Chief of Staff - Justice AI Unit (Ref: 17140)

Job summary

This is a Nationally based role

Job description

Overview

We’re recruiting for a Chief of Staff in the Justice AI Unit, supporting the Chief AI Officer and the delivery of the AI Action Plan for Justice across the Ministry of Justice.

The Chief of Staff plays a central role in managing strategic relationships across the Ministry of Justice and its agencies, while supporting the Chief AI Officer to drive priorities and deliver outcomes. Working closely with the leadership team and senior stakeholders, the role combines strategic advice with oversight of operations, finance, people, and communications, ensuring the Justice AI Unit is set up to deliver at pace, responsibly and transparently. The postholder will help build confidence in the unit’s work, strengthen engagement across government, and support delivery of the AI Action Plan for Justice, contributing to a more productive and agile department.

To learn more about the Justice AI Unit and our work, visit our website or follow us on LinkedIn for updates and insights.

Objectives of this role

• Oversee strategic business initiatives from development through to delivery, supporting implementation of the AI Action Plan for Justice.
• Support senior leaders in decision-making, programme management and delivery of key initiatives across AI, digital and operational priorities.
• Review, design and improve organisational structure, identifying capability gaps and putting plans in place to address them.
• Improve processes and ways of working to increase efficiency, productivity and delivery pace across the Justice AI Unit.
• Support the business management and day-to-day operations of the Justice AI Unit, ensuring clear oversight of priorities, risks, finance and resources.
• Coordinate the unit’s enabling activity, including people, communications and engagement, to support effective delivery and alignment across the department.

Key Responsibilities

• Work with the Chief AI Officer to maximise value by maintaining a clear focus on priorities, coordinating and triaging work effectively, and using sound judgement to support delivery across the Justice AI Unit and wider MoJ.
• Act as an informed adviser to the Chief AI Officer, providing clear and timely analysis of key issues and priorities across the AI portfolio and wider stakeholder landscape, with practical advice and handling plans for emerging issues.
• Ensure strong join-up across the Justice AI Unit leadership team and that inputs into senior discussions are well considered, aligned and timely.
• Lead and support leadership team meetings, setting clear agendas and driving delivery of cross-cutting actions and outcomes, including leading workstreams from concept through to completion where required.
• Manage and act as a point of contact for the Chief AI Officer’s team and senior stakeholders, including Directors General, Ministers and Permanent Secretaries, ensuring priorities are clearly communicated and connections are made as needed.
• Lead a high-performing team that can operate effectively at pace within a fast-moving, ambiguous and high-profile environment.
• Shape and influence teams and stakeholders to ensure organisational priorities are delivered, surfacing tensions and resolving issues where they arise.
• Analyse and synthesise a wide range of information at pace, using both quantitative and qualitative evidence to provide clear and well-judged recommendations to senior stakeholders.
• Manage multiple issues, workstreams and initiatives concurrently, maintaining oversight and ensuring delivery through to completion, including where work is delivered through others.
• Act as a subject matter point of contact within the unit, handling queries, developing action plans, and supporting the preparation and delivery of communications and engagement activity.
• Coordinate core operational activity across the Justice AI Unit, including finance, operations, people and communications and engagement, with line management responsibility for a small team.

Person Specification

Essential skills and experience

• Senior stakeholder support: You have experience working directly with senior leaders at SCS2 / C-suite level, supporting decision-making, managing priorities and coordinating complex, high-profile work.
• Strategic thinking: You understand the broader context and organisational priorities and can align your work and advice to deliver against them, particularly in a fast-moving or evolving environment.
• Communication: You can communicate clearly and confidently, work with a range of audiences, and provide high-quality advice. This includes the ability to produce written briefings for senior stakeholders.
• Effective decision-making: You can make informed decisions in complex and technical environments, weighing different factors and understanding potential impacts.
• Agile working: You can manage multiple priorities, adapt quickly and work effectively in a fast-paced environment.
• Personal resilience: You remain focused and composed under pressure, maintaining pace and quality in challenging situations.
• Stakeholder management: You have strong experience of building and managing relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, inside and/or outside government.
• AI, digital and departmental context: You have experience working in an AI, digital, data or technology environment, and can translate the AI Action Plan for Justice and wider departmental priorities into delivery.

How to Apply

Candidates must submit a CV and Personal Statement.

Your Personal Statement (no more than 500 words) should outline your experience, using examples of work you have undertaken. It should address the following criteria from the Person Specification:

• Senior stakeholder support
• Strategic thinking

A diverse panel will assess applications against these criteria.

Should we receive a high volume of applications, a pre-sift may be conducted based on Senior stakeholder support.

Selection Process

Successful candidates who meet the required standard will be invited to a virtual panel interview.

As part of the interview, you will be asked to deliver a short exercise/presentation. Details will be shared in advance.

We will assess your experience and the following behaviours using Civil Service Success Profiles:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Behaviours

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

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £71,381, Ministry of Justice contributes £20,679 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• 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 employer contribution of 28.97%
• 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

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : SSCL Recruitment Enquiries Team
• Email : moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk
• Telephone : 0345 241 5359

Recruitment team

• Email : moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel a department has breached the requirement of the Recruitment Principles and would like to raise this, please contact SSCL (Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com) in the first instance. If the role has been advertised externally (outside of the Civil Service) and you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages: http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/civil-service-recruitm…

https://jobs.justice.gov.uk/careers/JobDetail/17140?entityId=17140