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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.

POLICY OFFICER JOB DESCRIPTION – HEO

Overview of the role

The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) is an Arm’s Length Body of the Ministry of Justice and investigates:

• complaints made by prisoners, young people in detention, offenders under probation supervision and individuals detained under immigration powers;
• deaths of prisoners, young people in detention, residents in approved premises and individuals detained under immigration powers;
• deaths of recently released prisoners that occur within 14 days of release from prison (except homicide).

The Policy Officer supports the Ombudsman to deliver their terms of reference and ensure that the impact of the PPO’s work is recognised. The post holder will gain a broad perspective of the PPO, the Ministry of Justice and wider Government.

The post holder will be part of the Research, Strategy and Corporate Services function (RSCS), which is responsible for identifying the lessons to be learned from our investigations and ensuring they are shared with services in remit.

The post holder will report to a Grade 7 Head of Operational Learning and Impact.

The post holder needs to be confident communicating with senior stakeholders and have strong organisation and prioritisation skills.

Previous policy experience in a Civil Service environment will be advantageous but is not an essential requirement.

This is a busy but very interesting post, which will suit someone who is able to work to tight deadlines on a varied workload and is able to tune into the thoughts and views of the Ombudsman.

Previous experience of the Criminal Justice System is not required as training will be given on the job.

The PPO is based at the HM Government hub at 10 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London. Currently, staff are expected to attend the office two days a week (based on full time hours), with the rest of the time spent working at home or in commuter hubs. You will usually have flexibility to decide which days of the week you work in the office to enable you to manage your office attendance around your personal circumstances. There will be occasions when you will be required to attend the office (for example, office or function-wide meetings).

If you are successful, you may need to attend the office more frequently in your first six weeks, to undertake key training and induction activity.

Interviews will be held virtually using Microsoft Teams.

External candidates joining the Civil Service will be expected to join on the minimum salary for the band, which is currently £35,405.

Post Holder’s Duties

The post holder will be responsible for the following:

• Leading on policy projects that have a direct impact on the work of the PPO.
• Managing and responding to external policy consultations, which includes deciding on which consultations the PPO should become involved in and researching PPO findings to use as evidence.
• Drafting submissions to Parliamentary Committee meetings on behalf of the PPO.
• Working collaboratively with the Ombudsman and Deputy Ombudsmen to develop and maintain relationships with key stakeholders.
• Representing the Ombudsman at external stakeholder meetings.
• Researching and drafting content for external policy or thematic publications/newsletters to share learning from PPO investigations with stakeholders.

Essential criteria

• Strong organisation and prioritisation skills, and able to manage competing priorities.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including experience of drafting accurate and concise material.
• Ability to communicate confidently with people at all levels and build relationships with stakeholders.
• Ability to consider the wider criminal justice landscape and identify and comment on emerging themes.

Desirable:

• Previous policy experience.

The Application and Interview Process

The PPO is a Disability Confident Committed Employer, and we ensure our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible. Please complete the application information on reasonable adjustments and disabilities if relevant. Further information on the types of reasonable adjustment that can be provided can be found at https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/reasonable-adjustments/

This is a two-stage process.

Stage 1:

• Submit a Curriculum Vitae (CV).

• Submit a statement of suitability (250 words) setting out how your skills and experience match the essential requirements for the role as stated above.

To pass stage 1, a candidate will need to score a minimum of two out of three on their statement of suitability. If we receive a high number of high scoring applications, we reserve the right to increase this minimum benchmark.

The CV will not be scored but will be used to give context to the statement of suitability.

Stage 2:

Those who meet the required level at the application stage will be invited to an interview. During the interview, you will be asked questions about the Civil Service Behaviours ‘Seeing the Big Picture’, ‘Making Effective Decisions’ and ‘Communicating and Influencing’, as well as strength-based questions relating to the role.

You will also be required to complete a written test to demonstrate your ability to write investigation reports.

To be considered appointable, you will need to score a minimum total of 12 for the behaviour questions, a minimum of four for the written test and a minimum of six for the strength questions. If we receive a high number of high scoring interviewees, we reserve the right to increase this minimum benchmark.

Recruitment across the Civil Service changed from July 2019 with the introduction of Success Profiles. Further guidance can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles.

Seeing the Big Picture
Understand the strategic drivers for your area of work. Align activities to contribute to wider organisational priorities. Remain alert to emerging issues and trends which might impact your work area. Seek out and share experiences to develop knowledge of the team’s business area. Understand how the strategies and activities of the team create value and meet the diverse needs of all stakeholders.

