Ministry of Justice

Head of Business Analysis

Location: National*

Interviews: W/C 7th September (subject to change)

Grade: G6

(MoJ candidates who are on a specialist grade, will be able to retain this grade on lateral transfer)

Salary**: London: £75,674 - £85,913 (which may include an allowance of £10329).  National: £71,381 - £80,419.

Working pattern: Full-time, Part-time, Flexible working, Job share.

Contract Type: 12-month fixed term appointment (with potential for the role to later become permanent, subject to review)**

Number of vacancies: 1

*We offer a hybrid working model, allowing for a balance between remote work and time spent in your local office. Office locations can be found ON THIS MAP

**This role is offered as a detached duty/loan subject to approval from your home department.  Successful applicants who do not have agreement from their home department to return at the conclusion of this role may be subject to MoJ's redeployment and redundancy procedures.

Please note that unless you are an existing member of staff at Justice Digital, Data and Science, the only London location being recruited to is 10 South Colonnade, E14 4PU. We are no longer recruiting to 102 Petty France, SW1H 9AJ.

The Role

We’re recruiting for a Head of Business Analysis here at Justice Digital, Data and Science (JDDS) to be part of our warm and collaborative team.

This role aligns against Head of Business Analysis from the Government Digital and Data (GDD) Framework.

The Head of Business Analysis is the senior professional lead for Business Analysis across Justice Digital, Data and Science (JDDS) and the wider Ministry of Justice. The role provides strategic direction, professional stewardship and inclusive leadership for the profession, ensuring high quality business analysis supports meaningful, user centred outcomes across the justice system.

Working across multiple agencies and Arm’s Length Bodies, the post holder leads and supports a large and diverse community of Business Analysts operating in complex problem spaces. The role brings together people leadership, professional expertise and organisational influence, with a strong focus on enabling others to do their best work, grow their careers and contribute to shared goals.

This role plays a critical part in shaping how JDDS works, setting clear standards while fostering a culture of trust, learning and continuous improvement. It requires a leader who is comfortable with complexity, values collaboration, and is motivated by improving outcomes for users, teams and the wider organisation.

At this level, you will:

• Provide visible, inclusive leadership for the Business Analysis profession across JDDS and the MoJ.
• Set and steward the vision, strategy and standards for Business Analysis, aligning them with organisational and cross government priorities.
• Create the conditions for a thriving community of over 140 Business Analysts, promoting psychological safety, collaboration and shared learning.
• Lead, develop and line manage Lead Business Analysts, supporting diverse career pathways, progression and professional growth.
• Build strong, trusting relationships with senior stakeholders across JDDS, MoJ, wider government and external partners.
• Champion high quality, ethical and evidence led Business Analysis practice that supports effective decision making and delivery.
• Provide expert advice and support in the most complex and high-risk delivery contexts, helping teams navigate challenges and improve outcomes.
• Represent MoJ externally, sharing learning and insight through thought leadership, collaboration and engagement across the GDD community.

You can find more details of the Benefits we offer here.  To help picture your life at MoJ Justice Digital, Data and Science please take a look at our blog.

Key Responsibilities

Vision and Strategic Leadership

• Set and steward a clear, shared vision and strategy for the Business Analysis community of practice within JDDS and the wider MoJ
• Work in partnership with JDDS and MoJ colleagues to ensure the profession’s vision and strategy are aligned with organisational priorities, outcomes and goals
• Lead the development of a strategic plan for growing the capability of the profession, co creating a prioritised roadmap that strengthens skills and expertise across the community. This includes constructive discussion, alignment and agreement with SCS leaders in JDDS on quarterly priorities
• Build strong relationships across government departments, the private sector and academia to promote excellence within the specialism, encourage shared learning, attract investment and create opportunities for innovation and collaboration through networks, forums and interest groups
• Collaborate with CDDO and cross government partners to help standardise and strengthen Government Digital and Data professions
• Create inclusive mechanisms that ensure all members of the community have a voice and can contribute to the ongoing development of the profession, supporting a diverse, supportive and thriving community
• Support the promotion of the JDDS brand and employee value proposition, raising the profile of the profession across MoJ, the wider Civil Service and beyond through thought leadership, speaking engagements, case studies, events and other channels

