Team, within the Data & Analysis Directorate.

This role is open to Economists. You must be a full member of Government Economics Service (GES) OR meet the entry requirements to be eligible to apply for this role. You will be required to demonstrate the technical competencies for the GES professional framework at SEO level.

Specialist allowance

Due to the role(s) being analytical, those successful in recruitment will be eligible for a specialist allowance following an analytical interview based on the following values: 
•    SEO London: £500  
•    SEO National: £1500 

Minimum requirements to apply:

Candidates must be able to show the relevant experience and skills and must meet the criteria for entry: 

SEO grade:

•    You have significant work experience (usually a minimum of three years) evidencing use of data and/or analytical skills. Time spent on an analytical PhD can count towards this.

We welcome applications from candidates based across the UK. Candidates will have the option of being based in the Leeds or London HQ offices (with flexible working arrangements available) or your nearest Justice Collaboration Centre or Justice Satellite Office. These are based at the following JCCs: Cardiff, Leeds, Nottingham, South Tyneside, Brighton, Ipswich and Liverpool, and the following JSOs: Ashford, Beverley, Haverfordwest, Hull, Merthyr Tydfil, Manchester, Newport, Birmingham, Sheffield, North Shields, Bristol, Wolverhampton, Weston-Super-Mare, Stafford, Truro, Winchester and Leeds.

Alternative locations may be available and will be discussed and agreed on the completion of background checks.

Interviews are likely to take place in April 2024 and will be held via MS Teams. We will keep a merit list for a year for those who successfully pass the interview board but who are not offered a post.

2. About Data & Analysis

We are passionate about improving justice outcomes through innovative research, data and analysis. In Data and Analysis, we provide high quality data and analysis helping to ensure strategic, policy, finance, corporate and operational decisions are based on robust evidence.

We create a culture in which people are empowered with the data and information to make excellent decisions; using cutting edge tools, techniques and collaboration; putting evidence at the heart of the justice system.

We are a multi-disciplinary team of around 650 staff that sits at the heart of the Ministry of Justice 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 Ministry of Justice. Our collaborations beyond government are seen as ground-breaking. The Data and Analysis community is made up of analysts and specialists including: Social Researchers, Economists, Operational Researchers, Statisticians, Data Engineers, Data Scientists and other data specialists (such as data strategists, data dissemination, generalists and assurance experts).

Why work in Data and Analysis?

In Data and Analysis, we want all our people to feel valued for who they are and for the work they do. We provide a warm, inclusive place to work and offer a wide range of flexibilities and benefits as part of our people offer to reward our staff.

What we offer 

•    Flexible working arrangements and a focus on equality of opportunity – including welcoming part-time and/or job-share arrangements, compressed hours, working from home or your nearest Justice Collaboration Centres or Justice Satellite Office.
•    Career development – regular development and promotion opportunities across a wide range of roles, career development support, with a generous individual learning and development budget.
•    Range of new areas of work and new tools and techniques – we pride ourselves on our excellent deployment of well-established analytical methods, but also our progress to date. Progress such as our ambitious and innovative transformation programme to leverage departmental data and drive evidence-based decision-making using cutting-edge tools and techniques (for example: experimentation, personalisation, artificial intelligence).
•    Analysis is at the centre of the Department’s decision making – our transformation programme is focused on maximising our impact on departmental outcomes. The Ministry of Justice’s Senior Team and our Ministerial Team want all decisions to be evidence driven – your analysis will be key in influencing decisions and real-world impact.
•    Vibrant community – part of a multidisciplinary team that has a supportive culture and is looking to further develop the community with the help of everyone.
•    See the frontline and what your work is influencing – regular opportunities to visit our front-line service providers, including courts, prisons, and probation to better understand the areas your analysis is affecting.

3. What you’ll do 

The Agile Programme provides high quality and insightful analysis for the delivery of strategic priorities. Analysts in the team deliver short-term projects across the breadth of the department’s remit, including courts, prisons, probation and corporate functions. 

The portfolio of projects within the team changes three-four times a year, and the post holder could be working on multiple projects at once. This is a great development opportunity for the postholder to broaden their skillsets through collaboration across professions and with Other Government Departments, allowing them to learn new analytical methods and techniques and to share their own with the wider team. This is a unique area where work will be varied, offering the postholder an overview of the whole justice system. 

