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.

Head of IT Service Management

Location: National* 

Closing Date: TBC

Interviews: TBC

Grade: Grade 7

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

Salary:  London: £58,847 - £66,670 (which may include an allowance up to £4,828)  National: £54,358 - £61,585 (which may include an allowance up to £2,517)

Working pattern: Full-time, part-time or flexible working

Contract Type: Permanent

Vacancy number: TBC

*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 Head of IT Service Management here at Justice Digital, to be part of our warm and collaborative Prisons Digital team.

This role aligns against Head of IT Service Management from the Government Digital and Data Framework

As Head of the Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) you will be part of the Prisons Digital Leadership Team and will be responsible for leading, developing and supporting the Digital Prisons Service Live Support team.

You will be utilising your ITIL skills, e.g. in Incident, Problem, Change, Knowledge and Service Transition.

The job involves leading and setting the strategic direction for a team of service managers, digital support professionals and a site reliability engineering team. You will be liaising with product managers, users, and wider stakeholders in order to ensure excellent delivery and smooth running of various Prisons Digital services to our users.

These are exciting times at Justice Digital. We have a clear vision - to develop a digitally-enabled justice system that works more simply for users - and we’re looking for talented people to help us achieve it. We’re making things better by building adaptable, effective services and making systems that are simple to use for staff and citizens. While challenging it is important and hugely rewarding.

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

• As Head of the Information Technology Service Management you are responsible for implementation, management and improvement of IT service management across Prisons Digital.
• Working with your team, you will undertake standard service management duties e.g. incident, problem, knowledge, reporting and change management and may need to provide on-call support in responding to queries addressing all aspects of the Products and Services.
• You will support the resolution of complex issues, enlisting support and escalating where appropriate to relevant IT service functions.
• You will be responsible for managing delivery to agreed performance targets in a cost effective and timely manner across all relevant functions, using relevant mechanisms e.g. service level agreements (SLAs).

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, working part-time, job sharing, or working compressed hours
• A £1k per person learning budget is in place to support all our people, with access to best in class conferences and seminars, accreditation with professional bodies, fully funded vocational programmes and e-learning platforms
• Staff have 10% time to dedicate to develop & grow
• 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:

• Incident Management. Ability to diagnose and prioritise incidents, investigating their causes and finding/applying resolutions
• Continual service improvement. You can identify process optimisation opportunities with guidance, and contribute to the implementation of proposed solutions.
• Demonstrable knowledge of the ITIL service management framework application in complex organisations or previous experience of IT service management principles.
• Service reporting. You can produce relevant reports in a standard format and agreed timeframe. You can work with important stakeholders to discuss any changes in the reporting processes. You can add a commentary that provides an interpretation of the data set.
• Experience of working with a site reliability engineering team.
• Stakeholder relationship management (IT operations). You can identify important stakeholders and relationships, and work with teams to build these relationships. You can understand how to work with stakeholders and contribute to improving these relationships.
• Technical understanding. You can understand the core technical concepts related to the role, and apply them with guidance.
• You have demonstrable experience of leading IT service teams. You can work across disciplines and are able to engage with a wide range of stakeholders. 

Willingness to be assessed against  the requirements for SC 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.

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £66,314, Ministry of Justice contributes £18,501 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 full CV and covering letter, 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:

• Changing and improving
• Managing a quality service
• Working together
• Leadership

Your application will be reviewed and sifted against the Person Specification above by a diverse panel.

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

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

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. 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.