Community

• Support, sustain and mature a strong, connected and inclusive Business Analysis community
• Help ensure professional standards are clearly understood and consistently applied, supporting profession leads to drive continuous improvement across JDDS and MoJ
• Work across MoJ, wider government and external organisations to build trusted connections with professional communities where mutually beneficial opportunities exist
• Collaborate with other heads of profession and leads to promote consistency, shared learning and alignment across Government Digital and Data professions

Quality and Standards

• Act as the professional steward for Business Analysis standards, leading their development and continuous improvement in a way that supports high quality practice
• Curate and share accessible standards, guidance and best practice to create the right conditions for people to work effectively and confidently within the specialism
• Define and embed meaningful performance measures for the profession, using insight and analysis to support learning, improvement and informed decision making
• Ensure quality and standards support an Agile culture, with proportionate governance that enables sustainable pace, value and effective delivery

People

• Build and nurture a forward looking and diverse profession, ensuring Business Analysts have clear, inclusive pathways for progression and structured learning and development opportunities
• Create an environment where talent is attracted, developed and retained, building the skills and capabilities needed across JDDS and the MoJ
• Work closely with Digital Capability teams to shape inclusive approaches to recruitment, onboarding, retention, early talent pipelines and ongoing learning and development
• Support profession leads to identify skills gaps, development opportunities and appropriate approaches to addressing under performance in a fair and supportive way
• Manage the learning and development budget for the profession, ensuring it is used effectively to support growth, recognition and professional excellence
• Recruit, lead and line manage Lead Business Analysts, supporting their development as inclusive and effective leaders

Organisational Delivery

• Build strong, trusting relationships with JDDS senior leaders and their teams to understand their needs and challenges, identifying opportunities for collaboration and profession led support
• Provide expert, consultative support where Business Analysis expertise is needed, including working alongside teams in complex or high risk delivery contexts
• Shape and guide the selection and use of tools, technologies and platforms that enable the profession to thrive, promoting consistency, accessibility and good practice across JDDS and MoJ

If this feels like an exciting challenge, something you are enthusiastic about, and want to join our team please read on and apply!

Person Specification

Essential Criteria

• Context, problem and option analysis. You can advise on approaches to options analysis, feasibility and impact assessments to ensure best practice is followed. You ensure streams of work align to organisational strategy and goals, advise on how business analysis capability adds value, and guide tactical decision making while influencing strategic plans in a changing environment.
• Stakeholder relationship management. You can direct the stakeholder relationship strategy for your teams. You ensure stakeholder objectives are clear and support teams to meet them. You influence and negotiate with senior stakeholders to resolve issues, manage risk, and enable delivery progress.
• Adapting to delivery methodologies. You can set and iterate standards for working within different delivery methodologies. You actively promote collaboration and shared ownership to ensure teams deliver value at the right time. You experiment with new and innovative ways of working to enhance delivery outcomes and research evolving delivery methodologies, identifying how business analysis leadership operates effectively within them.
• Seeing the Big Picture. You develop and maintain a strong understanding of economic, social, political, environmental and technological developments to ensure activity remains relevant and future focused. You ensure plans and priorities within your area reflect wider organisational and government strategic objectives, and you communicate effectively with senior leaders to influence future strategy. You adopt a cross-government perspective, bringing together diverse stakeholder views to gain a rounded understanding of complex policy, delivery and organisational challenges.
• Leadership in Business Analysis. You provide professional leadership in Business Analysis, role modelling inclusive, high-quality practice and setting clear direction in complex and ambiguous environments. You promote equality, diversity and inclusion, valuing different perspectives and encouraging constructive, evidence led challenge even where priorities compete. You take accountability for decisions within your area of responsibility, working beyond immediate boundaries to understand wider impacts. Through your leadership, you build trust, resilience and sustained engagement, enabling teams to remain focused on delivering meaningful outcomes.
• Working Together. You build and maintain strong networks across teams, professions and organisations to achieve shared objectives. You challenge assumptions constructively, while being willing to compromise where it supports progress. You demonstrate genuine care for colleagues, prioritise wellbeing, and create an inclusive working environment where all voices are heard and unacceptable behaviours are addressed. You remain approachable, receptive to new ideas, and supportive of collaboration.
• Making Effective Decisions. You take time to understand stakeholder needs, expectations and constraints before making decisions. You ensure decisions are taken at the appropriate level and remove unnecessary barriers to delivery. You encourage challenge and innovation to inform decision making, analyse and interpret data from multiple sources, and assess risks, impacts and implications. You present clear conclusions based on complex or incomplete evidence and make confident decisions, even in uncertain or unpopular situations.

