Policy Advisor, Reducing Reoffending Projects
HEO
Reducing Reoffending and Probation Directorate
The Reducing Reoffending and Probation Directorate is recruiting permanently for an HEO Policy Advisor in the Reducing Reoffending Projects team. This campaign is open to current civil servants on level transfer and suitable candidates on promotion.
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 Reducing Reoffending Projects Team
The Reducing Reoffending Projects Team sits in the Reducing Reoffending Strategy and Transformation team.
Reoffending is one of the big social policy challenges of our time. 80% of offences are reoffences and reoffending is estimated to cost society £23 billion a year. The Reducing Reoffending Policy division leads work across Government to address the factors that can help to rehabilitate and improve outcomes for people in the criminal justice system, for example through providing access to mental health support and substance misuse treatment; securing accommodation; and helping them find employment.
This is a fast-paced, high-profile area of work with significant interest from ministers across government. Reducing reoffending supports the government's safer streets, health, growth and opportunities missions, as well as wider priorities on homelessness, adults with complex needs and public service reform.
The Reducing Reoffending Projects team own distinct projects that do not fall under BAU policy work, instead we focus on areas that require short term sprints and attention. For example, this could be to drive an important conversation or decision forward, to refresh a specific and high-profile policy or to scope out a project that is a Ministerial priority.
As an example, a recent project considered how we best target rehabilitative activity for offenders serving community sentences to ensure the best outcome for both them and the public, whilst ensuring we make most effective use of our investment.
Policy Advisor, Reducing Reoffending Projects - the role
This role will lead on priority policy projects in the reducing reoffending space that focus on pushing forward Ministerial or SCS priorities.
The post holder will lead the beginning-to-end delivery of timebound projects that are high-priority and that have a clear output. Depending on the project, the post holder could be expected to:
· Drive forward the project by setting direction, putting project management structures in places and by reporting on progress against delivery milestones
- Gather information, develop the project scope and build considered policy options
- Draft briefings and develop advice for Ministers and senior leaders
- Input to short-term problem-solving on urgent issues
- Build and maintain relationships with finance and analytical colleagues, other government departments, operational partners at a local level, and a wide range of high-profile stakeholders to bring about lasting change.
To note this is a very varied policy role, so responsibilities and tasks will change dependent on the project and business need.
Alongside leading their project, the post holder will also be expected to pick-up ad hoc cross cutting policy products, such as briefings, PQ’s and Ministerial comms.
Skills and Experience
Essential:
- Excellent written and oral communication skills, with the ability to draft clear and concise briefing material for a range of audiences, including on complex issues.
- You will need strong problem-solving skills, including the ability to consider a range of information from different sources, assess risks and opportunities and reach conclusions or recommendations
- You will need to be organised and efficient with your time and be able to prioritise and deliver quickly to a high standard.
- Ability to build productive working relationships with a variety of stakeholders, including more senior colleagues, external stakeholders and colleagues across government.
- Ability to work well independently and as part of a team.
Desirable:
- Familiarity with working in a policy environment including end to end policy development skills
- Experience of project management, maintaining project management products and delivering projects to time.
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.
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.
Should we receive a large number of applications, we will sift primarily on the Statement of Suitability
Candidates invited to Interview
Please note that interviews will be carried out remotely.
You will be assessed against the following behaviours at the interview stage w you will be asked to provide examples of how you have demonstrated them. In addition, you will also be asked strength-based questions.
Behaviours:
- Communicating and Influencing
- Delivering at Pace
- Seeing the Big Picture
Please also refer to the CS Behaviours framework for more details at this grade:
CS Behaviours 2018
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?
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 .
Interviews are expected to take place July 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. For more information, please contact Lucy Steadman ([email protected]).
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.
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.
