Senior Behavioural Insight Researcher (Ref: 77399)

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.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service

Workstream: User Experience and Insight (UE&I)

Job Title: Senior Behavioural Insight Researcher (Senior Executive Officer SEO)

Location: National/London

Duration: Permanent

Pay Band: Band B, SEO equivalent

Number of roles available: 1

Salary

London: £43,647 – £48,067
National: £37,683 – £41,506 

Your salary will be dependent on your base location.

This position is available for external applicants as well as existing civil servants on level transfer or promotion. New recruits to the Civil Service joining MoJ are expected to join at the band minimum. Existing civil servants applying on promotion will usually be appointed on the salary minimum of the new pay band or with an increase of 10 percent on their existing base salary (restricted to the new pay band maximum), whichever is the higher.

Background

HM Courts and Tribunals Service is responsible for the administration of criminal, civil and family courts and tribunals in England and Wales. It is an extremely exciting time to join, as HM Courts and Tribunals Service has been undertaking a first-of-its-kind change programme aimed at delivering pioneering modernisation of judicial services, exploiting digital technologies to deliver services that better serve the public. With over £1 billion of funding, this is the most ambitious programme of its kind anywhere in the world. 

The change programme provides the opportunity to place citizen needs and expectations at the very heart of HMCTS. People will be able to participate with confidence, be treated with respect and understand what is happening at all stages of their case. Transformation will reduce cost and increase confidence of the judiciary, delivery partners and stakeholders in the justice system, whilst delivering benefits both to HMCTS and to the taxpayers. Importantly, service transformation is key to ensuring that HMCTS is on a sustainable financial footing for the future and will enhance the UK justice system as a global leader.

The change programme is one of the largest across Government and it is an exciting and rewarding portfolio to be part of. You will gain a deep understanding of how a large complex portfolio operates as well as develop a broad range of effective business and behavioural insight skills.

As the change programme concludes and reformed services bed in, your skills will be deployed in live services: supporting the administration of a fair, efficient and accessible courts and tribunals system; supporting an independent judiciary in the administration of justice; driving improvements across all aspects of the business; and collaborating with other justice organisations and agencies to improve access to justice.

About the team

This is an exciting opportunity to join HMCTS’s Behavioural Insights Team in the User Experience and Insight Division (UE&I). The division ensures that our understanding of user characteristics, behaviours and needs, is analysed, and shared in inspiring ways to inform decision making throughout HMCTS. 

This an exciting opportunity to be part of a multidisciplinary division, setting the direction for the use of insight across digital services, customer services, and operational delivery teams. You will be working in a fast-paced operational environment where things can change quickly, but where there is a real opportunity to help shape frontline services.

The role

We are looking for someone who has knowledge and experience applying behavioural science in real world settings to deliver high impact research that makes a difference.

You will be working on a wide variety of projects in a cross-jurisdictional space (e.g. across Civil, Family, Tribunal and Crime jurisdictions) supporting the development, design, and application of behavioural insight.

As the Senior Behavioural Insight Researcher [SEO], you will:

• Lead on projects to apply behavioural insights to tackle policy and delivery challenges, working closely with relevant teams across the department to:
  • Define and solve ambiguous problems, identifying opportunities for applying fit-for-purpose behavioural initiatives, as well as for research and insight to inform creative solutions to issues
  • Design and implement behavioural field evaluations, using best-fit research methods including randomised controlled trials
• Work closely with the organisation’s social and user researchers and designers to conduct research that informs behavioural initiatives, including user testing, interviews, focus groups, and surveys
• Work closely with researchers and analysts to evaluate behavioural interventions, including cleansing, analysis, and reporting of data
• Provide high quality behavioural research advice to teams across the department and beyond
• Contribute to the continual development of the Division’s evidence base, methods, approaches, and strategy

The post holder is required to work in a flexible way and undertake any other duties reasonably requested by line management which are commensurate with the grade and level of responsibility of this post.

Required Skills

Essential Criteria

The successful candidate will need to have:

• Experience managing, leading and delivering behavioural insight projects
• Experience of applying behavioural frameworks such as ISM, COM-B, and EAST to diagnose and address behavioural problems
• Experience designing behavioural research projects
• Experience developing evaluations to determine the impact of behavioural interventions
• Ability to develop relationships with a range of stakeholders to identify their needs and work collaboratively with them to deliver projects
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills (particularly presenting technical work to non-academic audiences)
• Strong teamwork and project management skills. As part of a small team, you will need to be reliable and willing to take responsibility for elements of projects, meetings, and regular routines
• Ability to coach and mentor colleagues to build capability and confidence in behavioural techniques and tools

Desirable Criteria:

• An understanding of public policy and services particularly in the justice sector
• Experience analysing quantitative information using R and/or Excel, SPSS
• Experience of leading workshops to educate colleagues on using behaviour change frameworks/ diagnosing and addressing a behavioural issue
• A Masters or PhD in a relevant subject area (behavioural economics, psychology, decision science, sociology, anthropology or other behavioural or social science disciplines)

Application Process

Application

To apply for this role, please complete the online application form, which will require you to provide:

• An up-to-date copy of your CV which details your relevant experience and achievements
• A personal statement explaining how you meet the requirements of the role (no more than 500 words)
• An example of the behaviour ‘Making Effective Decisions’ (no more than 250 words)

Guidance on Civil Service behaviours and the Success Profile Framework can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles

Interview

If you are invited for an interview, this will take place via MS Teams. We will assess your suitability against the role requirements outlined above. You will also be assessed against the following three Success Profile behaviours:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Managing a Quality Service
• Communicating and Influencing

And also, behavioural science technical competencies.

You will also be asked to deliver a presentation; further details will be provided nearer the time.

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.

Further Information:

Applications are welcomed from existing civil servants and external candidates.

If you have any queries about the role, or wish to discuss, please contact anna.tiplady@justice.gov.uk.

Terms & Conditions:

Location of post:

The post-holder can be based in London or at any of our HMCTS sites. If you are London based, you will be expected to work in the offices at 102 Petty France 2 days a week. If you are Nationally based, you will be expected to work from an HMCTS office location 2 days a week and some travel to 102 Petty France will be required for business reasons. 

Travel to other HMCTS sites may also be required as part of these working arrangements. In line with the department’s policies, travel and subsistence and, where appropriate, overnight accommodation will be available in line with organisational policies.

Flexible working options

HMCTS offers a flexible working system in many of its offices.

Job Sharing and Reduced Hours

All applications for job sharing or reduced hours will be treated fairly and, on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the MoJ’s flexible working policy and equality policy.

Excess Fares and Relocation Allowances

This job is not eligible for relocation allowances, but excess fares may be considered in accordance with MoJ’s excess fares allowance policy.

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

• Making Effective Decisions
• Managing a Quality Service
• Communicating and Influencing

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

• Behavioural Science technical competency 1
• Behavioural Science technical competency 2
• Behavioural Science technical competency 3

• 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