Head of Strategy (up to x2 posts)

G6

The Service, Strategy and Transformation Directorate is recruiting on a Fixed Term basis for 12 months, with possibility of extension and/or permanency for two Grade 6 and Head of Strategy. This campaign is being run externally and so is open to all who consider themselves suitable for the roles and meet the eligibility criteria in the wider advert within Civil Service Jobs.

Please note that if you are a current Civil Servant, you will be appointed on a Loan. If you are applying to this role on promotion, please refer to your own departments policy in respect of your grade on return from Loan. If you are not a current Civil Servant, you will be offered a Fixed Term Contract.

Location:

Successful candidates will have the option to be based at any of our National locations (including London).

Occasional travel between locations may be required. We offer a hybrid working model, allowing for a balance between remote work and time spent in your base location.

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

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.

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

New entrants to the Civil Service will be expected to join on the minimum of the pay range. 

If you are already a civil servant and are successful in an external recruitment competition for a role with us, your starting pay will be the better of:

• promotion terms or transfer terms, as appropriate; or

• pay on appointment arrangements (minimum of pay range)

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

This role sits within the Service Strategy & Transformation Directorate. We are responsible for: 

• Working across the Service Transformation Group (with Justice Digital, the Legal Aid Agency, Office of the Public Guardian and the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority), to understand and drive collaboration on current transformation and digital plans 

• Supporting digital development and innovation to enhance the victim experience throughout the criminal justice (CJ) process, implement recommendations from the Independent Sentencing Review and support probation workers in His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) 

• Identifying, encouraging and delivering new ways of working, acting as a critical friend to delivery partners and collaborating with a wider range of stakeholders to improve experiences for those in the CJ system. 

• Identifying cross-cutting transformation opportunities across the Ministry of Justice that can drive cutting-edge digital delivery, user experience, efficiencies and delivery of policy goals 

• Baselining and supporting performance and prioritisation across the Service Transformation Group 

• Bringing together all areas of the Group to collectively create a clear and compelling narrative for delivery over the next 3-5 years.  

• Engaging across the Ministry of Justice and its agencies to gain buy-in and support for our initiatives. 

• Supporting the Director General for Service Transformation with strategic and analytical activity. 

Head of Strategy - the role

As Head of Strategy, you will lead the strategic centre of STG, setting direction, bringing clarity to complex, cross-system challenges, and shaping a whole-group transformation and delivery plan that secures buy-in across operations, policy and digital. You will build and lead a high-performing Strategy team, partner closely with senior officials across MoJ and agencies, and ensure our plans are underpinned by rigorous analysis, compelling cases for investment, and measurable outcomes.

Key responsibilities

• Strategic portfolio view: Work with senior leaders across MoJ and agencies to map existing transformation plans, spot overlaps and gaps, and drive collaboration across digital, operational and policy teams.

• Group plan & business cases: Develop the whole-group transformation and delivery plan, developing robust, investment-ready business cases aligned to spending cycles and opportunities in data, digital and emerging technology.

• Performance, prioritisation & governance: Work with data colleagues to baseline and track performance across the STG portfolio, ensuring transparent prioritisation, proportionate governance and timely escalation.

• Senior engagement & advice: Work directly with the Deputy Director to respond to high-priority challenges; prepare submissions, briefings and presentations for senior officials and ministers as required.

• Agile, collaborative delivery: Champion agile, iterative approaches; interface seamlessly with Digital, Operational and Policy colleagues to realise the benefits of truly cross-functional working.

• Team leadership: Build, lead and develop a Strategy team that delivers high-quality analysis, insight and policy/strategy products; set clear standards, coach talent and foster an inclusive, high-engagement culture.

Skills and Experience

Essential:

• Experience designing and delivering strategies that create measurable change, ideally in digital/service transformation contexts.

• Proven ability to translate complex qualitative and quantitative evidence into clear analysis, narratives and recommendations for senior audiences (written and oral).

• Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills, with credibility at senior levels and across professions.

• Experience of central government strategy/policy/change, or direct experience of agile delivery of product-based or operational services.

• Demonstrated ability to lead through ambiguity — planning work packages, launching novel initiatives and adapting at pace in a political, complex environment.

• Track record of leading teams to apply rigorous, evidence-based approaches to evaluate options, performance and value, with an impeccable delivery record.

• Inclusive leadership with a passion for coaching and developing others, building a high-performing, engaged and happy team.

Desirable:

• Experience of leading service transformation strategy and/or delivery at scale across multiple organisations.

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 and statement of suitability, 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 outlining your career history and achievements that are relevant to the role. The CV will not be scored.

You will also be asked to upload a Statement of Suitability of no more than 500 words stating how you demonstrate the following essential experience:

• Experience designing and delivering strategies that create measurable change, ideally in digital/service transformation contexts.

• Proven ability to translate complex qualitative and quantitative evidence into clear analysis, narratives and recommendations for senior audiences (written and oral).

Candidates invited to Interview

Please note that interviews will be carried out remotely.

During the panel interview, you will be asked behaviour-based questions to explore in detail what you are capable of, and strengths-based questions to also explore what you enjoy, and your motivations relevant to the job role.

You will be asked by the interview panel to provide examples of how you meet the behaviours listed below.

• Seeing the Big Picture

• Making Effective Decisions

• Communicating and Influencing

• Delivering at Pace

Please refer to the CS Behaviours framework for more details at this grade:

Success Profiles: Civil Service behaviours - GOV.UK

There is no expectation or requirement for you to prepare for the strengths-based questions in advance of the interview, though you may find it helpful to spend some time reflecting on what you enjoy doing and what you do well.

You can refer to the CS Strengths dictionary for more details: Success Profiles: Strengths - GOV.UK

Interviews are expected to take place w/c 8th December 2025.

Contact information  

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

Annex A - The STAR method

Using the STAR method can help you give examples of relevant experience that you have. It allows you to set the scene, show what you did, and how you did it, and explain the overall outcome.

Situation - Describe the situation you found yourself in. You must describe a specific event or situation. Be sure to give enough detail for the job holder to understand.

• Where are you?

• Who was there with you?

• What had happened?

Task - The job holder will want to understand what you tried to achieve from the situation you found yourself in.

• What was the task that you had to complete and why?

• What did you have to achieve?

Actions - What did you do? The job holder will be looking for information on what you did, how you did it and why. Keep the focus on you. What specific steps did you take and what was your contribution? Remember to include how you did it, and the behaviours you used. Try to use “I" rather than “we" to explain your actions that lead to the result. Be careful not to take credit for something that you did not do.

Results - Don’t be shy about taking credit for your behaviour. Quote specific facts and figures. Explain how the outcome benefitted the organisation or your area. Make the outcomes easily understandable.

• What results did the actions produce?

• What did you achieve through your actions and did you meet your goals?

• Was it a successful outcome? If not, what did you learn from the experience?

Keep the situation and task parts brief. Concentrate on the action and the result. If the result was not entirely successful describe what you learned from this and what you would do differently next time. Make sure you focus on your strengths.