About the job

Job summary

Please refer to Job Description

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 Service Transformation

The Role 

We’re recruiting for senior positions to lead two transformation workstreams in a busy department and be part of our warm and collaborative Information Services senior management team. The two workstreams are:

•    Subject Access Request Service Transformation
•    Records Management Service Transformation

This is an exciting opportunity to join us and support the Ministry of Justice’s priorities, through innovation, delivery and collaboration. 

The roles provide an opportunity to tackle and resolve interesting, high profile and high-risk challenges, whilst delivering better outcomes for our customers.

The individuals appointed will utilise and extend their skills, leading and managing stakeholders, whilst gaining experience of collaborating, working alongside colleagues in MoJ Digital and Technology, Project Delivery, Commercial and Contract Management Directorate and HR. 

The Team

The Department’s ambition is to provide an excellent justice system. Access to information by the Department’s customers, and high standards of management of the department’s records, are an important part of this goal. 

MOJ’s Information Services Division (ISD) ensures the right information is provided and accessible to the right people, at the right time; securely, swiftly, and compliantly; and to drive trust in MoJ’s services. This is achieved through responding to information requests, managing the MoJ’s information, corporate records and preserving its historic record.

ISD does this by:

•    Providing excellent information and records management services to all its customers and stakeholders.
•    Enabling or directly providing the right access to the right information at the right time and in compliance with legislative timescales.
•    Providing confident and accurate advice, guidance, comms or training in information management, access, retention, and deletion.
•    Introducing technology to transforming and improve access to information and the services we provide.

The advertised roles are pivotal to ensuring that the department continues to strive for information management excellence.  These roles sit within the Information Services Division’s (ISD) transformation team, which is responsible for ensuring that the work completed by the unit remains appropriate, efficient and continues to improve to deliver value for money services. There are significant amounts of transformation needed in how ISD delivers its services to ensure legislative and security risks are reduced, whilst ensuring that the service is sustainable in the longer term.

Roles Purpose

Roles will be expected to contribute to the service area’s priorities, and so flexibility and willingness to support wider objectives is critical.  All project work is dynamic, and so we are seeking proactive, flexible and innovative individuals to fill these positions to ensure that transformation proceeds as smoothly, effectively, and expeditiously as possible.  There may also be some cross-development and/or learning from both areas of transformation, which will require wider teamwork and collaboration.

These roles support the development of our services to enhance it and ensure that the team’s focus is on value-add activities.

These are challenging and fast-paced roles that would be suited to individuals with outstanding proactive leadership, service transformation and digitisation skills, project management, organisational, interpersonal and stakeholder management skills and experience. The successful candidate will have the ability to manage multiple deadlines and will be a self-starter who is comfortable balancing competing demands, whilst delivering challenging objectives.

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

Subject Access Request Service Transformation

The Offender Subject Access Request (SAR) team sits within the Information Services Division. The team manage and process SARs on behalf of the MoJ, liaising with its agencies to retrieve personal information held on the requestor and then prepare is for release in compliance with the UK Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA). The team receives more than 6,000 requests per annum, and the processes and systems to support this significant caseload require development to ensure that they are optimum for service delivery and efficiency. 

The team have introduced many improvements, including the expansion of technology and digitisation of work processes. The team are now looking to build on this at pace and continue to improve the service provided through innovative deployment of technology and digital tools including exploring use of artificial intelligence or machine learning to drive up and consistently sustain excellent service standards.

The challenge is to identify and deliver opportunities for process digitisation that utilises the MoJ IT infrastructure and maximises the use of new technology being introduced across the prison service.  It includes the identification and deployment of artificial intelligence and/or machine learning to assist with the review of SAR information accurately and swiftly.

The successful candidate will develop and deliver against detailed service improvement plans outlining options and recommendations to senior leaders (including ExCo) on the most efficient and effective way forward to modernise and improve the service provided to customers that meet their expectations and those of the Department’s senior leaders and the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Records Management Service Transformation

The Records Management team sits within the Information Services Division.  It is responsible for managing records on behalf of the MoJ, HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) and Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Services (HMCTS) in accordance with MoJ retention schedules, the Freedom of Information Act (2000), Data Protection Act (2018), General Data Protection Regulation and Public Records Act (PRA)(1958).  Under the PRA the team are required to process approximately 18,000 paper records each year as they reach the 20-year point.  The team responds to information requests from internal and external stakeholders; whilst also taking responsibility to ensure that all information is managed within departmental and legislative frameworks.

The challenge is to define the structure of the team and resource allocation required for future business need, based on future collation modelling of the amount of work in the different file collations and workstreams.  The successful candidate will:

•    Consider and identify deliverable improvements to the efficiency of ongoing services and functions that the team delivers, such as reviewing physical records, preparing physical records for transfer to the National Archives.
•    Development of and delivery against a transition plan, including a records review plan.
•    Preparation and management of the records storage contract requirements, looking at options to minimise the number of files stored and ensure value for money.
•    Service Transformation through identification and development of a plan to improve customer service, deliver a more efficient service and transition the team from working on paper files to digital records.