Making Effective Decisions
Understand own level of responsibility and empower others to make decisions where appropriate. Analyse and use a range of relevant, credible information from internal and external sources to support decisions. Invite challenge and where appropriate involve others in decision making. Display confidence when making difficult decisions, even if they prove to be unpopular. Consult with others to ensure the potential impacts on end users have been considered. Present strong recommendations in a timely manner outlining the consideration of other options, costs, benefits and risks.

Communicating and Influencing
Communicate in a straightforward, honest and engaging manner, choosing appropriate
styles to maximise understanding and impact. Encourage the use of different communication methods, including digital resources and highlight the benefits, including ensuring cost effectiveness. Ensure communication has a clear purpose and takes into account people’s individual needs. Share information as appropriate and check understanding. Show positivity and enthusiasm towards work, encouraging others to do the same. Ensure that important messages are communicated with colleagues and stakeholders respectfully, taking into consideration the diversity of interests.

When answering questions about the behaviours, you might want to use the STAR approach to help you to present your evidence more successfully. This approach provides structure and focus to your answers.

The STAR approach stands for:

Situation – briefly describe the context and your role.
Task – the specific challenge, task or job that you faced.
Action – what you did, how and why you did it.
Result – what you achieved through your actions.

You should keep the situation and task parts brief, concentrating on the actions you took and the result. If the result was not entirely successful describe what you learned from this and what you would do differently next time. STAR may help you to cover all the points you need to make.

When using STAR, you should use one specific example per behaviour and you should explain what you did rather than others.

Salary

£35,405 - £39,000

Additional Information

Working Arrangements & Further Information

The MoJ offers Hybrid Working arrangements where business need allows. This is an informal, non-contractual form of flexible working that blends working from your base location, different MoJ sites and / or from home (please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas). Some roles will not be suitable for Hybrid Working. Similarly, Hybrid Working will not suit everyone’s circumstances. Arrangements will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate(s) and subject to regular review.

For nationally advertised roles, the successful candidate(s) will be appointed to a MoJ office location, which may include their nearest Justice Collaboration Centre or Justice Satellite Office. This will be discussed and agreed on the completion of pre-employment checks.

Some of MoJ’s terms and conditions of service are changing as part of Civil Service reform. The changes will apply to staff joining MoJ who are new to the Civil Service. Staff joining MoJ from other civil service employers will transfer onto the new MoJ terms if they are already on ‘modernised’ terms in their current post or onto ‘unmodernised’ MoJ terms if they are on ‘unmodernised’ terms at their current post. Details will be available if an offer is made.

Flexible working hours

The Ministry of Justice offers a flexible working system in many offices.

Benefits

The MoJ offers a range of benefits:

Annual Leave

Annual leave is 25 days on appointment and will increase to 30 days after five years’ service.

There is also a scheme to allow qualifying staff to buy or sell up to three days leave each year. Additional paid time off for public holidays and 1 privilege day. Leave for part-time and job share posts will be calculated on a pro-rata basis.

Pension

The Civil Service offers a choice of pension schemes, giving you the flexibility to choose the pension that suits you best.

Training

The Ministry of Justice is committed to staff development and offers an extensive range of training and development opportunities.

Networks

The opportunity to join employee-run networks that have been established to provide advice and support and to enable the views of employees from minority groups to be expressed direct to senior management. There are currently networks for employees of minority ethnic origin, employees with disabilities, employees with caring responsibilities, women employees, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees.

Support

• A range of ‘Family Friendly’ policies such as opportunities to work reduced hours or job share.
• Access to flexible benefits such as voluntary benefits, retail vouchers and discounts on a range of goods and services.
• For moves to or from another employer or moves across the Civil Service this can have implications on your eligibility to carry on claiming childcare vouchers. You may however be eligible for alternative government childcare support schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. More information can be found on GOV.UK or Childcare Choices. You can determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.
• Paid paternity, adoption and maternity leave.
• Free annual sight tests for employees who use computer screens.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code 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. Should you feel that the recruitment process has breached the recruitment principles you are able to raise a formal complaint in the following order

• To Shared Service Connected Ltd (0845 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am – 6pm) or e mail [email protected]);
• To Ministry of Justice Resourcing team ([email protected]);
• To the Civil Service Commission (details available here)

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As a Disability Confident employer, MoJ are committed to providing everyone with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, talent and abilities, by making adjustments throughout all elements of the recruitment process and in the workplace. MoJ are able to offer an interview to disabled candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns.

You will be able to request reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process within the application form. If you need additional help completing the application form, please contact the SSCL Recruitment Enquiries Team.

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.