23286 - Independent Public Advocate Policy Advisor, Criminal Courts and Victims Directorate in Leeds

Salary

National salary range is £35,335-£37,847. London salary range is £40,014-£42,859. Your salary will be dependent on your base location.

Job description

Independent Public Advocate Policy Advisor

HEO

Criminal Courts and Victims Directorate

The Criminal Courts and Victims Directorate is recruiting temporarily for an HEO Policy Advisor in the Independent Public Advocate Policy team. This campaign is open to all staff within the Ministry of Justice.

The role is available on Detached Duty or Loan terms dependent on which part of MoJ is your home unit and is available for 6-9 months.

Candidates are reminded that to be eligible for this campaign; you must still be employed by the Ministry of Justice as a civil servant at the point of accepting the role. If you resign or your FTA contract ends before you are made and accept an offer, you will become ineligible and you will be withdrawn from the process.

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. We offer a hybrid working model, allowing for a balance between remote work and time spent in your base location (102 Petty France or 5 Wellington Place Leeds).

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

We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce and pride ourselves as being an employer of choice. To find out more about how we champion diversity and inclusion in the workplace, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity

Salary

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

About the Ministry of Justice

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ)

MoJ is the largest government department, employing over 90,000 people 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 Vulnerabilities and Criminal Law Policy Unit

The Vulnerabilities and Criminal Law Policy Unit is responsible for a number of important areas, including the integrity of the criminal law extending to violent, non-violent and sexual offences, government policy on provision of state compensation for victims of violent crime, the law protecting the person and property of people who lack mental capacity, and policy for criminal special measures that help vulnerable and intimidated witnesses to give their best evidence.

Independent Public Advocate Policy Advisor – the role

The Independent Public Advocate (IPA) is an independent Statutory Office, established through the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, to support victims of major incidents in England and Wales. It was set up in September 2025. [Generic lines on what the IPA does]

The IPA Policy Team is the sponsoring policy team within the MoJ. We play a central role in ensuring that the IPA is supported to deliver their statutory functions effectively and in line with the Government's policy objectives and legislative framework.

The team works closely with both the Advocate and the supporting IPA Office, building strong collaborative relationships to effectively support them and clearly communicate policy objectives. We are also responsible for advising Ministers and senior leaders on their responsibilities in relation to the IPA, providing briefings, handling parliamentary and stakeholder interest, and responding to emerging policy and operational issues. This often requires strategic policy advice to support decision‑making and help shape the development of this new public function.

As the IPA has been operational for a year, the team is at an exciting stage of development. A key part of our work is designing and embedding effective sponsorship and support arrangements, helping to establish how the IPA's relationship with government should function in practice. This creates a unique opportunity for team members to influence the development of a high‑profile policy area, work closely with senior stakeholders, and contribute to shaping a new institution during its formative years.

Key responsibilities of the IPA Policy Advisor will be:

• Owning policy work for the IPA, including advice for SCS and Ministers, and responding to policy queries. This will include work on primary legislation.
• Preparing briefing, speaking notes, and correspondence for Ministers on issues relating to the IPA and major incidents.
• Supporting the department's management of the relationship with the Advocate, including developing policy documents and briefing materials. This includes ensuring senior officials are appropriately briefed and prepared for regular engagement with the Advocate.
• Leading the organisation and preparation of IPA Policy update meetings with DDs, including ensuring actions are progressed.
• Managing the IPA inbox and coordinating responses to correspondence, commissions and requests for information from a range of stakeholders.
• Providing administrative and coordination support for IPA policy work, including managing clearances, organising meetings and tracking actions.

You will also be required to work flexibly across the wider team at times, in line with demand and priorities.

Skills and Experience

Essential

• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal, including experience of producing briefings or advice for senior audiences.
• Ability to build and maintain effective relationships with a range of stakeholders.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and deliver high-quality work to deadlines.
• Sound judgement and problem‑solving skills when dealing with complex or sensitive issues.
• Experience of analysing information and developing evidence‑based advice or recommendations.

Desirable

• Understanding of sponsorship, governance or accountability arrangements relating to public bodies or independent office holders.
• Experience of advising and briefing Ministers, parliamentary business or working with senior stakeholders.
• Knowledge of policy development in a legislative or operational context.
• Experience of working in a new or evolving policy area.

Additional Information

• 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.
• 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.

Benefits

• Annual Leave – 25 days on appointment and will increase to 30 days after five years’ service.
• Scheme allowing 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.

Eligibility

Staff on fixed term appointments must have been recruited through fair and open competition.

Vacancies advertised “cross‑government” are only open to all Civil Service employees and employees of accredited non‑departmental public bodies (NDPBs) who were appointed on merit following a fair and open competition; or were appointed to a permanent post through an exception in the Civil Service Commissioners' rules.

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 www.gov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs/tax-free-childcare and on Childcare Choices (https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/). 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 Transformative Business Services (0345 241 5359 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk );
• To Ministry of Justice Resourcing team ( resourcing-management-office@justice.gov.uk );
• To the Civil Service Commission (details available here https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/recruitment/recruitment-complaints/).

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 TBS Recruitment Enquiries Team.

For more information on applying for a role as a candidate with a disability or long‑term condition, please watch our animated videos.

Diversity & Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.

Redeployment Interview Scheme

Civil Service departments are expected to explore redeployment opportunities before making an individual redundant. The MoJ is committed, as part of the Redeployment Interview Scheme, to providing opportunities to those who are 'at risk of redundancy'.

MoJ is able to offer an interview to eligible candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns. Candidates will not be eligible for the Redeployment Interview Scheme if they are applying on promotion.

Civil Service Nationality Rules

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)
• 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: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules

Reserve list

A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made for the same or similar roles.

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