About the job

Job summary

Please refer to the Job Description

Job description

Job description: Principal Strategy Advisor (Civil)

This is a permanent post that can be based in Royal Courts of Justice, London or Leeds. Postholders based in Leeds will need to travel to the Royal Courts of Justice as required (likely at least once per month).

Salary and Grade

This post is Grade 7

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

Existing Civil Servants will have their salary calculated in accordance with the Department’s pay on transfer / pay on promotion rules. lee

Overview

This is an exciting opportunity to directly support the senior judiciary in the delivery of their vision for civil justice. The successful postholder will work closely alongside the Master of the Rolls and the Deputy Head of Civil Justice, and their Private Office, leading the Strategy and Modernisation Team contributions to their work.

The organisation

This post is based in the Judicial Office (JO), an Arms-Length Body of the Ministry of Justice.

Our purpose is to strengthen the rule of law and improve the administration of justice by supporting the leadership and governance of our independent judiciary.

We are a unique branch of the civil service, independent from Government, dedicated to supporting the judiciary and promoting judicial independence, to maintain confidence in the rule of law. We support the judiciary, led by the Lady Chief Justice, the Senior President of Tribunals, to fulfil their responsibilities. Through our specialist teams we support some 22,000 judicial office holders, providing policy, strategy, legal and handling advice and operational support.

https://www.linkedin.com/company/judicial-office/

For more information see www.judiciary.uk. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The Strategy and Modernisation Team is a relatively new team that supports the senior judiciary to deliver their strategic priorities in a more cross jurisdictional way; it plays an integral part in providing further policy expertise across the Judicial Office, developing key policy, and advising the most senior judges on strategic questions of the day. The team works across jurisdictions and judges and works closely with several different policy teams, in particular HR Policy, and Judicial Private Offices.

Job description

This role is based in the Strategy and Modernisation Team to lead our contribution to the design and delivery of strategies and policies supporting the effective administration of civil justice.

The role requires working with teams from across Judicial Office and the Judicial College, especially with the Private Office of the Master of the Rolls and the Deputy Head of Civil Justice.

You will be responsible taking forward judicial commissions for the design and delivery of a variety of policies and strategies. You will work effectively with varied stakeholders to ensure they are deliverable and implemented. You will need to be able to deal with senior judges and officials with confidence and have the ability to influence upwards.

The role will involve working across Judicial Office and Wider Government to establish strong relationships and effect change. You will be responsible for providing frequent oral and written briefings to senior judges and colleagues and must have excellent communication skills.

This position is eligible for hybrid working (current minimum requirement for time spent at base location is 60%, which is subject to business requirements).

Main activities/Responsibilities:

• Supporting the delivery of specific projects, such as ‘double-hatting’ between courts and tribunals
• Supporting the senior judiciary with the implementation of reform and other modernisation initiatives
• Liaise with HMCTS, MoJ and other teams across Judicial Office to ensure the judiciary are effective participants and leaders in the delivery of various initiatives or projects.
• Line management of one SEO, and will have flexible HEO support from the Strategy and Modernisation team.

Person specification

The successful candidates must:

• Be able to influence and manage upwards and speak with authority when dealing with senior officials or judiciary
• Have excellent communication and leadership skills
• Have strong organisational skills and the ability to drive multiple workstrands forward
• Have excellent written skills and be able to draft high quality briefing and advice

Desirable knowledge and skills:

• Experience of working with the judiciary, and an interest in the workings of the courts and tribunals system more widely
• An broad understanding of civil justice
• Experience of delivering strategies/policies from inception to completion

Selection Process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles , and the sift will assess the behaviours outlined below.

We will assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Making effective decisions
• Delivering at Pace

Applicants will also be asked to complete a CV and a 250 word Statement of Suitability.

Your statement should outline:

1. Why you are applying for the role.
2. Why and how you consider that your skills and experience make you suitable for the role

Candidates invited to interview will be assessed on the above Civil Service Behaviours and on Civil Service Strengths. 

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £58,847, Ministry of Justice contributes £16,418 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. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.