The Office for the Pay Review Bodies (OPRB) is part of DBT and provides professional support to the eight independent pay review bodies that make recommendations to Ministers on public sector pay – over £100 billion of spending annually.
The Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) advises on the remuneration of senior civil servants, senior armed forces officers, the judiciary, senior health service managers and chief police officers. Its recommendations must be based on an authoritative assessment of a range of issues and evidence bearing on the challenges of recruiting, retaining and motivating these senior leaders.
The SSRB is about to undertake the next Major Review of the Judicial Salary Structure for the Lord Chancellor. This fundamental review of the pay structure of the judiciary, the first since 2017-18, is likely to take 18 months or more and report towards the end of 2026.
The Review will be led by the SSRB’s lead member for the judiciary on behalf of the whole SSRB, with the support of its own Secretariat function. This Secretariat will include an analyst, who will be responsible for a broad range of analytical support required for the review including research commissioning, and primary and secondary evidence gathering and analysis. It will be a stimulating and rewarding task: the judiciary faces significant recruitment shortfalls and there are considerable backlogs in the courts – it is important that the review is underpinned by robust research and evidence to develop proposals for future remuneration that respond to these challenges while giving the taxpayer value for money. You will also lead on the analysis to support the SSRB’s advice in its annual report on a 2026 pay uplift for the judiciary.
This is a great opportunity to lead and develop the evidence base for decisions that have significant impact on the Judiciary, the Justice system and public spending.
You will:
* Lead on scoping the research and evidence needs of the Major Review.
* Establish the most appropriate analytical techniques to be used, including seeking primary, secondary, quantitative and qualitative data.
* Commission external research to build the evidence base to support the work of the Major Review and manage the contractors to ensure the best outcomes.
* Lead in defining, acquiring and further developing the data and evidence required from the government departments on whose evidence the review bodies depend.
* Take the initiative in identifying evidence needs which could be met better and in proposing ways to improve the presentation of data and analysis to the review bodies and in their reports.
* Lead in presenting evidence and analysis to the review bodies ensuring that it is accessible to non-analysts without losing impact.
* Build effective relationships with the review bodies’ chairs and members so that you have their confidence that you are on top of the relevant data and analysis.
* Work collaboratively as part of a dynamic and creative team working on the Major Review so that shared aims and deliverables are met to a high standard.
* Contribute sections to the Major Review report and the review bodies’ annual reports.
* Be flexible in your readiness to help colleagues elsewhere in OPRB to deliver their objectives as part of a collaborative culture of helping each other across the work of the eight pay review bodies.
* Develop a strong knowledge of the different remit groups/the Judiciary.
You will be part of the active and collegiate group of around eight OPRB analysts, which maintains strong links to the wider government analytical community. You will be in touch with the work of the other Pay Review Bodies (including armed forces, police, NHS, doctors and dentists, teachers and prison officers), supporting mutual learning, and you are likely to have opportunities to contribute to cross-cutting projects and the work of other bodies from time to time.
You will deal with senior figures on politically sensitive issues and work closely with the small secretariat teams which support the Review Bodies. High-quality analysis of the UK economy and labour market is central to this work.
OPRB is based at 10 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0NB. We are a friendly and supportive organisation with a shared pride in the quality of our work. There will be regular full day monthly meetings in London, with the Review Body. There may be some travel within the UK on visits to meet senior judicial stakeholders. These visits are scheduled months in advance.
Although the Major Review will finish in 2026, the post is available on a permanent basis since OPRB will have similar roles supporting Pay Review Bodies.
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