Policy Advisors in the VAWG TeamMinistry of Justice

23434

Descriptions & requirements

Job description

Policy Advisor in the VAWG Team (Up to 2 roles)

HEO

Criminal Courts and Victims Directorate

The Criminal Courts and Victims Directorate is recruiting permanently for 2 x HEO VAWG Policy Advisors.

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resign or your FTA contract ends before you are made and accept an offer, you will become ineligible and you will be withdrawn from the process.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 Victims and VAWG Unit

The Victims and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Unit sits at the heart of the Ministry of Justice's efforts to improve outcomes for victims and tackle violence against women and girls across the criminal justice system. We work across policy, strategy and delivery, helping to shape both the Government's response to VAWG and wider reforms that improve the experiences of victims and survivors.

Our work spans the full criminal justice journey. We develop policies that improve victims' experiences of the justice system, strengthen protections for those affected by abuse and violence, and ensure victims can access the support they need to recover and rebuild their lives. Alongside this, we lead work to improve the justice system's response to VAWG offending, including domestic abuse, sexual violence, child sexual abuse, online abuse and emerging forms of technology-facilitated harm.

Role 1 - Policy Advisor in the VAWG Strategy Team

This is an exciting opportunity to work at the heart of one of the Government's flagship missions: halving violence against women and girls (VAWG) within a decade. The Ministry of Justice plays a central role in delivering this ambition, working closely with the Home Office and other partners through the cross-government VAWG Strategy.

This is a fast-paced and high-profile role with a strong focus on governance, briefing and strategic coordination. You will support Ministers and senior leaders through high-quality briefing, correspondence and advice, helping to navigate complex issues and drive delivery. You will lead the governance structures that underpin the strategy, ensuring effective oversight, coordinating activity across government and maintaining momentum against key commitments.

Working closely with policy, operational and analytical colleagues, you will help develop evidence-based approaches, respond to emerging challenges and strengthen the Ministry of Justice's contribution to tackling VAWG. Depending on business need, this could include work across sexual offences and domestic abuse policy, supporting the UK's international engagement, and helping to address emerging threats such as technology-facilitated abuse.

The role offers exceptional exposure to Ministers and senior officials, alongside the opportunity to influence a major government priority and contribute directly to improving outcomes for victims and the safety of women and girls.

Role 2 - Policy Advisor in the Sexual Offences Policy Team

As a Policy Adviser in the Sexual Offences Policy Team, you will play an important role in developing and delivering policy relating to rape and sexual offence cases in the criminal courts. A key aspect of the role will be supporting the delivery of the Government's commitment to introduce specialist rape courtrooms.

In addition to developing and delivering policy, you will help to establish, coordinate and deliver the governance arrangements that support policy implementation, ensuring that programmes of work are effectively managed, risks and dependencies are identified, and senior stakeholders have the information they need to make decisions.

This role will involve working closely with colleagues across the Ministry of Justice, HM Courts and Tribunals Service, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Home Office and the Judicial Office, as well as building constructive relationships with third-sector organisations and other external stakeholders.

The role requires strong analytical, communication and influencing skills. You will work closely with analytical colleagues to use data, research and stakeholder insight to inform policy development and delivery. You will also draft high-quality briefings, submissions, ministerial correspondence and responses to enquiries from MPs, stakeholders and members of the public on sensitive and often complex issues.

Alongside your core responsibilities, you will contribute flexibly to wider priorities across the team and unit, helping to deliver cross-cutting work and supporting a collaborative and inclusive working environment.

Skills and Experience (for both roles)

Key responsibilities include:

Playing a central role in driving the governance and delivery of the VAWG Strategy and VAWG policies across the Ministry of Justice, helping to track progress, surface risks and ensure senior leaders have clear oversight.

Supporting the development and delivery of policy on VAWG, contributing to work that strengthens protections for victims of abuse.

Supporting Ministers at the heart of decision-making, drafting high-quality advice, briefings, correspondence and PQs on complex and often sensitive VAWG issues.

Helping to prepare for Ministerial meetings, visits and events, (including supporting the UK’s engagement with global partners and showcasing the UK’s leadership on tackling VAWG).

Essential:

Excellent written and oral communication skills able to turn technical detail into clear, persuasive advice.

Strong ability to form good working relationships with a range of people and teams, including across government departments.

Analytical and problem-solving skills to assess complex information and data and develop evidence-based solutions.

Experience of supporting the development and delivery of policy.

Proven ability to deliver at pace across multiple workstreams.

A good understanding of the strategic drivers of your work, while maintaining sight of the big picture and wider governmental priorities.

Desirable:

Knowledge of VAWG policy and/or experience in cross-government delivery.

These roles involve regular engagement with policy relating to the experience of victims. The roles can include exposure to sensitive and distressing material, including details of criminal behaviour, such as details of sexual offences. Applicants should consider whether they feel comfortable working with such subject matters on a regular basis.

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 assessed.

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 - Seeing the Big Picture.

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. 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

Delivering at Pace

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

Presentation:

You will also be asked to deliver a presentation of no more than 5 minutes. You will be given the presentation question if successful in the sift.

Interview Timeline:

Interviews are expected to take place in November 2026.

At interview candidates will be asked if they have a role preference. While preferences will be considered, the final role offered to each of the top two candidates will be decided by the business.

Contact information

If you would like to know more about this role, please contact the hiring managers: [email protected] and [email protected]