Grade 7 Strategy, Priorities and Innovation Directorate
The Strategy, Priorities and Innovation Directorate (SPI) is recruiting permanently for a Grade 7 Lead Policy Advisor for the Priority Projects Team (PPT) and a Grade 7 Strategy Lead for the Strategy Unit (SU).
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 Leeds and London may be required.
For SPI to meet its evolving business needs all staff are expected to attend their base location (102 Petty France or 5 Wellington Place Leeds) at least 2 days a week. This hybrid working arrangement is not contractual and as a result staff could be asked to attend their base location more frequently.
Skills and experience for both roles
• Think critically and analytically. This role will require you to understand and assess trade-offs and break down complex problems. You will need to be able to demonstrate evidence of thinking strategically and developing creative solutions, as well as being able to persuade others of the benefits of those solutions. You will have strong problem-solving skills, bringing structure to complex policy issues and able to draw sound conclusions, drawing on a range of evidence and analysis to deliver high-quality, innovative and inclusive advice. This will include working with quantitative and qualitative data to develop a robust evidence base.
• Lead and engage - you will be an open and engaging leader, committed to building an inclusive and high-performing culture within the team, setting strategic direction and supporting your direct reports through coaching. You will have a focus on personal development and wellbeing, playing an active leadership and management role across your team, directorate and the MoJ. You will need to demonstrate evidence of successfully leading others to deliver a technically complex programme of work, autonomously managing a busy workload to deliver competing priorities to deadlines.
• Be sensitive to the wider context. We work at the heart of the Department and closely with the centre of Government. You will need to be able to develop an understanding of how your work fits into the department’s priorities and provide strategic insight, drawing on your understanding of the wider context to ensure communications are clear, effective and relevant.
• Communicate clearly and persuasively. A large part of our role is to make the complex simple for Senior Officials, translating analysis to inform policy advice and persuasively presenting the ‘MoJ view’ to others in Government. As a team lead you should be able to communicate confidently with a range of stakeholders, including presenting at senior governance boards such as the Departmental Executive Committee.
• Build relationships and working collaboratively. As a central team, we rely on our ability to build relationships across the Department, draw on them to get things done and balance interests to build consensus. We also have a part to play in building relationships with officials in other departments and external experts, drawing on these to further MoJ’s interests or bringing in fresh thinking.
• Deliver at pace – you will have strong prioritisation skills and the ability to make effective decisions on how to structure projects to make best use of your resources. You will have the ability to impose structure on complex problems, allocate scarce resources in the context of the department’s strategy and political direction, and set-up and lead teams and bring colleagues together to reach your end goal.