Job Title & Grade:

People Engagement Manager - HEO

Contract Type:

Permanent

Salary range (depending on location):

National - £35,335 to £ £37,847

London - £40,014 to £42,859

Please note that unless you are currently employed by the Civil Service and are earning more than the minimum above, if successful you will be offered the minimum for the grade depending on your location.

Location:

National - LAA Offices

Directorate:

Corporate Services

Team:

People and Capability

Working Pattern:

The post is supported by the MOJ flexible working policy and includes colleagues who work flexibly, remotely (as part of hybrid working), part time or as part of a job share etc.

To meet legal requirements, if you are between the ages 16-18 and you are a successful candidate, you will be required to complete an apprenticeship after your initial on the job training.

Reporting to:

Head of Leadership & Talent

Closing date for applications

26^th November 2025

The Legal Aid Agency

We are an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). We are responsible for operationally administering the legal aid fund to provide criminal and civil legal aid advice to people in England and Wales.

Our people are at the heart of achieving excellence. Employing around 1,200 colleagues across England and Wales, we feel proud to have some of the best People Survey results in the Civil Service.

Our LAA commitment to Diversity and 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.

As a Disability Confident organisation, we will offer a guaranteed interview to candidates with a disability who meet the essential criteria for this role. Under the Equality Act 2010 a disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities which has lasted, or is expected to last, at least 12 months.

If you are responding to a role within the Legal Aid Agency and would like to be considered under the guaranteed interview, please indicate this in your application and let us know of any reasonable adjustments you may require during the sift or later selection processes.

The LAA’s goal is to build an organisation that is open and inclusive and truly values and celebrates the diversity of its workforce. One that reflects and understands the needs of the diverse society we serve. This is regardless of social background, gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, beliefs, disabilities or long-term illness or caring responsibilities.

Reasonable Adjustments

We are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible to all. If you have a disability or long-term condition (for example dyslexia, anxiety, autism, a mobility condition or hearing loss) and need us to make any reasonable adjustments to support you through the recruitment process, please let us know by adding the information to the applications system or emailing LAARecruitment@justice.gov.uk after you have applied so that we can discuss options with you.

Corporate Services

The Corporate Services team helps shape and enable the priorities of the Chief Executive, Executive Leadership Team and People Committee to be delivered.

The LAA fully supports hybrid and flexible working. Members of the Corporate Services and the People and Capability Team are based in multiple locations across England and Wales. Travel will be required on occasion.

People & Capability

The People & Capability Team oversee the implementation and delivery of the LAAs People Strategy, the annual People Survey and delivery of actions within the People Plan, the LAA’s learning and development offer, capability, talent, management support, recruitment, diversity and inclusion.

The People and Capability Team play a key role in helping us to deliver our People Strategy objective to become an inclusive and diverse employer of choice.

Job Summary

The People Engagement Team within People & Capability support our leaders and teams to deliver the People Plan, which is developed based on the feedback from the People Survey, and delivers high profile leadership and change engagement activities.

This is an exciting and dynamic role with the potential to work across the People & Capability Team and leaders to analyse and improve our people services.

Key Responsibilities:

Manage people engagement services relating to the Civil Service People Survey, the LAA’s People Strategy (The LAA Way) and the People Plan, ensuring standards are maintained and actions monitored
Deliver activities or actions within the People Plan which help us deliver LAA Strategic Objectives, ensuring that the LAA is a great place to work, for everyone, every day
Manage the governance and delivery of our people plans, liaising with action owners to track progress and mitigate risks, maintaining a tracker to ensure our People Committee and others receive accurate and timely updates
Manage stakeholder engagement by being a point of contact for people strategy and engagement across the business, understanding stakeholder needs, identifying issues and forms of support, as well as presenting to different levels and groups of staff.
Working closely with the Internal Communications team to implement communication plans based on work required to deliver the people strategy.
Develop and maintain positive relationships with a wide network of key stakeholders to work effectively together and provide support, advice, challenge and clarification to leaders and managers across the organisation on people engagement matters
Act as secretariat for the People Plan Steering Group which brings together leaders from across the LAA to oversee the delivery of our People Strategy and Plan
Create and coordinate opportunities to involve colleagues in the design and implementation of employee engagement communications, activities and improved ways of working.
Apply appropriate techniques, tools and processes to effectively analyse data and communicate data to stakeholders with different needs to inform future plans.