Key Responsibilities

•    Lead on start-up activities for the project including: identification, recruitment, development and deployment of resources throughout the project lifecycle and producing key project initiation documents that define scope and target operating model.  
•    Owner of overall project plan and project documentation ensuring transformation is delivering against its objectives, to timescales and budget. Must be proficient in both Agile and Waterfall methodologies.
•    Ensure the project team uses the most appropriate tools and techniques for managing stakeholder relationships and provide assurance to the SRO and ISD Deputy Director on the effectiveness of; risks and issues management, business case development, business change and implementation, budgeting and benefits realisation. 
•    Oversee creation of dashboards and highlight reports for Programme Board.
•    Day-to-day management and effective leadership of the project team providing effective leadership.
•    Set and implement an appropriate project methodology across all workstreams and deliverables.
•    Ensure governance and assurance is appropriate with clear roles and responsibilities and escalation routes.
•    Lead on drafting submissions to senior stakeholders across the department.
•    Oversee the implementation of change delivered through the project and working with the project team and stakeholders to deliver functionality changes to achieve the projects strategic objectives of maximizing the use of technology across our digital information.

Stakeholder Management

•    Working closely with the Information Services Team, Justice Digital colleagues and key stakeholders to deliver the projects strategic objectives.
•    Develop and ensure adherence to a stakeholder engagement and communications strategy.
•    Developing and maintaining collaborative working relationships with key stakeholders internally and externally. 

Influence and Communication

•    Identify opportunities to accelerate progress and achieve objectives, articulate these clearly and coherently in writing and be able to discuss and present ideas and updates to stakeholders from various backgrounds, including senior management in the Ministry of Justice. 
•    Effectively conveying important messages in verbal and written communications.
•    Leading discussions with stakeholders on changes and resolving conflicts where appropriate. 

Leadership 

•    Drive the projects progress and strict adherence to agreed project milestones, to deliver the projects outcomes and improvements.
•    Demonstrate strong leadership behaviours in accordance with the organisations ethos as well as role modelling desired future behaviours and ways of working.  
•    Actively encourage contributions, involvement and feedback from the Team and stakeholders, using their feedback and insight to drive changes and or improvements to the business change approach.

Innovation

•    The ability to think of, research and apply new ideas and ways of doing things. Encourages and supports innovations from others, is willing to experiment and follow ideas through to implementation

Working with ambiguity 

•    The ability to work in an environment of uncertainty and continual change. Able to feel comfortable making decisions and setting direction without having the full picture and re-focus as details emerge. Can apply knowledge and techniques to reduce ambiguity

Other Duties:

The post holder is required to work in a flexible way and undertake any other duties reasonably requested by line management which are commensurate with the grade and level of responsibility of this post. The post holder will be required to work flexibly across the division.

You will need to travel within the UK as part of this role.

Location of Post:

The posts will be based in Burton or London and the successful candidate will be required to travel on a regular basis. In line with the department’s policies, travel and subsistence and, where appropriate, overnight accommodation will be available in line with organisational policies.

Person Specification 

These roles will require regular travel to business area sites across the country.

Essential experience and skills

•    Experience of successful transformation and improvement of service quality provided to the public through process improvement, including the identification and deployment of enhancing technologies and techniques.
•    Experience of delivering service transformation in a large-scale processing environment.
•    Significant leadership and managerial experience with proven ability to lead through partners and suppliers.
•    Ability to manage multiple deadlines and will be comfortable balancing competing demands and delivering challenging objectives.
•    Leading confident engagement with stakeholders and partners, including development of communications materials and delivery of training as needed.
•    Proactively brings people together, takes feedback onboard when delivering a project, listening to people and feedback.
•    Project and risk management experience in leading and delivering in a complex environment at pace, with record of applying project manager techniques and experience of managing change.
•    Credible around senior officials with excellent engagement and communication skills to promote collaboration across departmental boundaries and manage expectations;
•    Confident working in an environment of uncertainty and continual change, including setting direction and managing data without having the full picture and re-focusing as details emerge.

Desirable

•    Experience in information access and information rights.
•    Experience in records management.

How to Apply 

Candidates must submit CV (no more than 2 A4 sides) & statement of suitability (no more than 1250 words) which describes how you meet the requirements set out in the person specification above. 

Please note that any applications without a statement of suitability will not be considered. 

We will assess the following behaviours at interview: 

•    Seeing the big picture
•    Communicating and influencing
•    Changing and Improving
•    Making effective decisions
•    Working together

Your application will be reviewed 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 face to face. A presentation will be required as part of the interview.

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £54,358, Ministry of Justice contributes £15,165 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, Strengths and Experience.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.