Head of Reducing Reoffending, Evaluation and Economic Analysis – Better Outcomes through Linked Data (BOLD) Programme, Ministry of Justice (Ref: 85219)
Ministry of Justice
About the job
Job summary
This position is based NationallyJob 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.
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 JD135
Funding arrangement (Please specify the funder, funding end date, cost code to be recharged etc) BOLD
CC: 10226194
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 No
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?
Head of Reducing Reoffending, Evaluation and Economic Analysis (G6) – Better Outcomes through Linked Data (BOLD) Programme, Ministry of Justice
1. Overview
The Better Outcomes through Linked Data (BOLD) programme is a cross government programme that seeks to improve outcomes for vulnerable individuals such as victims of crime, offenders, homeless and those with substance misuse dependencies. It aims to link data across various organisations to improve services and outcomes to these individuals through our public services. The programme is a team of around 70 staff that sit across the Ministry of Justice, Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities, Department of Health and Social Care and the Welsh Government. This role is a senior leadership role within this programme and will primarily lead the Reducing Reoffending analysis programme and oversee the cross government BOLD evaluations, economic analysis, and the ministerial engagement strategy for the programme. You will be part of the cross-government BOLD Senior Management Team that has a collective leadership responsibility across all participating departments and will work with ministerial teams and those of senior leaders in government on behalf of the BOLD programme.
Roles are open to:
1. Existing analysts from all professions (GORS/GSS/GSR/GES) on level transfer or promotion.
2. Other candidates that are not members of GSS, GORS, GSR, GES professions but possess and can demonstrate similar experience at the appropriate level. Badging opportunities will be available once in post for those who wish to apply.
Minimum requirements to apply:
Candidates must be able to show the relevant experience and skills and must meet the criteria for entry:
Grade 6 – you must meet all of the following:
• You possess a numerate degree or a degree that has an analytical, statistical or research element, with a 2:2 or above, or as a higher degree (e.g., MSc, PhD).
• You have significant work experience (usually a minimum of five years) evidencing use of data and/or analytical skills. Time spent on an analytical PhD can count towards this.
• You have significant experience of managing projects.
• You have significant experience of leading and managing a team.
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 will take place in April 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
Whilst being on the cross government BOLD programme, you will also join the Data and Analysis directorate of the Ministry of Justice. We are passionate about improving justice outcomes through innovative research, data and analysis. Our work helps 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 sit at the heart of 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 others such as data strategists, data dissemination and assurance experts, and generalists.
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.
The Better Outcomes through Linked Data (BOLD) Programme
The BOLD programme is a cross-government initiative delivered in partnership between the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), the Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC), Public Health Wales (PHW)/Welsh Government (WG) and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC).
Public services collect a large amount of data which is used to improve the quality of services offered to the citizen, but it is often not shared between organisations, making it difficult to understand whether certain services have been effective.
The BOLD Programme, backed by investment from HM Treasury, is improving the connectedness of government data so that policymakers and those working on the frontline of UK public services have better quality evidence on what works in supporting victims, reducing homelessness and substance misuse and helping offenders turn their backs on crime. For instance, understanding what services best help prison leavers into work could help to prevent thousands of people becoming victims each year and save some of the £18 billion annual cost of repeat crimes.
The programme has 4 pilot projects focusing on substance misuse, homelessness, victims of crime and reducing reoffending. The pilots aim to demonstrate the ethos behind BOLD, designing new ways of looking at problems, linking data across departmental boundaries, discovering new evidence, and innovating new tools and solutions to improve services, to support adults who interact in different ways with the Criminal Justice System.
3. What you will do
As the BOLD Head of Reducing Reoffending, Evaluation and Economic Analysis, you will have responsibility for four multidisciplinary teams. You will lead the delivery of the Reducing Reoffending (RR) analytical demonstrator pilot, with ultimate responsibility for the sign-off and dissemination of robust analytical outputs. You will work closely with a variety of stakeholders to ensure all projects within the RR pilot meet user needs and create impact. You will also oversee the development of the longer-term legacy across the RR pilot.
You will have overall responsibility for the delivery of the Evaluation and Value for Money assessment of the programme, a key condition of HM Treasury funding, ensuring robust evaluation strategies underpin BOLD, promote the successful facets of the programme into future years and share lessons learned across the rest of
Government.
You will also oversee the BOLD programme ministerial engagement strategy ensuring that Ministers have clear channels for engaging and collaborating with counterparts between departments, identifying shared priorities and enabling Ministers to make informed decisions leading to the development of more effective and evidence-based policies and service delivery.
You will work closely and support the BOLD Programme Director, as part of their senior leadership team, to shape the direction for the programme going forward, ensuring the BOLD legacy is secured. You will also champion the collaborative mindset of BOLD, helping other data initiatives across government stride forward so that success is achieved collectively. All BOLD team members are expected to share and implement best practices across the actual and virtual teams they work within.
