Assurance Analyst (4 roles available), Analysis Directorate, Ministry of Justice (Ref: 90631)

Do you have the passion, values, and ability to help us solve the biggest problems of the justice system?Grade 7 Assurance Analyst, Analysis Directorate Ministry of Justice 1.OverviewWe have up to 4 roles in the Analysis Assurance team, within the Analysis Directorate.Roles are open to:Existing analysts from all professions (GORS/GSS/GSR/GES) either on level transfer or on promotion.Other candidates that are not members of GSS, GORS, GSR, GES professions but possess and can demonstrate similar experience at the appropriate level. Badging opportunities will be available once in post for those who wish to apply.Minimum requirements to apply:Candidates must be able to show the relevant experience and skills and must meet the criteria for entry:Grade 7 must meet all of the following:You have significant work experience (usually a minimum of four years) evidencing use of data and/or analytical skills. Time spent on an analytical PhD can count towards this.You have significant experience of managing projectsYou have experience of leading or managing a teamWe welcome applications from candidates based across the UK. Candidates will have the option of being based in the Leeds or London HQ offices (with flexible working arrangements available) or your nearest Justice Collaboration Centre or Justice Satellite Office: see this map for more details.Alternative locations may be available and will be discussed and agreed on the completion of background checks.Interviews are likely to take place in October 2024 and will be held via MS Teams. We will keep a merit list for a year for those who successfully pass the interview board but who are not offered a post.2.About the Analysis DirectorateWe are passionate about improving justice outcomes through innovative research, data and analysis. In the Analysis Directorate, we provide high quality data and analysis helping to ensure strategic, policy, finance, corporate and operational decisions are based on robust evidence.We create a culture in which people are empowered with the data and information to make excellent decisions; using cutting edge tools, techniques and collaboration; putting evidence at the heart of the justice system.We are a multi-disciplinary team of around 650 staff that sits at the heart of the Ministry of Justice providing analytical support across a diverse and exciting agenda. We work in a dynamic and fast-paced context and our skills are in heavy demand across the Ministry of Justice. Our collaborations beyond government are seen as ground-breaking. The Analysis community is made up of analysts and specialists including: Social Researchers, Economists, Operational Researchers, Statisticians, Data Engineers, Data Scientists and other data specialists (such as data strategists, data dissemination, generalists and assurance experts).Why work in the Analysis Directorate?In the Analysis Directorate, we want all our people to feel valued for who they are and for the work they do. We provide a warm, inclusive place to work and offer a wide range of flexibilities and benefits as part of our people offer to reward our staff.What we offerFlexible working arrangements and a focus on equality of opportunity including welcoming part-time and/or job-share arrangements, compressed hours, working from home or your nearest Justice Collaboration Centres or Justice Satellite Office.Career development regular development and promotion opportunities across a wide range of roles, career development support, with a generous individual learning and development budget.Range of new areas of work and new tools and techniques we pride ourselves on our excellent deployment of well-established analytical methods, but also our progress to date. Progress such as our ambitious and innovative transformation programme to leverage departmental data and drive evidence-based decision-making using cutting-edge tools and techniques (for example: experimentation, personalisation, artificial intelligence).Analysis is at the centre of the Departments decision making our transformation programme is focused on maximising our impact on departmental outcomes. The Ministry of Justices Senior Team and our Ministerial Team want all decisions to be evidence driven your analysis will be key in influencing decisions and real-world impact.Vibrant community part of a multidisciplinary team that has a supportive culture and is looking to further develop the community with the help of everyone.See the frontline and what your work is influencing regular opportunities to visit our front-line service providers, including courts, prisons, and probation to better understand the areas your analysis is affecting.3.What youll doThe Analysis Assurance Area is a new area aimed at investigating opportunities to refine and improve our analytical products. The area wont be responsible for analytical quality assurance, this will still be the responsibility of the team conducting the analysis. The Analysis Assurance area will understand best practise and approaches to analysis within and external to the department to develop a framework for analytical review and improvement. It will also look at analysis and outputs to consider the data used, the analytical approach, the assumptions made, the uncertainty in the estimates and identify opportunities for increased precision.There are up to 4 Grade 7 roles available and they will be focussed on:Leading your team to deliver business-critical reviews, understanding and accounting for the complex systems the analysis is representing, working with analytical teams to improve what they are delivering and communicating your work to senior leaders.And/OrLeading your team to determine how we review analysis and improve our analytical outputs: do we have the right framework in place, what governance do we need, are analytical teams communicating their work in a way that it is clearly understood by customers, etc.And/OrIdentifying fundamental gaps in our understanding that we can help to fill e.g. through curation of new or improved datasets.The work will encompass a breadth of criminal justice topics e.g. how policies could affect frontline resourcing, complex justice system volume forecasts, or options to manage prison and court capacity pressures.You will be responsible for line managing your team and conducting parallel reviews of the departments key analytical products assisting with improvement of those products throughout their lifecycle. This will involve learning from best practise both within and outside the department and contributing to the development of a framework we can use to base our reviews and governance on.You will work across the department and understand who and what analysis and data can be leveraged to improve analytical outputs and how best to use them, and what cross-cutting improvements the assurance team can produce where there are gaps.You will understand the products your team are reviewing sufficiently well that you can confidently identify and implement improvements and reduce limitations. You will work with varied customers and stakeholders to ensure the outputs are being communicated in a meaningful and accurate manner, to deliver impact on decision-making.If you are successful in this recruitment, we will do our best to match your preferences regarding the nature of the role4.Who you areThe following experience and skills will be required:Communicating and influencing able to communicate complex analysis in a way senior leaders and non-technical audiences can understand, including key concepts and their limitations.Working together leading your team to work with stakeholders to understand their analytical approaches and needs and develop and implement suggestions for improvements using the framework we produce. Additionally, being able to work with technical and operational colleagues and utilise their insight.Delivering at pace leading your team in using the framework we produce and refine to deliver consistent and timely reviews that add value and improve analytical outputs.Analytical an ability to understand and bring together complex datasets and systems.Analytical a good understanding of quantitative/analytical modelling and limitations of various approaches, or an aptitude to build your knowledge and understand these.5.How to applyYoull need to submit an anonymised CV and Statement of Suitability as part of your application. You will not be considered if you do not provide both.Your CV should be no more than 2 pages long and should show us your work history and previous experience. It should be well structured, succinct and written in clear language.Your Statement of Suitability should be no more than 750 words and should give us examples of how your skills and experience match those needed for this role. Consider giving examples that cover all the requirements in the Who you are section and use work you have completed to demonstrate how you meet each one. 5a. Selection ProcessThere will be an initial sift of applicants through comparing submitted evidence against the Who you are bullets. This usually takes two weeks, depending on the number of applications.Those who make it through the initial sift will be invited to a Civil Service Success Profile interview. In the Civil Service we use Success Profiles to help us find the right person for the job. We will be using a mixture of methods to assess your abilities, strengths, experience, technical skills and behaviours. We highly recommend learning about Success Profiles and using the Situation, Task, Action, Result and Reflection (STARR) framework when structuring your answers.The highest scoring candidates that pass the interview will be offered the roles. The whole process can take up to a month.BehavioursYou will be assessed against the Civil service success profiles framework at interview stage:Working TogetherCommunicating and InfluencingDelivering at PacePlease ...