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.

Do you have the passion, values, and ability to help us solve the biggest problems of the justice system?

Reducing Reoffending Pilot Senior Analyst (SEO), BOLD Programme, Data & Analysis, Ministry of Justice  

1. Overview

We have one role in the Reducing Reoffending Pilot team of the BOLD programme, within the Data & Analysis Directorate.

Roles are open to: 

1. Existing analysts from all professions (GORS/GSS/GSR/GES) either on level transfer or on promotion.

Specialist allowance

Due to the role(s) being analytical, those successful in recruitment will be eligible for a specialist allowance following an analytical interview based on the following values: 

• SEO London: £500  
• SEO National: £1500  

Minimum requirements to apply:

Candidates must be able to show the relevant experience and skills and must meet the criteria for entry:

SEO grade:

• You have significant work experience (usually a minimum of three years) evidencing use of data and/or analytical skills. Time spent on an analytical PhD can count towards this.

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 are likely to take place in late April/early May 2024 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.

1. About Data & Analysis

We are passionate about improving justice outcomes through innovative research, data and analysis. In Data and Analysis, we provide high quality data and analysis helping to 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 sits at the heart of the 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 other data specialists (such as data strategists, data dissemination, generalists and assurance experts).

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 BOLD programme

The Better Outcomes through Linked Data (BOLD) programme is a cross-government initiative delivered in partnership between the MoJ, the Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC), Public Health Wales (PHW)/Welsh Government (WG) and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC) and this role offers the opportunity to deliver impact across a broad range of public services.

Public services collect a large amount of data which is used to improve the quality of services offered to the public, 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, will improve 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. 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 four demonstrator pilot projects focusing on substance misuse, homelessness, victims of crime and reducing reoffending. The demonstrator projects are so named because they are pilots for the ethos behind BOLD, striving to

demonstrate the value of linking data across departmental boundaries, in this first iteration, to support adults who interact in different ways with the Criminal Justice System.

The post being offered sits within the Reduce Reoffending pilot of the BOLD programme, which uses linked data to help tackle the underlying causes of offending and promote rehabilitation and reform.

Following the end of the BOLD programme at the end of March 2025, the successful applicant will have the opportunity to move to an analyst role within Data and Analysis in the MoJ.  

1. What you’ll do

We are looking for a Senior Analyst (SEO level) to lead on the development of the Families and Intergenerational Offending project within BOLD’s Reducing Reoffending pilot. The postholder will lead statistical analysis, drawing on linked data, to develop estimates on the number of children impacted by parental imprisonment; this will include using innovative methods to draw out early insights on associated outcomes for those children.

The successful applicant will work collaboratively with analytical, policy and operational colleagues within the MoJ and cross government to produce robust, quality assured analysis which meets stakeholder needs and fills critical evidence gaps. Analytical outputs from this project are intended for publication and so the postholder will also be expected to manage the dissemination process.

This is a great opportunity for someone looking to gain experience in the development of a high-profile project in a fast-paced and challenging role.

1. Who you are

The job holder will be required to undertake the following duties and responsibilities:

• Act as the analytical lead for the BOLD Families and Intergenerational Offending project and develop thorough understanding of research in this area.
• Conduct analysis of linked administrative data to further develop estimates of children of prisoners.
• Conduct statistical analysis of local level data sources to understand impact of parental imprisonment on children.
• Work closely within our cross-disciplinary team of policy, operational and data science colleagues; producing and disseminating statistical evidence to meet stakeholder requirements.
• Build relationships with a range of stakeholders to define research questions and evidence gaps.
• Work collaboratively across MoJ to explore new and alternative data sources and data linking with other data sources.
• Effectively communicate complex analysis to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Work flexibly to support the wider analytical team within BOLD: promote and champion BOLD at conferences and stakeholder events.

The following experience and skills will be required:

• Strong analytical ability, in particular quantitative skills and confidence manipulating large data sets.
• Strong ability to plan, prioritise and lead an analytical project with challenging and competing timelines.
• Manage partners’ expectations over time, dealing constructively with challenges and where appropriate adapting the analytical or data programme when requirements and circumstances change.
• Have effective written and oral communication and interpersonal skills and the ability to explain complex technical data and analytical concepts and practices to non-technical stakeholders, including senior leaders and ministers.
• Experience in writing clear and concise code in R.

The following experience and skills are desirable:

• Experience using quality assurance in analytical work, including producing robust and reproducible analysis using modern version control software.
• Experience with R, Python, SQL, git.
• Understanding of the Official Statistics Code of Practice.
• Experience of longitudinal data analysis and regression models.

1. How to apply

You’ll 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 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. 

5a. 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.

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.

Behaviours

You will be assessed against the Civil service success profiles framework at interview stage:

• Communicating and Influencing  
• Changing and Improving 
• 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
• GSS - Data Analysis. 
• GORS - Knowledge and application of OR Skills and Techniques. 
• GES - Analysis of Data. 
• GSR - Knowledge and application of GSR technical skills 
• Professional Competency (2) Influence & Impact
• GSS - Presenting and disseminating data effectively. 
• GORS - Achieving impact with analysis. 
• GES - Effective communication. 
• GSR - using and promoting social research 

For more information regarding Professional Competency (2) please refer to the analytical profession internet links below. Please 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. We will use evidence presented for the MoJ competencies in assessing the wider skills candidates have.

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 

1. 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.

1. Further Information

If you require any additional information about the role, please contact:

Maryam Ahmad (maryam.ahmad@justice.gov.uk)

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £39,868, Ministry of Justice contributes £10,804 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%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.