Head of Insight & Evaluation – Recruitment and Retention Communications (Ref: 76645)

We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and a sense of belonging. To find out more about how we do this visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity.

Vacancy Description:    

Are you looking for an opportunity to make your mark and work on challenging and complex research issues that have a big social impact? Do you want to use your research experience to establish an ambitious new insight strategy to help shape and develop ground-breaking communications strategies for a new high-profile team?

We are looking to appoint an ambitious and experienced Head of Insight and Evaluation, who can help provide top-quality insight and evaluation, to work in the award winning MoJ communications team.

The MoJ is a major government department, at the heart of the justice system and the award-winning communications team sits within the Ministry’s Performance, Strategy and Analysis Group. We pride ourselves on having an excellent and supportive team culture, a focus on innovation and making a difference to people’s lives.

This role sits in the Recruitment and Retention Communications (RRC) team, and reports into the overall Insight & Evaluation function within Strategic Communications. RRC’s main priority is to use every available channel, including PR, marketing, partnerships, community outreach and targeted internal communications to drive applications for key MoJ roles including prison and probation officers, and magistrates. This also includes the development of a prison and probation officer brand campaign to increase awareness and interest in these roles.

You and your team will play a varied role – one day you might lead a whole-team workshop setting our overall KPIs, another you could be in a regional prison running focus groups with officers, and the next you might be working on evaluating a marketing campaign.

This role, heading up I&E in this new team, will be crucial in helping us to set our strategy and understand the impact of this work and the contribution of the various strands within it. You will work closely with our wider I&E team – sharing learnings and best practice. You will be a critical part of ensuring all our communication is underpinned by rigorous insight that makes it effective, highly-targeted and good value for money. 

As well as helping set the strategy and being a key adviser to the team, you will play a crucial part in upskilling the whole team’s I&E capabilities and embedding best practice. You will help ensure our output is always data-led and the outcomes and real-world impact of our communications is fully evaluated.

You will also help the team to identify actionable learnings that can be used to inform future communications planning. As this is a new role, in a new team, this is a great opportunity to use your research experience to shape how the team uses insight and evaluation to inform the team’s communications strategy. You will be constantly pushing and challenging the team and senior leaders to develop our insight and evaluation approach to help us evidence the impact of our work and demonstrate ROI to build business cases, including showing where different and disparate elements of our work strands can be brought together to be evaluated. You will build relationships across the team and stakeholders and use your negotiation and influencing skills to firmly establish I&E within the team.

You will also be leading on the design and management of a variety of research projects with communications colleagues to provide insight that underpins innovative communications and marketing. This includes carrying out primary research fieldwork with diverse audiences such as prison staff and prison governors or leading on creative testing for new campaigns.  

This role will require a deep knowledge of insight and evaluation methodologies and the GCS Evaluation Framework, alongside a proven ability to influence, inspire and create change at all levels, and the leadership skills to drive forward large research projects. 

In return for your excellent work, we offer investment in your development and wellbeing at work, a competitive pension and benefits package. You will be able to knowledge share and have the full support of the wider growing MoJ insight and evaluation team. This role will also offer access to extensive professional insight support networks, with insight and evaluation professionals in the MoJ and across the wider Government. You will also have access to best practice learning and development opportunities.

You will report into the Head of the Prison Resourcing Communications team, but there will be a dotted reporting line into our Insight and Evaluation Hub, to ensure you’re able to draw on the I&E team’s knowledge and best practice. 

The role has several key requirements:

•    Leading a team of expert communicators through I&E to ensure insight and evaluation are embedded across their communications activity in accordance with the GCS Evaluation Framework. This includes acting as the team’s most senior insight and evaluation specialist providing expert and up-to-date advice on complex and challenging projects.

•    Developing and nurturing a culture of insight, where non-I&E professionals feel motivated, inspired, and supported to create data-led communication strategies – devising creative training and upskilling programmes to support this work.

•    Strong influencing, negotiation & relationships skills – with the ability to build relationships and influence with all colleagues and stakeholders, including those at senior level. 

•    Proven solid market research experience, ideally carrying out primary research across both quantitative and qualitative methodologies focussed on communications research.

•    Creating and embedding anI&E strategy for  the Recruitment and Retention Communications team’s activity to take account of the latest methodologies and best practice (including the GCS Evaluation Framework) and to ensure audiences sit at the heart of our outputs, with particular focus on turning insight into action.

•    Leading the team to communicate insight in a clear, engaging and actionable way to a range of stakeholders to demonstrate team impact against our KPIs.

•    Procuring and managing the right platforms, products and agencies to support our insight work where required, ensuring both best value for money and quality of outputs, in collaboration with the wider insight and evaluation team.

•    Ability to work well under pressure – and manage multiple priorities to tight deadlines, as well as change direction as and when needed. 

•    Line managing, developing and supporting at least one Senior Insight and Evaluation Manager. 

Success Profiles    

•    Applications will be assessed using the Civil Service Success Profiles Framework.
•    This will focus on experience, assessed through your CV, Statement of Suitability and (for shortlisted candidates) in interview.
•    Performance will also be assessed based on the following three behaviours, which will be assessed through your Statement of Suitability and (for shortlisted candidates) your interview:
i.    Communicating and influencing.
ii.    Making effective decisions.  
iii.    Changing and improving 
•    You will also be assessed on the Government Communications Service’s technical competencies: Impact and Insight

Application:    

2.    A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. 
3.    A Statement of Suitability (no longer than two pages) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with particular reference to how you meet the behaviours and technical competencies stipulated. 

Please note that that feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview.
 
Security clearance and residency 
If you are successful at interview, we will work with you to acquire SC security clearance. This is a straightforward process for most people but does, generally, require you to have been resident in the UK for at least the last five years. 

At the interview, you will be asked to give a presentation that you have prepared in advance.

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Changing and Improving
• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Working Together

We’ll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Government Communications technical question – Insight
• Government Communications service technical question – Impact

• Access to learning and development
• A working environment that supports a range of flexible working options to enhance your work life balance
• A working culture which encourages inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
• Annual Leave
• Public Holidays
• Season Ticket Advance

For more information about the recruitment process, benefits and allowances and answers to general queries, please click the below link which will direct you to our Candidate Information Page.

Link: https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

Job contact :

• Name : SSCL Recruitment Enquiries Team
• Email : Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com
• Telephone : 0845 241 5359

Recruitment team

• Email : Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com