About the job

Job summary

The Deputy Director, Prison Capacity Policy will provide senior leadership on prison capacity, one of our highest priorities across MoJ. This involves setting direction on, and assuring the delivery of, a cross-departmental work programme, and synthesising information and inputs from a wide range of policy teams and other functions to create clear, balanced, robust recommendations and advice for Ministers

This position can be based at the following locations: 

102 Petty France (MOJ) London, SW1H 9AJ

5 Wellington Place Leeds, LS1 4AP

Job description

For full details about the Role, Key Responsibilities and Person Specification, please download and review the Candidate Information pack

Person specification

As Deputy Director, Prison Capacity Policy, you will:

• Lead a high-performing team responsible for convening the departments and its agencies’ work and interests on prison capacity.
• Manage the secretariat for the DG-led group on prison capacity, deepening our understanding and insights of the risks, opportunities and trade-offs in how policy-making in the criminal justice system affects capacity and the role of prisons.
• Deliver a new annual statement of prison capacity, as announced by the Lord Chancellor, and responsibility for establishing policy positions for the department on innovative policy options affecting prison capacity.
• Establish strong, senior-level relationships with No.10, HMT and OGDs to influence decision-making at the centre of government.  This role involves regular engagement with Ministers.
• Be part of the Prison Policy senior team, working collaboratively with colleagues in the directorate and HMPPS to deliver cross-cutting priorities.
• Lead a team of over 12 staff, cultivating a culture of performance, delivery, inclusivity and support.
• Manage a delegated budget of c. £1m.

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.

Additional Information  

Information Session

For those interested in finding out more about the role, we encourage applicants to attend the information session on Monday 20th May at 15.30.

Marie Southgate and senior leads will be present to discuss the position in more depth, as well as provide information about what you can expect while working in MoJ and the Policy group. The session will also give you the chance to ask any questions you may have before applying to the role.

To register your interest in attending the information session, please email: Beverley.Harris@justice.gov.uk.

Please view our candidate information pack for full details about the role, key responsibilities person specification, and the criteria you will be assessed against throughout the recruitment process. If you are interested in this exciting opportunity, and feel that you meet the criteria, we would welcome your application.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £75,000, Ministry of Justice contributes £20,925 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 and Experience.For full details of the Selection Process and Recruitment Timeline, please view the Candidate Information pack.

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

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). 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.