Willingness to be assessed against the requirements for BPSS clearance.

We welcome the unique contribution diverse applicants bring and do not discriminate based on culture, ethnicity, race, nationality or national origin, age, sex, gender identity or expression, religion or belief, disability status, sexual orientation, educational or social background or any other factor. 

Our values are Purpose, Humanity Openness and Together. Find out more here about how we celebrate diversity and an inclusive culture in our workplace

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 D&I Strategy.

Salary Information**

Base salary for this role is from London: £75,674 - £85,257, National: £71,381 - £80,419.

• New entrants to the Civil Service joining the MoJ are expected to start at the minimum of the pay band.
• Existing Civil Servants moving on a level transfer will retain their current base salary or move to the minimum of the pay band for the role, whichever is higher.
• Existing Civil Servants who are promoted will either move to the bottom of the new grade’s pay band or receive a 10% uplift, whichever provides the greater increase.
• Candidates may also be eligible for a non‑pensionable Government Digital & Data Allowance of up to £10,329 per year if they live in London. This is a temporary allowance, reviewed annually and may be retained, amended, or withdrawn.

The final offer will reflect the skills and experience you demonstrate during the assessment process.

How to Apply

In Justice Digital, Data and Science, we recruit using a combination of the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability and Success Profiles Frameworks. We shall assess a combination of your Experience and Behaviours during the assessment process.

Stage 1 - Application and sift:

To apply for this position, you must submit the following as part of your application:

• A CV detailing your career history (including any relevant qualifications). Your CV will be assessed against the essential criteria outlined within the Person Specification of this advert.
• A Statement of Suitability – this must be divided into two clearly labelled sections, responding to the questions below. Each section must be no more than 500 words (maximum 1000 words in total). 

In your answers, focus on how you approached the situation, not just what you did, and include the impact of your actions. Use specific examples and include outcomes and learning where relevant. 

The two questions you should address in your statement of suitability are: 

• Describe a time when you built or significantly improved Business Analysis capability within an organisation. (Leadership in Business Analysis)
• Describe a time when you led or advised on a complex business problem that required strategic analysis and evaluation of multiple options. (Context, problem and option analysis)

During the sift stage, the following criteria will be assessed -

• Context, problem and option analysis.
• Leadership in Business Analysis

A diverse sift panel will review the information in your CV and Personal Statement to assess the sift criteria specified above.  We operate an anonymous shortlisting process. Please ensure your CV and Personal Statement do not include your name or any other identifying details.

Should we receive a high volume of applications, a pre-sift based on the following criteria will be conducted before the sift -

• Leadership in Business Analysis

Please access the following link for guidance on how to apply - Application Guidance

Stage 2 - Interviews:

Successful candidates who meet the required standard will then be invited to a panel interview held via Microsoft Teams. At interview stage, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements – Experience, and the following Behaviours:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Making Effective Decisions
• Leadership
• Working Together

As part of your interview, you will be asked to deliver a short presentation. Further details around this part of the assessment process will be shared with candidates invited to attend an interview.

Appointments are made strictly in merit order. In the event that two or more candidates receive identical interview scores, the ‘Leadership in Business Analysis’ criterion will be applied as the primary lead criterion to determine the final merit order.

Should you be unsuccessful in the role that you have applied for but demonstrate the capability for a role at a lower level, we reserve the right to discuss this opportunity with you and offer you the position without needing a further application.

A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months, from which further appointments may be made.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Terms & Conditions

Please review our Terms and Conditions which set out how we recruit and provide further information related to the role and salary arrangements.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact digitalanddatarecruitment@justice.gov.uk