Ministry of Justice UK
Data Gaps Lead (Ref: 21786)
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Job Summary
This position is based Nationally
Job Description
Data Gaps Lead
Location: National*
Closing Date: 17th September 2026
Interviews: week commencing 28th September 2026 (subject to change)
Grade: Grade 7
(MoJ candidates who are on a specialist grade, will be able to retain this grade on lateral transfer)
Salary:
- National: £58,511 – £65,329
- London: £63,343 – £70,725
Working pattern: full-time, part-time, flexible working
Contract Type: Permanent
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
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 Prisons Data Gaps Lead here at the Ministry of Justice, to be part of our warm and collaborative Prisons Data Transformation team. This role will lead our work to identify, prioritise and respond to priority gaps in prison data, helping ensure that operational, analytical, policy and digital partners have the right data to support better decisions and outcomes. The role is pivotal in translating business and user needs into clear data requirements, shaping how Digital products and services can improve data quality, accessibility and use across HMPPS and the wider MoJ. As priorities evolve, the postholder may also be required to pivot to support other data transformation priorities across the team.
You’ll receive a range of excellent benefits when you join our department, including:
- A generous employer pension contribution of 28.97% through the Civil Service Pension Scheme.
- 25 days of annual leave, (increasing to 30 days once you have reached 5 years of service), plus 8 bank holidays and a privilege day for the King’s birthday.
- Flexible working arrangements including hybrid working, working part time or compressed hours. Designed to support a positive work–life balance.
- Employees are allocated 10% of their working time for personal and professional development.
- A £1k per person learning budget is in place to support all our people, with access to best-in-class conferences and seminars, accreditation with professional bodies, fully funded vocational programmes and e-learning platforms.
- Compassionate maternity, adoption, and shared parental leave policies, with up to 26 weeks leave at full pay, 13 weeks with partial pay, and 13 weeks further leave. And maternity support/paternity leave at full pay for 2 weeks, too!
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:
- Leadership and Team Management: Lead a team to understand and manage data requirements for a range of products and services across the business – including via Digital, Data, Analysis, Policy, and HMPPS operations.
- Engagement and Communication: Engage with, and influence, senior partners across the MoJ and beyond to promote the value and use of data, using influence to ensure prioritisation, progress and delivery.
- Relationship Building: Establish strong relationships with colleagues in Digital, Data, Analysis, Policy, and HMPPS spheres to build and maintain a collaborative environment that prioritises delivering high quality outcomes whilst promoting and representing the needs of our users.
- Data Requirements Understanding: Collaborate with Analysis, Strategy, and Policy teams to understand their data requirements. Shape how Digital teams can address these needs through new digital services and enhancements to existing services, thereby filling key evidence gaps
- Technical Collaboration: Work with technical partners in Data Science, Engineering, and Digital/IT teams to identify and deliver the right data solutions.
- Focus on HMPPS: Support initiatives aimed at improving HMPPS data, with opportunities to contribute to broader business engagement as required.
- Focus on prison data gaps: Identify, prioritise and help address priority gaps in prison data, working with operational, analytical, digital and policy partners to ensure data improvements are targeted at the areas of greatest business need.
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Person Specification
Essential
- Inclusive Leadership: Demonstrate inclusive and emotionally intelligent leadership through which you have developed a highly functional and collaborative team.
- Resilience and Prioritisation: Show high resilience and the ability to prioritise efforts to deliver maximum impact, maintaining enthusiasm and momentum in shifting or uncertain landscapes. Give equal focus to both short-term and long-term priorities, pivoting in response to external impacts.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Engage credibly with analytical, technical, operational, and policy teams, consequently aligning needs and services for all data users. Have the ability to influence senior leaders effectively.
- Data Improvement Recognition: Acknowledge the value of data and identify data improvement opportunities to transform outcomes for downstream data users.
- Experience with Multidisciplinary Teams: Demonstrate experience in working with multidisciplinary teams, particularly in translating between technical and non-technical stakeholders.
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
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Base salary for this role is from £58,511 – £65,329 (National) to £63,343 – £70,725 (London)
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.
How to Apply
In Justice Digital, Data and Science, we recruit using the Success Profiles Framework. 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
Please Submit:
- an anonymised CV, maximum 2 pages at font size 12, including career history, responsibilities, and achievements (including any relevant qualifications).
- A Personal Statement (no more than 1000 words) which should outline your experience and skills, giving clear examples of work undertaken. It should specifically address the following criteria listed below
Criteria:
- Resilience and Prioritisation: Show high resilience and the ability to prioritise efforts to deliver maximum impact, maintaining enthusiasm and momentum in shifting or uncertain landscapes. Give equal focus to both short-term and long-term priorities, pivoting in response to external impacts.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Engage credibly with analytical, technical, operational, and policy teams, consequently aligning needs and services for all data users. Have the ability to influence senior leaders effectively.
- Data Improvement Recognition: Acknowledge the value of data and identify data improvement opportunities to transform outcomes for downstream data users.
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 your experience of Data Improvement Recognition: Acknowledge the value of data and identify data improvement opportunities to transform outcomes for downstream data users will be conducted before the sift.
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
- Communicating and Influencing
- Leadership
As part of your interview, you will be asked to deliver a 5 minute presentation that assesses your experience. Further details will be provided if successful at sift.
Appointments are made strictly in merit order. In the event that two or more candidates receive identical interview scores, Data Improvement Recognition: Acknowledge the value of data and identify data
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