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.

Parliamentary Officer

EO

Private Office and Parliament 

The Private Office and Parliament (POP) Directorate is recruiting permanently for one EO Parliamentary Officer. This campaign is being run externally and so is open to all who consider themselves suitable for the role and meet the eligibility criteria in the wider advert within Civil Service Jobs.

Location:

Successful candidates will have the option to be based at one of the following locations:

1.    102 Petty France, London 
2.    5 Wellington Place, Leeds 

Occasional travel between the two locations may be required.

In order for Policy Group to meet its evolving business needs all Policy Group staff are expected to attend their base location (102 Petty France or 5 Wellington Place Leeds) at least 2 days a week.  This hybrid working arrangement is not contractual and as a result staff could be asked to attend their base location more frequently.

Ways of Working

At the MoJ we believe and promote alternative ways of working, these roles are available as:

•    Full-time, part-time or the option to job share
•    Flexible working patterns
•    Flexible working arrangements between base locations, MoJ Hubs and home.

If we receive applications from more suitable candidates than we have vacancies for at this time, we may hold suitable applicants on a reserve list for 12 months, and future vacancies requiring the same skills and experience could be offered to candidates on the reserve list without a new competition.

Salary

New entrants to the Civil Service will be expected to join on the minimum of the pay range.  

If you are already a civil servant and are successful in an external recruitment competition for a role with us, your starting pay will be the better of:

•    promotion terms or transfer terms, as appropriate; or
•    pay on appointment arrangements (minimum of pay range)

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ)

MOJ is one of the largest government departments, employing over 90,000 people (including those in the Probation Service), with a budget of approximately £9.5 billion. Each year, millions of people use our services across the UK - including at 500 courts and tribunals, and 133 prisons in England and Wales.

Further information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice.

The Work of the Parliament and Legislation Team

The Parliament and Legislation team manages the Department's Parliamentary business including all primary and secondary legislation, all parliamentary scrutiny of the department (written and oral Parliamentary questions, select committee liaison, debates, statements and briefing for No.10 and the Leader of the House), and the strategic approach to the department’s interaction with Parliament as a stakeholder.

It supports Ministers and Departmental colleagues to ensure all responsibilities to Parliament are fulfilled and that Ministers are well briefed and prepared for Parliamentary appearances. The team also holds responsibility for the department’s relationship with the Parliamentary Business and Legislation Committee, and with the Lords and Commons Whip’s offices. 

The work is fast-paced and requires the ability to adapt to new information, constantly reprioritise and work closely with senior stakeholders and Ministers. We sit within the Private Office and Parliament (POP) directorate, which sets and steers the direction of the Ministry. 

As a Parliamentary Officer, your role will be varied and fast-paced. You will lead on: Written Parliamentary Questions, Oral Questions, Prime Minister’s Questions briefing packs and Parliamentary debates. Key further responsibilities will be supporting the team’s wider Parliamentary work and ensuring deadlines set by Parliament are upheld. 

Parliamentary Officer – The role

As a Parliamentary Officer, your role will be varied and fast-paced. You will lead on: Written Parliamentary Questions, Oral Questions, Prime Minister’s Questions briefing packs and Parliamentary debates. Key further responsibilities will be supporting the team’s wider Parliamentary work and ensuring deadlines set by Parliament are upheld. 

Written Parliamentary Questions: you will identify and allocate Parliamentary Questions (PQs) to relevant officials across the Department. You will manage the approval process, clearing the PQs through Special Advisers and Ministers. This will involve liaising with Private Offices to ensure there is a capacity to clear in advance of the Parliamentary deadline. 

Oral Questions and Parliamentary Debates: you will be responsible for commissioning briefing packs for Lords Oral Questions and Parliamentary debates. You will liaise with Private Offices to confirm Ministerial availability and deadlines for packs. You will also support the Head of PQs and Briefings during Commons Oral Questions.

Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs): you will coordinate the briefings for Prime Minister’s and Business Questions on MoJ topics. This will involve commissioning out updates to briefing packs and ensuring they are cleared in advance of the deadlines set by No.10. You will also respond to any ad hoc requests for lines from No.10 in the run up to PMQs. 

