Ministry of Justice UK
22891 - Sexual Offences Policy Team Leader
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Sexual Offences Policy Team Leader
Grade 7
Victims and Criminal Courts Directorate
The Victims and Criminal Courts Directorate are recruiting permanently for a grade 7 sexual offences policy team leader. This campaign is open to existing civil servants on level transfer and substantive promotion.
Candidates are reminded that to be eligible for this campaign; you must still be employed as a civil servant at the point of accepting the role. If you resign or your FTA contract ends before you are made and accept an offer, you will become ineligible and you will be withdrawn from the process.
Location
Successful candidates will have the option to be based at one of the following locations:
- 102 Petty France, London
- 5 Wellington Place, Leeds
Occasional travel between the two locations may be required. We offer a hybrid working model, allowing for a balance between remote work and time spent in your base location (102 Petty France or 5 Wellington Place Leeds).
Ways of Working
At the MoJ we believe and promote alternative ways of working, these roles are available as:
- Full-time or an established full-time job share (due to the nature of the work within this role it is unsuitable for part-time working)
- Flexible working patterns
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.
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 Sexual Offences Policy Team
The Sexual Offences Policy Team sits within the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) and Victims Policy Unit.
The Sexual Offences Policy Team develops and implements evidence-based policies to improve the experience of the criminal justice system for victims of rape and other sexual offences. The work of the team underpins a key pillar of the Government’s Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy. This is a high-profile policy area with significant ministerial and stakeholder interest.
The VAWG and Victims Policy Unit is responsible for policy and strategy relating to victims, including victims of rape and domestic abuse, in the justice system. We work with operational, judicial and third sector stakeholders to design and deliver improvements to the justice system’s response to these crimes and lead on systemic, multi-agency reform work to improve support and outcomes for victims and witnesses, to help them rebuild and recover from the impacts of crime and enable better justice outcomes.
Sexual Offences Policy Team Leader - the role
We are looking for a G7 to lead one of our Sexual Offences Policy teams. You will be responsible for delivering a programme of activity to improve the justice system’s response to domestic abuse as part of the Government’s ambition to halve Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) in a decade.
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In particular, the successful candidate will be responsible for:
- Policy relating to the experiences of victims of sexual offences in the criminal justice system, and in particular issues relating to evidence at court, rape myths and misconceptions, and online image-based abuse;
- Leading the delivery of the new Independent Legal Adviser service for victims of rape, a Labour manifesto commitment, and supporting governance structures;
- Measures in the Courts & Tribunals Bill to change admissibility thresholds for evidence relating to a victim’s personal history and behaviour;
- Managing a team of SEOs and HEOs;
- Contributing to the leadership and corporate objectives of the Unit and the Directorate, including working effectively with the other G7s in the team, directorate, and wider policy group.
Skills and Experience
We are looking for an experienced policy and policy delivery lead with excellent drafting and senior stakeholder engagement skills, who will drive forward new and emerging policy areas whilst ensuring delivery of core priorities.
These roles involve regular engagement with policy relating to the experience of victims. The roles can include exposure to sensitive and distressing material, including details of criminal behaviour, such as details of sexual offences. Applicants should consider whether they feel comfortable working with such subject matters on a regular basis.
Essential:
- Excellent leadership skills to lead and support your team to deliver high-quality work in an area where priorities can change and develop at pace.
- Strong inter-personal, communication and influencing skills to build strong relationships and work effectively with internal and external stakeholders.
- Ability to identify and address emerging issues and opportunities.
- Ability to understand complex, technical issues and communicate them effectively to a range of audiences, including senior officials and Ministers.
- Experience working with partners to develop and deliver policy and monitor successful implementation.
- Ability to think strategically and keep one eye on the bigger picture while maintaining keen attention to detail.
Desirable:
- Understanding of the justice system/experience working within justice policy.
- Experience working on primary legislation.
Additional Information
- 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.
- 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.
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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.
Experience
You will be asked to provide a CV during the application process to assess any demonstrable experience, career history and achievements that are relevant to the role. The CV is requested for information only and will not be scored at sift.
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.
Successful applicants will then be invited to an interview, testing both behaviours and strengths.
Candidates invited to Interview
Please note that interviews will be carried out remotely.
At interview you will be assessed against behaviours where you will be asked to provide examples of how you have demonstrated them. In addition, you will also be asked strength-based questions.
Behaviours:
The following Behaviours will be tested at interview:
- Seeing the big picture
- Making effective decisions
- Leadership
- Communicating and influencing
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?
Please also refer to the CS Behaviours framework for more details at this grade:
Success Profiles: Civil Service behaviours - GOV.UK
Strengths:
It is difficult to prepare for strength type questions. However, you can think through your answers, focus on your achievements and aspects you enjoy and decide how these can be applied in the organisation and role. While strengths questions are shorter and we do not expect a full STAR response, the panel is interested in your first reaction to the question and information or reasoning to support this. Further information on Civil Service Strengths can be found via this link Success Profiles: Strengths - GOV.UK
Interview Timings:
Interviews are expected to take place in November 2026.
Contact information
If you would like to know more about this role, please contact Harriet.Miskin@justice.gov.uk
Working Arrangements & Further Information
The MoJ offers Hybrid Working arrangements where business need allows. This is an informal, non-contractual form of flexible working that blends working from your base location, different MoJ sites and / or from home (please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas). All employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in an office, subject to local estate capacity.
Some roles will not be suitable for Hybrid Working. Similarly, Hybrid Working will not suit everyone’s circumstances. Arrangements will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate(s) and subject to regular review.
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