The post holder will be working in an existing analytical team and will be well supported with a full programme of job-based and professional development. There will also be opportunities to work independently, take ownership of the work and develop the role over time.

The Agile Economics team are one of five G7-led teams that sit within the Agile Programme, and typically lead on projects with an economic or financial focus. 

Some examples of past projects include:

•    Producing analysis for a Business Case on Language Services.
•    Working with ONS to deliver methodology changes for MOJ, as part of the cross government Public Sector Productivity Review. 
•    Developing a ready reckoner model to assess impacts across the whole of the MOJ in preparation for future Spending Reviews.
•    Creating an introductory pack on data and the justice system for the new Secretary of State.
•    Analysing historic electronic monitoring data to produce quantified offender journey and cohort analysis.

The nature of this role means the post holder could work across a wide range of projects. Below is a sample of the duties and responsibilities the job holder may be required to undertake:

•    Applying a range of data analysis or modelling tools and techniques and ensuring appropriate quality assurance of analysis.
•    Leading analytical projects with a wide range of stakeholders; prioritising and driving improvements across competing demands.
•    Maximising opportunities to actively promote, use and communicate analysis with impact to influence decisions.
•    Conducting Economic research and understanding existing Economic theory to establish which methods and techniques are the best ones to use in economic analysis.
•    Leading on preparing Impact Assessments and/or the economic section of Business Cases

4. Who you are

The following experience and skills will be required:

•    Knowledge and experience of applying economic and analytical skills in a policy or project delivery context (for example, business case development, cost-benefit analysis in line with HMT Green Book, evaluation in line with HMT Magenta Book).
•    Strong Microsoft Excel skills, experience of producing analysis using large datasets and dealing with complex spreadsheets. 
•    Strong written and oral communication and interpersonal skills and the ability to explain complex technical data and analytical concepts and practices to non-technical stakeholders, including senior leaders and ministers. 
•    Managing partners’ expectations over time, dealing constructively with challenges and where appropriate adapting the analytical or data programme when requirements and circumstances change.
•    Strong ability to plan, prioritise and lead an analytical project with challenging and competing timelines.
•    The following qualifications, in line with the GES professional framework requirements:
o    Have a first or upper second-class honours degree in economics (or international equivalent), or a postgraduate degree in economics. If it is a joint degree, at least 50% of the course modules must be in economics.
o    Have studied both macroeconomics and microeconomics.

The following experience and skills are desirable:
•    Knowledge and experience of coding in R and/or Python.
•    A proven ability to independently lead analytical projects in a fast-paced environment.
•    Experience of managing and developing others, prioritising and delegating tasks in line with organisational objectives. 

5. How to apply 

As part of the application process you will be asked to submit an anonymised CV and provide evidence (up to 250 words each) for the three stated behaviours.

•    Communicating and Influencing  
•    Working Together
•    Delivering at Pace 

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. 

Your behaviour responses should be no more than 250 words each and should give us examples of when you have demonstrated this behaviour. It is recommended that responses should follow the STARR format. 
 
5a. Selection Process 

There will be an initial sift of applicants through comparing submitted evidence against the behaviour criteria. This usually takes two weeks, depending on the number of applications. 

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using just the CV and Delivery at Pace behaviour.

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 up to a month. 

Behaviours

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process: 

•    Communicating and Influencing  
•    Working Together
•    Delivering at Pace 

Please refer to the CS Behaviours framework for more details at this grade.
 
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/717275/CS_Behaviours_2018.pdf 
 
Professional Competencies 
 
•    Professional Competency (1) Knowledge & Skills 

o    GES - Analysis of data. 

•    Professional Competency (2) Influence & Impact 

o    GES - Effective communication. 

For more information regarding Professional Competencies please refer to the analytical profession internet links below. Please note that some aspect of the professional competency may overlap with the MoJ competencies listed above. We therefore recommend that in providing evidence for the professional competency, candidates focus on the technical and methodology aspects of the competencies that are specific to the profession. We will use evidence presented for the MoJ competencies in assessing the wider skills candidates have.

Government Economic Service (GES): Further information can be found within the link below: 
GES Professional Standards 2022 
 
6. Applicants invited for Interview  

You will be required to give a 5-minute presentation. Details of this will be sent to those candidates who are invited for interview. 

7. Further Information 

If you require any additional information about the role, please contact:
Megan.Chambers@justice.gov.uk. 

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £39,868, Ministry of Justice contributes £10,804 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.