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.

Business Manager

Location: National*

The COO is based in London, so whilst this is a national role, there is an expectation that you would be need to travel to London frequently

Closing Date: 24 March 2024

Interviews: 03 April 2024

Grade: SEO

(MoJ candidates who are on a specialist grade, will be able to retain this grade on lateral transfer)

Salary: London: £45,824 - £50,039; National: £39,868 - £43,535

Working pattern: Full-time, flexible working

Contract Type: Permanent

Vacancy number: 85153

*We offer a hybrid working model, allowing for a balance between remote work and time spent in your local office. Office locations can be found ON THIS MAP

The Role

We’re recruiting for a Business Manager to work alongside our Chief Operating Officer (COO) here at Justice Digital, to be part of our warm and collaborative Strategy & Operations team.

The COO is responsible for our people, strategy, capability, and finance and by supporting her, you are supporting the effective running of an organisation of 1,700 digital professionals, and helping to give the public access to simpler, faster, and better digital justice services.

The Business Manager will act as a senior strategic adviser to the COO, helping them with the task of running a complex, mission-led, and nationally dispersed organisation. You will be responsible for the smooth running of their office and help them prioritise their work, often taking on specific tasks of your own to support this. You will also act as a central point of contact for others in the department and be a visible presence for the wider team.

To be successful in this role, you will need strong organisational and planning skills, with the ability to work at pace and juggle competing priorities. You will also need experience of working successfully with senior colleagues, and you will need skills to develop and maintain good working relationships at all levels. 

This is a varied role that will require you to build a deep understanding of the COO’s strategy and priorities. You will have the opportunity to shape how the office runs, bringing your ideas and creativity to help streamline processes and support the efficient operation of the team.

You don’t need experience of working in a digital and technology team to be successful in this role; we are far more interested in your curiosity and willingness to learn.

To help picture your life at MoJ Justice Digital please take a look at our blog and our Digital and Technology strategy 2025

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide efficient, strategic, and proactive support to the COO.
• Be the first point of contact for the COO’s office, monitoring the inbox and identifying important emails or communication that require immediate action, proactively gathering input from colleagues.
• Prepare and brief the COO for meetings and events.
• Accompany the COO to meetings, as necessary, and manage action points from these meetings.
• Commission, oversee and edit briefings and submissions for the COO.
• Coordinate the COO’s participation in meetings, events, and off-sites.
• Coordinate events in the COO area, such as new starter sessions, all-staff meetings, and away days.
• Support the Diary Manager in the prioritisation of the COO’s meetings.
• Act as secretariat for monthly director strategy meetings.
• Shape and deliver ad hoc projects to improve Justice Digital operations.
• Optimise the running of the COO’s office by helping to establish and maintain processes, systems, and information/records.
• Build and maintain a strong network across the team, the department and across Whitehall, highlighting and championing Justice Digital’s work.

If this feels like an exciting challenge, something you are enthusiastic about, and want to join our team please read on and apply!

Benefits

• 37 hours per week and flexible working options including working from home or working compressed hours.
• We are committed to nurturing our staff and provide lots of training and development opportunities with learning platforms such as: Linux Academy, O’Reilly, Pluralsight, Microsoft Learning, Civil Service Learning etc.
• 10% dedicated time to learning and development with a budget of £1000 a year per person
• Generous civil service pension based on defined benefit scheme, with employer contributions of 28.97% from April 1st 2024 (Contribution Rates)
• 25 days leave (plus bank holidays) and 1 privilege day usually taken around the Kings’ birthday. 5 additional days of leave once you have reached 5 years of service.
• Compassionate maternity, adoption, and shared parental leave policies, with up to 26 weeks leave at full pay, 13 weeks with partial pay, and 13 weeks further leave. And maternity support/paternity leave at full pay for 2 weeks, too!
• Wellbeing support including access to the Calm app.
• Nurturing professional and interpersonal networks including those for Carers & Childcare, Gender Equality, PROUD and SPIRIT
• Bike loans up to £2500 and secure bike parking (subject to availability and location)
• Season ticket loans, childcare vouchers and eye-care vouchers.
• 5 days volunteering paid leave.
• Free membership to BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT.
• Some offices may have a subsidised onsite Gym.

Person Specification

Essential

• Experience providing strategic advice and support for a senior colleague
• Proven track record of working in a private office or working closely with Senior Leaders (Director, Deputy Director, C-Level Executive) within a large and complex organisation. 
• Excellent planning and prioritisation skills - you can manage multiple concurrent tasks whilst maintaining visibility and reprioritising as needed. 
• Excellent collaboration and communication skills - you can build productive relationships easily with people at all levels and engage effectively with other functions across the organisation (HR, Finance, Commercial etc.) 

Willingness to be assessed against  the requirements for BPSS clearance

We welcome the unique contribution diverse applicants bring and do not discriminate based on culture, ethnicity, race, nationality or national origin, age, sex, gender identity or expression, religion or belief, disability status, sexual orientation, educational or social background or any other factor.

Our values are Purpose, Humanity, Openness and Together. Find out more here about how we celebrate diversity and an inclusive culture in our workplace.

How to Apply

Candidates must submit a CV and Personal Statement (c.750 words), which describes how you meet the requirements set out in the Person Specification above.

In Justice Digital, we recruit using a combination of the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability and Success Profiles Frameworks. We will assess your Experience, Technical Skills and the following Behaviours during the assessment process:

• Communicating & Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together

A diverse panel will review your application against the Person Specification above.

Successful candidates who meet the required standard will then be invited to a 1-hour panel interview held via video conference.

Should we receive a high volume of applications, a pre-sift based on your experience providing strategic advice and support for a senior colleague will be conducted before the sift.

Should you be unsuccessful in the role that you have applied for but demonstrate the capability for a role at a lower level, we reserve the right to discuss this opportunity with you and offer you the position without needing a further application.

A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months, from which further appointments may be made.

Terms & Conditions

Please review our Terms & Conditions which set out how we recruit and provide further information related to the role and salary arrangements.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact recruitment@digital.justice.gov.uk

Person specification

Please refer to the attached 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

How to Apply

Candidates must submit a CV and Personal Statement (c.750 words), which describes how you meet the requirements set out in the Person Specification above.

In Justice Digital, we recruit using a combination of the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability and Success Profiles Frameworks. We will assess your Experience, Technical Skills and the following Behaviours during the assessment process:

• Communicating & Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together

A diverse panel will review your application against the Person Specification above.

Successful candidates who meet the required standard will then be invited to a 1-hour panel interview held via video conference.

Should we receive a high volume of applications, a pre-sift based on your experience providing strategic advice and support for a senior colleague will be conducted before the sift.

Should you be unsuccessful in the role that you have applied for but demonstrate the capability for a role at a lower level, we reserve the right to discuss this opportunity with you and offer you the position without needing a further application.

A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months, from which further appointments may be made.

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. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.