Supporting the wider Parliamentary team: you will play a crucial role in ensuring that the department adheres to the deadlines imposed on it by Parliament. You will support the wider team when business levels demand additional help. 

Skills and Experience

Essential:

•    You are enthusiastic, confident and have a passion for providing excellent service delivery within a fast-paced environment.
•    Possess excellent organisational skills and are detail oriented.
•    Have strong oral and written communication skills and excellent interpersonal and team working skills.
•    You are a proactive individual with a high degree of organisational ability, attention to detail and manages time effectively.
•    You work well with others and can build meaningful relationships with stakeholders.

Desirable:

•    Previous experience working in a parliamentary role is desirable but not essential.

Candidates applying from HMPPS should note that the Ministry of Justice does not have the same conditions of employment as HMPPS. It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure they are aware of the terms and conditions they will adopt should they be successful.

The MoJ is proud to be Level 3 Disability Confident. Disability Confident is the approach through which we offer guaranteed interviews for all people with disabilities meeting the minimum criteria for the advertised role as set out in the job description.

Application process

You will be assessed against the Civil service success profiles framework.

Experience

You will be asked to provide a CV during the application process in order to assess any demonstrable experience, career history and achievements that are relevant to the role.

Behaviours

During the application process you will be asked to provide an example of how you have met the following behaviour (see Annex A for more information):

•    Delivering at Pace (Lead Behaviour) – 250 word limit
•    Communicating and Influencing – 250 word limit 

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

Should we receive a large number of applications, we will sift primarily on the lead behaviour of Delivering at Pace. Successful applicants will then be invited to an interview, testing both behaviours and strengths. 

Candidates Invited to Interview 

Please note that interviews will be carried out remotely.

During the panel interview, you will be asked behaviour-based questions to explore in detail what you are capable of, and strengths-based questions to also explore what you enjoy, and your motivations relevant to the job role. 

There is no expectation or requirement for you to prepare for the strengths-based questions in advance of the interview, though you may find it helpful to spend some time reflecting on what you enjoy doing and what you do well.

There is 1 interview stage for this vacancy. You will be assessed on the following behaviours:

•    Delivering at Pace 
•    Communicating & Influencing
•    Working together

You can refer to the CS Strengths dictionary for more details:  Success Profiles - Civil Service Strengths Dictionary (publishing.service.gov.uk).

Interviews are expected to take place in Early February 2024.

Contact Information   

Please do get in touch if you would like to know more about the role or what it is like working in our team: Holly Ryder (holly.ryder2@Justice.gov.uk) or Sarah Peyto (sarah.peyto@justice.gov.uk).

Annex A - The STAR method

Using the STAR method can help you give examples of relevant experience that you have. It allows you to set the scene, show what you did, and how you did it, and explain the overall outcome.

Situation - Describe the situation you found yourself in. You must describe a specific event or situation. Be sure to give enough detail for the job holder to understand.

•    Where are you?
•    Who was there with you?
•    What had happened?

Task - The job holder will want to understand what you tried to achieve from the situation you found yourself in.

•    What was the task that you had to complete and why?
•    What did you have to achieve?

Actions - What did you do? The job holder will be looking for information on what you did, how you did it and why. Keep the focus on you. What specific steps did you take and what was your contribution? Remember to include how you did it, and the behaviours you used. Try to use “I” rather than “we” to explain your actions that lead to the result. Be careful not to take credit for something that you did not do.

Results - Don’t be shy about taking credit for your behaviour. Quote specific facts and figures. Explain how the outcome benefitted the organisation or your area. Make the outcomes easily understandable.

•    What results did the actions produce?
•    What did you achieve through your actions and did you meet your goals?
•    Was it a successful outcome? If not, what did you learn from the experience?

Keep the situation and task parts brief. Concentrate on the action and the result. If the result was not entirely successful describe what you learned from this and what you would do differently next time. Make sure you focus on your strengths.

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £27,223, Ministry of Justice contributes £7,377 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. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist 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.