Essential Qualifications

Ability to write engaging communications
Ability to organise and facilitate meetings and events
Knowledge and understanding of employee engagement, wellbeing and/or inclusion
Ability to efficiently plan and organise time and workload to ensure delivery of plans.

Desirable Knowledge, Experience and skills

Ability to communicate, interact and engage with colleagues at all levels and beyond your own team to achieve shared goals
Experience of facilitating workshops, training and/or events
Experience of analysing quantitative and qualitative data.

Assessment approach

Application Process

To apply please provide a statement of suitability showing how you meet the essential criteria in no more than 1,000 words.

Your statement should demonstrate your ability to do all of the essential criteria listed, using examples can help strengthen your application.

Please note we do not require a CV.

Interview / assessment Process

If you are successful through the application stage, you will be invited to an interview / assessment centre in person or via Microsoft Teams where you will be assessed against the following:

Strengths relevant to the role
The following Behaviours:

Changing & Improving
- work with others to identify areas for improvement and simplify processes to use fewer resources
- use technology where possible to increase efficiency
- encourage ideas for change from a wide range of sources
- clearly explain the reasons for change to colleagues and how to implement them, supporting individuals with different needs to adapt to change
- encourage an environment where colleagues know that they can challenge decisions and issues safely
- take managed risks by fully considering the varied impacts changes could have on the diverse range of end users

Working Together
- encourage joined up team work within your own team and across other groups
- establish professional relationships with a range of stakeholders
- collaborate with these to share information, resources and support
- invest time to develop a common focus and genuine positive team spirit where colleagues feel valued and respect one another
- put in place support for the wellbeing of individuals within the team, including consideration of your own needs
- make it clear to all team members that bullying, harassment and discrimination are unacceptable
- actively seek and consider input of people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives

Communicating & Influencing
- communicate in a straightforward, honest and engaging manner - choosing appropriate styles to maximise understanding and impact
- encourage the use of different communication methods, including digital resources and highlight the benefits, including ensuring cost effectiveness
- ensure communication has a clear purpose and takes into account people’s individual needs
- share information as appropriate and check understanding
- show positivity and enthusiasm towards work, encouraging others to do the same
- ensure that important messages are communicated with colleagues and stakeholders respectfully, taking into consideration the diversity of interests

Your Experience of implementing, promoting, or understanding diversity and inclusion policy - Diversity is the presence of difference, this can include one or more of the protected characteristics (Gender, Age, Race, Disability etc.) or it can be about working patterns, whether we like to jump into a task or reflect on it before acting. Inclusion is how we welcome, value, and celebrate diversity, giving everyone a voice, tapping into ideas, and enabling everyone to be themselves at work and achieve their potential.

For this grade/ role we would expect the candidate to demonstrate understanding of the terms Diversity and Inclusion and be able to explain why they are important to them and to where they work. Examples of action they have taken (in or outside of work) to embrace diversity (e.g., increasing understanding) or improve inclusion for others will increase the strength of their answer.

Shortlisting is planned for week commencing 24^th November 2025

Interviews are planned for week commencing 8^th December 2025

If you would like more information on this opportunity, please contact - Cate Jolley at cate.jolley@justice.gov.uk

Complaints procedure

If you have any complaints about this recruitment activity, please share your concerns by emailing LAARecruitment@justice.gov.uk initially. We aim to respond to any complaint within 10 working days.

OFFICIAL