Senior Social Researcher x 2

SEO

Civil, Family and Tribunals Policy Directorate

The Victims, Vulnerability and Criminal Law Analysis Unit is recruiting permanently for two SEO Senior Social Researcher. One is based within our Victims’ Survey and Policy Analysis team and the other in our Victims’ and Witness’ Commissioning team.

Location:

Successful candidates will have the option to be based at one of the following locations:

• 102 Petty France, London

• 5 Wellington Place, Leeds

or your nearest Justice Collaboration Centre or Justice Satellite Office (with flexible working arrangements available). Occasional travel between work 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

Existing Civil Servants will have their salary calculated in accordance with the Department’s pay on transfer / pay on promotion rules.  

Specialist allowance 

Due to the role(s) being analytical, those successful in recruitment will be eligible for a specialist allowance following an analytical interview based on the following values:  

• SEO London: £500   

• SEO National: £1,500  

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

The Work of Victims, Vulnerability and Criminal Law Analysis Unit

VVCL Analysis is a multi-disciplinary team of social researchers, economists, operational researchers and statisticians. As part of the analytical restructure, the team is embedded in Civil, Family, Tribunals and Administrative Justice Directorate (CFTAJ).

We lead the Department’s analysis on everything related to victims and vulnerability, as well as work related to crime, the criminal law and criminal courts. It is an extremely interesting, fast pace and valuable are to work in, with many of our key workstreams being Departmental and/or Ministerial priorities and of key public interest, such as Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), reform of the criminal courts (response to the Leveson Review) and support services for victims of crime.

We work with colleagues across policy, analysis, data and other government departments including the Home Office and CPS to deliver impactful analysis to decision-makers.

Senior Social Researcher - the roles

We have two Social Research (SEO) roles available within the team, offering the opportunity to work on high-profile and impactful policy areas.

One role will support the delivery of Victims Code compliance research and analysis as well as broader Victims and Witnesses Policy analysis. This includes supporting the implementation of the Victims’ and Prisoners’ Act, including through the commissioning and delivery of a new Victims Feedback Survey and providing analytical support to develop a monitoring framework to improve compliance with the Victims’ Code. The role involves working closely with policy colleagues, external research suppliers, and operational partners to ensure robust, ethical and impactful evidence is generated.

The other role will support the implementation of the Victim Support Monitoring and Evaluation Strategy, aiming to enhance evidence on the impact of victim support services. This will include acting as the day-to-day project manager for an externally commissioned research contract to provide the groundwork for future evaluation of the National Witness Service and the National Homicide Service. Planned outputs will include two evidence reviews; a theory of change for each of the services; and recommendations for evaluation and prototyping of each service in future years. The role will involve working closely with policy colleagues, external research suppliers, and operational partners to ensure robust, ethical and impactful evidence is generated.

Across both roles, you will lead and deliver social research to answer complex policy questions, drawing on a range of qualitative and quantitative methods. You will work collaboratively with colleagues across policy, analytical professions, and other government departments and justice agencies to ensure analysis is relevant, timely and influential for decision-makers.

Key responsibilities:

Scope, design and deliver social research and analysis to support victims and witnesses policy

• Manage commissioned research projects, including procurement, timelines, risks and quality assurance of outputs

• Deliver high-quality analytical outputs, including briefings, evidence packs and presentations

• Build and maintain relationships with a range of stakeholders, including policy colleagues, analysts and criminal justice partners

• Develop the evidence base on victims and witnesses, including ad hoc analysis and briefing

• Support delivery of analytical work on Victims’ Code compliance and related policy priorities

• Working closely with the analyst team lead to contribute to longer-term monitoring and evaluation priorities, including spending review proposals and aligning outputs with broader victims' evidence priorities.

• Adapting to changing policy priorities, proactively addressing emerging issues and risks, and identifying solutions to ensure deliverables and stakeholder needs are met.

Skills and Experience

Essential:

• An experienced GSR badged social researcher

• Experience of delivering both qualitative and quantitative social research methods, including survey design to select the most robust and feasible research tools to address questions

• Understanding of Research Commissioning

• Experience of being involved or leading external contractors to undertake research and provide high-quality evidence to inform policy decisions.

• Ability to analyse and interpret both quantitative and qualitative data

• Strong project management skills and experience in delivering research from design to dissemination, and a proven ability to plan and prioritise your own workload when faced with competing priorities to ensure deadlines are met.

• Good written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to distil complex analysis into clear messages for policy colleagues and other non-technical audiences

• Confidence in building and managing relationships with a range of stakeholders

Desirable:

• Experience of working across government and/or with external agencies

• Experience working with sensitive topics and/or vulnerable populations

• Experience of the MoJ Analytical Platform

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, statement of suitability and behaviour examples, 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.

You will be asked to supply evidence of your GSR membership at application stage, this can consist of confirmation of passing the GSR badging board or an email from your current line manager confirming your GSR badged status. Applicants who do not provide this will be rejected. 

Experience

You will be asked to provide your work history during the application process in order to assess any demonstrable experience, career history and achievements that are relevant to the role.

You will also be asked to upload a Statement of Suitability of no more than 750 words stating what you would bring to the role, with reference to the Skills and Experience listed above.

Candidates invited to Interview

Please note that interviews will be carried out remotely.

You will be assessed against the following behaviours at the interview stage where you will be asked to provide examples of how you have demonstrated them.

Behaviours:

• Communicating & Influencing

• Delivering at Pace

Professional Competency (1) Knowledge & Skills  

• GSR - Knowledge and application of GSR technical skills 

Professional Competency (2) Influence & Impact  

• GSR - using and promoting social research 

It may help to use one or more examples of a piece of work you have completed or a situation you have been in and use the WHO or STAR model to explain:   

• WHO - What it was? How you approached the work/situation? What the Outcomes were, what did you achieve? Or

• STAR - What was the Situation? What were the Tasks? What Action did you take?  What were the Results of your actions?

Interviews are expected to take place mid-late August 2026.

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. Holly Rodger - Head of Victims Survey and Victims Policy Analysis (Holly.Rodger@justice.gov.uk) or Stevie Ellis - Head of Victims and Witnesses Commissioning Analysis (stevie-louise.ellis@justice.gov.uk)

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.