Head of Statistical Excellence and Leadership Hub, Analysis Directorate Ministry of Justice(Ref: 92250)

Do you have the passion, values, and ability to help us solve the biggest problems of the justice system?Head of Statistical Excellence and Leadership Hub, Grade 7, Analysis Directorate Ministry of Justice OverviewWe have one role available in the Statistical Excellence and Leadership Hub team, within the Analysis Directorate. The role is fixed term until end of September 2025. Roles are open to: Existing badged analysts from the Government Statistical Group profession only either on level transfer or on promotion. 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 team We 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 December 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. 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 500 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. What youll do This is a important role to champion and embed best practice in the use of data and statistics across MOJ. You will work closely with the MOJs Chief Statistician and help them discharge their functions in maintaining and developing the statistical credibility of the Department. This includes leading the development of understanding of statistical principles and practices, notably the Code of Practice for Statistics among both analytical and non-analytical colleagues; working with quality champions to embed more robust approaches to quality assurance across our outputs; and bringing leadership and coordination in support of professional development of GSG staff and statistical capability building. Our workplan for 2024-25 has three key priorities that the successful candidate will lead the delivery of:Code of Practice for Statistics: Raise the profile of and embed Statistics Code of Practice across the DepartmentCommunity: create an active GSG community and develop clear professional development offer.Coordination and Coherence: bring order and coherence to the various strands of GSG related policies, guidance, documents, membership, and champion activity. Exact responsibilities may vary but are likely to include: Continue to establish the role of the team among a wide range of analytical and non-analytical stakeholders.Protect, defend and enhance MOJs reputation on the production of statistics. Act as a central point of contact for enquires relating to the Statistics Code of Practice and pre-release access, sharing knowledge of correct procedures and making reasoned and accurate decisions on statistical issues when they are required, even if unpopular.Develop effective relationships and roll out materials in support of the above to help maintain/build an understanding of the Code across Data, Analysis, policy, operations, private and press offices.Lead on the development of an active MOJ Statistics Community to share knowledge, improve standardsBring transparency, support and oversight to the work of ~ 15 GSG volunteers (covering responsibilities including but not exclusive to professional badging, statistical literacy, quality assurance and user engagement) to the rest of the GSG community and beyond.Help the Chief Statistician discharge their responsibility to promote continuous professional development of GSG staffLiaise with and respond to queries from central GSS teams including but not exclusive to MOJ GSS recruitment activitiesLead on updating and maintaining published statistical policies, for example on topics such as pre-release and revisions. Who you are The following experience and skills will be required: Sound understanding of the Code of Practice for Statistics.Effective communication, negotiating and influencing skills, sufficient to work effectively with a wide range of analytical and non-analytical colleagues and specialisms.Demonstrable ability to work at pace with strong organisation and prioritisation skills sufficient to balance multiple competing demands.Broad range of experience working with statistics in order to bring credibility and direction in matters relating to statistical literacy and professional developmentPassion for working with a wide range of colleagues in order to develop a thriving professional community.Building and maintaining a culture of high-quality analysis and continuous improvementGSG badged at Grade 7. The following experience and skills are desirable:Experience with Official Statistics, freedom of information requests and parliamentary questionsExperience of influencing senior stakeholdersCoordinating the work of others for whom you dont have line management oversightBeing a self starter this role currently reports directly to the Chief Statistician and has no direct line management responsibility How to apply Youll need to submit a Statement of Suitability as part of your application. Your Statement of Suitability should be no more than 1,000 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. 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: LeadershipCommunicating and InfluencingSeeing the Big PicturePlease also refer to the CS Behaviours framework for more details at this ...