Senior Policy Adviser, Prison Policy Projects, PD - Prisons DirectorateMinistry of Justice

23188

Descriptions & requirements

Job description

Senior Policy Adviser, Prison Policy Projects

SEO

Prisons Directorate

The Prisons Directorate is recruiting permanently for an SEO Senior Policy Adviser. This campaign is open to current civil servants on level transfer and suitable candidates on promotion.

Candidates are reminded that to be eligible for this campaign; you must still be employed 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resign or your FTA contract ends before you are made and accept an offer, you will become ineligible and you will be withdrawn from the process.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.

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 Prisons 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 Adviser, Prison Policy Projects - the role

As part of the Prison Policy Projects team, you will work on projects that support priorities from Ministers and prison leaders. You will have the opportunity to build broad experience in prison policy and establish relationships across the Prisons Directorate. The team's projects are varied and often high-profile, usually focused on prison safety, security, prisoner behaviour and national security.

Examples of the team’s previous projects include:

Leading the independent investigation into Daniel Khalife’s escape from HMP Wandsworth;

Developing policy measures and delivering primary legislation to reform marriage rights for whole life prisoners;

Delivering a scoping project to explore ways to reduce safety risks in prisoners’ early days in custody;

Developing policy options to encourage good behaviour by allowing prisoners to earn reductions to their sentence.

The role is ideal for someone who enjoys variety and learning about new policy areas. Most projects last around 6 to 8 months, but priorities can change quickly, so the team needs to be flexible and ready to switch focus when required.

You will work as part of a team to deliver projects and will be supported to take ownership of key pieces of work. Projects may involve working closely with lawyers and analysts to develop solutions to deliver Ministers’ and senior leaders’ priorities. You will provide high-quality advice to senior officials and Ministers, including clear assessments of risks and challenges. An important part of the role is considering how policies will work in practice, considering the people affected by the policy, including prison staff, prisoners, victims and the public.

Skills and Experience

To be successful in this role you will need to have the following skills and experience:

Essential

Comfortable working across a range of policy areas and adapting to new priorities and pieces of work.

Strong teamwork and relationship-building skills, with the ability to establish effective working relationships across disciplines and organisations.

Strong policy development and problem-solving skills, with the ability to quickly understand complex issues, review evidence, and identify the key points needed to inform decisions by Ministers and senior leaders.

Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to produce high-quality written advice and confidently brief senior colleagues.

Desirable

An understanding of the criminal justice system, particularly prisons.

Experience of developing policy.

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.

You will also be asked to provide 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 behaviours:

Delivering at Pace (Lead)

Making Effective Decisions

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 Statement of Suitability and the lead behaviour of 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.

You will be assessed against the following behaviours at the interview stage 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:

Delivering at Pace

Making Effective Decisions

Working Together

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 via this link Success Profiles: Strengths - GOV.UK

Interview Timeline:

Interviews are expected to take place in November 2026.

Contact information

Please do get in touch with [email protected] if you would like to know more about the role or what it is like working in our team.