Job description
Policy Advisor, Scrutiny – Strategy and Policy Team
HEO
Prisons Directorate
The Scrutiny – Strategy and Policy Team is recruiting permanently for an HEO Policy Advisor. 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.
The terms on offer will be dependent on your current employment:
- Staff within the Ministry of Justice will be posted on detached duty terms and Temporary Responsibility allowance if appropriate
- Staff in HMPPS or another government department will be posted on Loan terms
- Individuals who are not currently civil servants will be offered a Fixed Term Appointment.
If you wish to discuss the above options, should you be successful, please contact us via the following functional mailbox: PolicyGroupRecruitment@justice.gov.uk
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
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.
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
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 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 the Scrutiny and Prisoner Outcomes Division
The Prisons Directorate sits within the Ministry of Justice and is responsible for
advising Ministers on all aspects of prison policy. The Scrutiny and Prisoner Outcomes Division has responsibility for:
- Policy sponsorship of the independent scrutiny bodies (HMI Prisons, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, the Independent Monitoring Boards & the Lay Observers) including responding to annual reports and consultations on inspection programmes.
- Strategy and legislation development to improve the effectiveness of the scrutiny landscape.
- Co-sponsoring and providing secretariat support to the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody and the cross-department Ministerial Board on Deaths in Detention.
- Providing briefings for scrutiny body meetings with Ministers, Directors General, and the Permanent Secretary, among others.
- Drafting submissions on scrutiny body publications, working closely with His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) throughout.
- Providing scrutiny intelligence to policy teams and other stakeholders, and championing intelligence from independent scrutiny body reports.
We are recruiting for one ambitious, organised and collaborative HEO policy advisor to join the division, as part of the Scrutiny – Strategy and Policy team.
We are a friendly, enthusiastic and collaborative division with a strong emphasis on ensuring team members feel happy, supported and engaged in their work. We are keen to make a difference, working closely with partners and supporting everyone to play their part to improve prisons and the outcomes for those in our care. We have a strong commitment to personal and career development, helping everyone to grow and fulfil their potential.
Policy Advisor - the role
The Scrutiny – Strategy and Policy team sit within the Scrutiny and Prisoner Outcomes division and manages the policy relationship with the four Arm’s Length Bodies – HM Inspectorate of Prisons, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, the Independent Monitoring Boards and the Lay Observers – that provide expert scrutiny of prisons, probation and the courts.
The team is the principal departmental interface with these scrutiny bodies. The team establishes and maintains relationships across these bodies and connects them to relevant policy teams, our operational partners, and Other Government Departments. We ensure Ministers and Departmental stakeholders are accurately informed about their work and lead on briefing for ministers and Senior Civil Servants. We seek out all opportunities to use the work of the scrutiny bodies to influence policy development, particularly by facilitating and leading strategic engagement between the bodies and policy teams. This role provides an opportunity to lean in on and help resolve high profile policy and delivery issues.
Key tasks for the role may include:
- Working at pace to draft clear and concise high-quality briefing and advice for Ministers and senior stakeholders;
- Maintaining regular contact with the independent scrutiny bodies. This may include managing day to day relationships with the bodies, supporting the appointment process for senior public appointees, and promoting better links with policy makers;
- Leading on niche areas of work to bring about improvements and efficiencies in the scrutiny landscape including providing project management support;
- Leading on drafting correspondence, Freedom of Information (FOI) requests and Parliamentary Questions;
- Providing Secretariat support for quarterly strategic forums between the heads of scrutiny bodies and relevant policy and operational leads;
- Consulting with internal and external stakeholders, including the Justice Select Committee, on issues affecting the scrutiny bodies;
- Contributing to the progression of wider policy initiatives geared towards strengthening prisons policy;
Skills and Experience
Essential:
- Strong organisational skills and the ability to plan and deliver outcomes according to agreed priorities.
- Ability to make sound judgments and provide well-articulated advice, with experience in using and interpreting data and evidence.
- Experience of consulting and collaborating with colleagues and stakeholders from a range of organisations to achieve tangible outcomes.
Desirable:
- Strong communication skills, including experience of drafting policy, parliamentary correspondence and ministerial submissions/briefings.
- An interest in, or knowledge of, prisons, courts or probation.
- Operational experience in the justice system.
- An understanding of the governmental and parliamentary processes.
- Previous experience in project management or support
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.
Application process
You will be assessed against the Civil service success profiles framework.
You must ensure that any evidence submitted as part of your application, including your CV, statement of suitability and behaviour examples, are truthful and factually accurate. Please note that plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own.
Experience
You will be asked to provide a CV during the application process in order to assess any demonstrable experience, career history and achievements that are relevant to the role. Please note this will not be scored.
You will also be asked to upload a Statement of Suitability of no more than 500 words stating what you would bring to the role, with reference to the Skills and Experience listed above.
Behaviours
During the application process you will be asked to provide an example of how you have met the Delivering at Pace behaviour.
Please also refer to the CS Behaviours framework for more details at this grade:
Success Profiles: Civil Service behaviours - GOV.UK
Should we receive a large number of applications, we will sift primarily on the lead behaviour - Delivering at Pace. Successful applicants will then be invited to an interview, testing both behaviours and strengths.
Candidates invited to Interview
Please note that interviews will be carried out remotely.
At interview you will be assessed against behaviours where you will be asked to provide examples of how you have demonstrated them. In addition, you will also be asked strength-based questions.
Behaviours:
The following Behaviours will be tested at interview:
- Delivering at Pace
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Working Together
- Communicating and Influencing
It may help to use one or more examples of a piece of work you have completed or a situation you have been in and use the WHO or STAR model to explain:
- WHO - What it was? How you approached the work/situation? What the Outcomes were, what did you achieve?Or
- STAR - What was the Situation? What were the Tasks? What Action did you take? What were the Results of your actions?
Please also refer to the CS Behaviours framework for more details at this grade:
Success Profiles: Civil Service behaviours - GOV.UK
Strengths:
It is difficult to prepare for strength type questions. However, you can think through your answers, focus on your achievements and aspects you enjoy and decide how these can be applied in the organisation and role. While strengths questions are shorter and we do not expect a full STAR response, the panel is interested in your first reaction to the question and information or reasoning to support this. Further information on Civil Service Strengths can be found via this link Success Profiles: Strengths - GOV.UK
Interviews are expected to take place late October or early November 2026.
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: Nadia.mujtaba@justice.gov.uk
