This role is extraordinarily varied, interesting, and demanding. You will represent the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice and resolve the most urgent policy issues within and beyond the Department. You will provide strong, strategic, and inspiring leadership for your team, and secure the confidence of Ministers and officials across the Department and wider Government. You will be joining a great team and working on some of the most complex and important issues that make lives better for the citizens we serve.
You will be a key adviser to the Lord Chancellor and lead the Ministry of Justice’s Private Office Directorate which acts as the interface between Ministers, the Permanent Secretary and the rest of the Department and Whitehall.
Responsibilities
Reporting to the Director General of Policy, you will be accountable for:
• Overseeing the delivery of the Lord Chancellor’s overall agenda in Whitehall and the MoJ, with a strong focus on performance.
• Ensuring Private Office and wider departmental processes match the Lord Chancellor’s expectations and result in exceptional service quality.
• Ensuring that the Ministerial, Special Advisor and Private Office teams’ function effectively together.
• Representing the Lord Chancellor and having the confidence and credibility to intervene and act as a troubleshooter to resolve policy issues and tensions within and beyond the department.
• Developing and maintaining highly influential and effective working relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, including Ministers, private offices across Whitehall, special advisers, press officers and policy colleagues.
• Leading a team of over 90 in the Parliament and Private Office Directorate, including private secretaries, correspondence, and support staff, including the MoJs widely respected Parliament and Legislation Branch, coordinating Parliamentary activity across the department.
• Managing a budget of approximately £6.7m.
• Acting as the main point of contact for the department with colleagues in No 10, and coordinating cross -Whitehall discussions and negotiations; and
• Contributing to the wider (SCS2 -level) Senior Leadership Group in the MoJ.
• Upholding the Civil Service Code and its core values: integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality
We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and a sense of belonging. To find out more about how we do this visit:
Diversity & Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.