Key responsibilities
Your role is to oversee and deliver the following:
• Manage the work of four Grade 7s across 4 multidisciplinary teams, fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing between your teams and delivering a cohesive analytical offer that draws the evidence together to meet stakeholder and customer needs.
• Collaborate with analytical, policy and operational colleagues to develop and align the BOLD programme, demonstrating the value of linking data and ensuring this creates lasting impact.
• Build strong working relationships at all levels across the Ministry of Justice and its agencies such as, HMPPS, as well as cross- government departments, and external organisations, such as Police forces, that are involved in the delivery of the pilot projects.
• Leading and contributing to submissions and briefings at Ministerial and Director General-level.
• Developing and shaping quantitative and qualitative evidence, using innovative methods, to support senior decision-making.
• Dissemination of high-quality analysis, presenting new insights and plugging evidence gaps.
• Development of your units’ domain knowledge, analytical skills, data linking and tools.
• Playing a leading role with others in developing the BOLD programme culture.
• Supporting the BOLD Programme Director as part of their senior leadership team.
4. Who you are
The following experience and skills will be required:
• An inspirational and compelling leader with a track record in leading hybrid multidisciplinary teams in applying wide ranging analytical techniques to solve complex real-world problems.
• A credible analyst with experience of working across boundaries to prioritise analytical effort and focus delivery on high-impact analysis that directly enables strategic decision-making.
• A highly collaborative individual who thrives on bringing people together to solve problems, drive change and deliver impact.
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to plan and prioritise your own and your team’s workload when faced with competing priorities and able to work at pace.
• An excellent communicator who can translate complex technical challenges and opportunities in a transparent and compelling way, building support and momentum.
• A user and customer focused analyst who values and works hard to understand the complexity and diversity of customer needs and expectations.
• An adaptable individual who can champion evidence-based policies, evaluation, innovative methods and new technologies.
The following experience and skills are desirable:
• Badged membership of a government analytical profession or equivalent professional membership.
• Experience of briefing Ministers and/or director-level decision-makers in the public or private sector.
5. How to apply
You will need to submit an anonymised CV and Statement of Suitability as part of your application. You will not be considered if you do not provide both.
Your CV should be no more than 2 pages long and should show us your work history and previous experience. It should also provide evidence of the academic criteria required for this post. The CV should be well structured, succinct and written in clear language.
Your Statement of Suitability should be no more than 750 words and should give us examples of how your skills and experience match those needed for this role. Consider giving examples that cover all the requirements in the ‘Who you are’ section and use work you have completed to demonstrate how you meet each one.
6. Selection Process
There will be an initial sift of applicants through comparing submitted evidence against the ‘Who you are’ bullets. This usually takes two weeks, depending on the number of applications. If large volumes of applications are received, the sift will be conducted focused on the personal statement.
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.
You will be assessed against the Civil service success profiles framework at interview stage:
• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Bigger Picture
• Delivering at Pace
Please also 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
For existing analysts from all professions, as well as the three civil service behaviours stated above, you will be assessed on two sets of professional competencies at interview.
For external (non-Civil Service) candidates (and unbadged candidates within the Civil Service), as well as the three civil service behaviours stated above, you will be assessed on your analytical knowledge, experience and abilities, and the impact of your analytical work.
Professional Competencies
• Professional Competency (1) Knowledge & Skills
o GSS - Data Analysis.
o GORS - Knowledge and application of OR Skills and Techniques.
o GES - Analysis of Data.
o GSR - Knowledge and application of GSR technical skills
• Professional Competency (2) Influence & Impact
o GSS - Presenting and disseminating data effectively.
o GORS - Achieving impact with analysis.
o GES - Effective communication.
o GSR - Using and promoting social research.
For more information regarding Professional Competency please refer to the analytical profession internet links below. 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.
Government Statistician Group (GSG): Further information, including a user guide, can be found within the link below:
GSG Competency Framework 2021
Government Social Research Service (GSR): Further information can be found within the link below:
GSR Competency Framework 2022
Government Operational Research Service (GORS): Further information can be found within the link below:
GORS Competencies
Government Economic Service (GES): Further information can be found within the link below:
GES Professional Standards 2022
Applicants invited for interview
You will be required to give a 5-minute presentation at interview. 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, Nisha de Silva (BOLD Programme Director, Nisha.desilva@justice.gov.uk).
Technical 1
For existing analysts from all professions, as well as the three civil service behaviours stated above, you will be assessed on two sets of professional competencies at interview.
For external (non-Civil Service) candidates (and unbadged candidates within the Civil Service), as well as the three civil service behaviours stated above, you will be assessed on your analytical knowledge, experience and abilities, and the impact of your analytical work.
Professional Competencies
• Professional Competency (1) Knowledge & Skills
o GSS - Data Analysis.
o GORS - Knowledge and application of OR Skills and Techniques.
o GES - Analysis of Data.
o GSR - Knowledge and application of GSR technical skills
Person specification
Please refer to Job DescriptionBenefits
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
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%20MOJFeedback 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
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.