Sentence Calculation and Release Policy Adviser in the Youth Justice and Offender Policy Directorate (Ref:87709)
Ministry of Justice
About the job
Job summary
Please refer to Job DescriptionJob description
Sentence Calculation and Release Policy Adviser
HEO
Youth Justice and Offender Policy Directorate
The Youth Justice and Offender Policy Directorate is recruiting permanently for an HEO Sentence Calculation and Release Policy Adviser. 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:
102 Petty France, London
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 £10 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 Prison Demand and Release Policy Unit
The Prison Demand and Release Policy Unit work on the ministerial and operational policy for the ways in which an offender can leave prison – be that through Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL), Home Detention Curfew (HDC), Early Release on Compassionate Grounds (ERCG) or the release point of the sentence. Our business as usual is to ensure that the right people are let out of prison at the right points by providing guidance and operational support on HDC, ROTL, ERCG and sentence calculation (SC); and our dynamic policy work is a key lever in managing prison demand. This is a critical and high-profile area of work for the MoJ, with Ministers keenly interested in how we best manage the pressures on prison capacity and the policy options for achieving a manageable level of demand for prison places. The team’s operational knowledge and learning supports our ministerial policy work, providing an interface between policy teams and the vital work of Offender Management Units (OMUs) in prisons. We are a team with a wide-reaching remit, working across other teams in the Youth Justice and Offender Policy directorate and with colleagues in HMPPS to support their work on prisoner release.
Sentence Calculation and Release Policy Adviser - the role
Working to the SEO, the Sentence Calculation Policy Advisor role requires provision of support in the development and implementation of legislation and policy changes, particularly surrounding any changes which affect sentence calculation, ERCG and Early Removal Scheme (ERS) policies and the implementation of the digital ‘calculate release date service’ (CRDS). It requires leadership in the development and management of an auditing programme to test the release date outcomes of the CRDS by carrying out manual calculations, investigating discrepancies and either advising the CRDS team of a system error or providing advice to OMU staff for inputting errors.
The role also delivers the helplines (mostly for prison staff) for sentence calculation queries, ERCG and ERS policies with line management responsibility for 2 EOs.
Skills and Experience
The successful post holder will have extensive experience of performing sentence calculations and confidence in their ability to carry out that function. They will be keen to apply their sentence calculation expertise whilst developing new skills in a policy setting to drive our work forward as legislative changes occur and the digital CRDS programme is rolled out.
The post holder will possess excellent written and verbal communication skills to be able to correctly interpret court documentation, provide clear instruction and guidance to staff in OMUs and work closely with colleagues on policy, project, and digital teams.
Essential:
Must hold a sentence calculation Licence to Operate
Have good written and oral communication skills.
Desirable:
Recent practical experience of working in an OMU and NOMIS inputting.
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
As part of your application, you will be asked to upload a Statement of Suitability of no more than 500 words describe what skills they will bring to the role and how they meet the requirements of having obtained their licence to operate, having experience of working in an OMU and how they use their oral and written communication skills.
You will also be asked to upload a screen shot of your ‘my learning’ page showing successful completion of the advanced or refresher calculation course as proof of your licence to operate.
Behaviours
During the application process, in addition to the Statement of Suitability, you will be asked to provide an example of how you have met the following behaviours (see Annex A for more information):
Communicating and Influencing
Working Together
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 Communicating and Influencing.
Candidates invited to Interview.
Please note that interviews will be carried out remotely.
Candidates successful at the sift will be invited to a first panel interview where they will be tested on their sentence calculation technical expertise.
Candidates successful at the first interview will then be invited to a second panel interview testing strengths and the following behaviours:
Communicating and Influencing
Working Together
Making Effective Decisions
Managing a Quality Service
During the second interview, the panel will explore in detail what you are capable of and through the strengths-based questions, 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.
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 July 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. Victoria.amat@justice.gov.uk, Tel: 07775 010493
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 DescriptionBenefits
Alongside your salary of £32,827, Ministry of Justice contributes £8,896 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%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.