Job description
Prisoner Behaviour Policy Advisor
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Prisons Directorate
The Prisons Directorate is recruiting permanently for a senior policy advisor in the Prisoner Behaviour Team. This campaign is open to all staff within the Ministry of Justice and is available on level transfer and substantive promotion.
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resign or your FTA contract ends before you are made and accept an offer, you will become ineligible and you will be withdrawn from the process.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
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
Existing Civil Servants will have their salary calculated in accordance with the Department’s pay on transfer / pay on promotion rules.
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 Safety, Security, Behaviour and National Security Policy (SSB&NS) Division
The Safety, Security, Behaviour and National Security Policy (SSB&NS) division is a key part of the Directorate and has responsibility for one of the most important social policy issues in Government – developing policies for how the prison system works and ensuring that the safety and security of both staff and prisoners is upheld. We work hand in hand in everything we do with HM Prison Service (HMPPS) - one of the biggest delivery organisations in government.
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 prisoners. We have a strong commitment to personal and career development, helping everyone to grow and fulfil their potential. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including groups underrepresented in our workforce and pride ourselves as being an employer of choice.
Senior Policy Advisor - the role
As a member of the Prisoner Behaviour Policy Team, the post holder will work on a range of strategies and policies to ensure that prisons have the appropriate policies and approaches to effectively manage prisoner behaviour. This includes how good behaviour is incentivised and how poor behaviour is deterred and punished.
Our priorities for 2026 and onwards include secondary legislative changes to support the Sentencing Act and ensure that the adjudications (prisoner punishments system) is working effectively, including digital and data improvements. Other priorities for the team include considering future options for prisoner behaviour and supporting wider HMPPS/MoJ priorities on specific parts of the prison estate.
The role will provide an excellent opportunity to work in a fast-paced and high-profile policy environment and collaborate with colleagues in the Prisons Directorate, HMPPS, and wider.
Responsibilities of the successful candidate will include:
- Lead on collecting, analysing, interpreting and presenting evidence to form sound policy proposals and approaches and to identify which activities are likely to have an impact.
- Develop and build strong partnership working with colleagues in both MoJ and HMPPS, both at HQ and in the front line to better understand how our policies and approaches will work at an operational and practical level.
- Establish and develop strong working relationships with agencies across the criminal justice system to influence and deliver policies and improvements.
- Drive forward and lead on the development and delivery of key strands of work and activities.
- Actively contribute to higher level decision making for business planning, policy and project implementation to progress strategic objectives.
- Identify relevant linkages across the department to ensure a joined-up approach.
- Respond flexibly to competing and complex demands.
- The post will involve some line management responsibilities.
Skills and Experience
The successful candidate will be expected to demonstrate the following skills and attributes:
Essential:
- Proven ability to plan and deliver against agreed priorities
- Strong communication skills, including drafting effective advice and successfully briefing seniors on complex issues.
- Ability to prioritise, and to flex to emerging priorities.
- Understanding of how to use and interpret data and evidence to make well-reasoned recommendations.
Desirable:
- An interest in, or knowledge of, prisons or probation.
- Experience of engaging with frontline services to inform decisions.
- Experience of working on digital and/or data priorities.
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 to assess any demonstrable experience, career history and achievements that are relevant to the role. Your CV will not be scored by the panel.
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 following behaviour(s):
- Seeing the Big Picture (Lead)
- Changing and Improving
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 – Seeing the Big Picture. 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:
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Changing and Improving
- Making Effective Decisions
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 towards the latter end of October or early November.
Contact information
Please do get in touch with sarah.watkins5@justice.gov.uk if you would like to know more about the role or what it is like working in our team
