Joint Head of Risk Assessment Data Science and AI (Ref: 18829)

Job summary

This position is based Nationally

Job description

Joint Head of Risk Assessment, Data Science & AI

Location: National*

Closing Date: 29/06/2026

Interviews: week commencing 13th July

Grade: MoJ Band 6

(MoJ candidates who are on a specialist grade, will be able to retain this grade on lateral transfer)

Salary**

National: £71,381 - £80,419 (which may include an allowance of up to £18,819)

London: £75,674 - £85,257 (which may include an allowance of up to £18,639)

Working pattern: Full-time, Part-time, Flexible working

Contract Type: Permanent

Number of vacancies: 2

Vacancy number: 18829

*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

Please note this role requires you to pass clearance.

We’re recruiting for a Joint Head of Risk Assessment Data Science and AI here at Justice Digital, Data and Science to be part of our warm and collaborative Probation and Electronic Monitoring Data team.

This role aligns against Lead Data Scientist from the Government Digital and Data Framework

The Service Transformation Group brings together, for the first time, our digital, data, AI, security, project delivery and transformation teams alongside our three fantastic agencies: the Legal Aid Agency (LAA), the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) and the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).

There are two core aims of the Service Transformation Group:

• To provide the best public services in the world.
• To have the happiest team in government.

Justice Data sources, fixes and links data from across the justice system to develop products, tools and insights for leaders, policy makers, and front-line staff. We deliver the right high-quality data at the right time to the right people to improve decision making.

Risk Assessment Data Science and AI (RADSAI) is a unit within the Probation and Electronic Monitoring Data Division. RADSAI works with His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) to provide insights on the risks and other issues presented by offenders who are on the HMPPS caseload or being sentenced at court, such as their risks of reoffending, and to help HMPPS practitioners assess these risk/issues fairly and consistently.

Effective risk assessment is an important part of how frontline staff working in the Prison and Probation Service make defensible decisions about risk. You will be jointly leading the team that develops, improves and explains the data science tools that estimate likelihood of reoffending and support operational staff decision-making. You will provide the Data Science expertise and work jointly with the current Head of RADSAI to build consensus across stakeholders and work closely with policy, operational, data and digital colleagues to effectively prioritise and deliver your team’s portfolio of work.

Over the next year, RADSAI will deliver a portfolio of impactful projects focused on improving offender risk assessment and practitioner decision‑making. This includes advancing actuarial models used by HMPPS to better identify higher‑risk offenders, with a strong focus on reducing Violence Against Women and Girls. The team will explore new analytical methods, develop clear visualisations and explanations to support practitioner understanding, and build products to efficiently collate and summarise criminal history data. Work will also include applying language modelling to assessment text to generate insights on offender risk, and maintaining large‑scale datasets and visualisation tools that support analysis of the HMPPS caseload.

This is an exciting time to join RADSAI, as the unit expands to satisfy growing demand. This role is critical to how practitioners operate and is at the intersection of technology, operations and policy. You will work with the existing Head of RADSAI to set up new teams and ambitious new projects, as well as moving forward the work of our established teams.

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:

You will be jointly leading a unit of approximately 30 data scientists and associated professions, such as analytics engineers, and will directly manage 3-4 Grade 7 team leads. You’ll be reporting to the Chief Data Scientist, who is also the Head of Probation and Electronic Monitoring data.

• You will need to combine data science technical expertise and operational priorities to define the vision across your team’s portfolio in line with departmental objectives, timescales and budgets.
• You will communicate with senior stakeholders and convince them of the strategic value of applying data science and work with them to remove blockers so that the team can deliver efficiently.
• You will partner effectively with other Digital, Data and Science leaders, and HMPPS stakeholders, to deliver your projects and ensure that they led to improvements and measurable impact in operational delivery
• You will develop team capability, act as a coach, mentor and role model and champion the adoption of best practice in data science from across government and beyond.
• You will provide strategic direction to senior leaders across the department on all things related to risk assessments using data science methods. You will work closely with other data leaders to transform the way the department thinks about and uses data, ensuring that data adds measurable value and impact to practitioners.
• Play an active role in making Probation and Electronic Monitoring Data, and JDDS, an inclusive and vibrant place to work.
• Play an active role in the wider Data Science community at MoJ, helping to achieve our strategic objectives of improving justice outcomes.

We expect all our Grade 6s to be flexible, ambitious and proactive in taking on new areas of work as they emerge to meet ministerial and judicial priorities – so the list above is illustrative but not necessarily exhaustive.

If this feels like an exciting challenge, something you are enthusiastic about, and want to join our team please read on and apply!

Person Specification

Essential

The successful candidates should be able to demonstrate the following qualities:

• Strong understanding of data science / AI techniques, quality assurance and data ethics, with experience of guiding teams on best practices.
• Strong strategic thinking and problem solving aligned with Ministry of Justice goals, with ability to identify opportunities for data innovation and promoting adoption and learning of new tools and techniques where appropriate.
• Proven ability to develop capability of a team to tackle real-world organisational problems by designing, developing and maintaining analytical solutions and applying data science techniques
• Leadership and prioritisation skills, including leading work through others, setting direction, and balancing hands-on contribution with oversight in a complex environment.
• Stakeholder influence and communication, with the ability to explain technical approaches, results, trade-offs and limitations clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences, and a record of success working with diverse stakeholder groups to deliver projects.

Willingness to be assessed against the requirements for BPSS.

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**

Base salary for this role is from £71,381 - £80,419 (National) £75,674 - £85,257 (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.
• Candidates may also be eligible for a non‑pensionable Government Digital & Data Allowance of up to £18,639 per year (London) or £18819 (National). This is a temporary allowance, reviewed annually and may be retained, amended, or withdrawn.

The final offer will reflect the skills and experience you demonstrate during the assessment process.

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

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 (opens in a new window).

• 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

In Justice Digital, Data and Science, we recruit using a combination of the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability and Success Profiles Frameworks. We shall assess a combination of your Experience, Technical skills 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

• A CV detailing your career history (including any relevant qualifications). Your CV will be assessed against the essential criteria outlined within the Person Specification of this advert.
• A Personal Statement (no more than 1250 words) which should outline your experience and skills, giving clear examples of work undertaken. It should specifically address the following five criteria listed below, using a separate paragraph for each.
• Strong understanding of data science / AI techniques, quality assurance and data ethics, with experience of guiding teams on best practices.
• Strong strategic thinking and problem solving aligned with Ministry of Justice goals, with ability to identify opportunities for data innovation and promoting adoption and learning of new tools and techniques where appropriate.
• Proven ability to develop capability of a team to tackle real-world organisational problems by designing, developing and maintaining analytical solutions and applying data science techniques
• Leadership and prioritisation skills, including leading work through others, setting direction, and balancing hands-on contribution with oversight in a complex environment.
• Stakeholder influence and communication, with the ability to explain technical approaches, results, trade-offs and limitations clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences, and a record of success working with diverse stakeholder groups to deliver projects.

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 the below essential criteria will be conducted before the sift

• Strong understanding of data science / AI techniques, quality assurance and data ethics, with experience of guiding teams on best practices.
• Proven ability to develop capability of a team to tackle real-world organisational problems by designing, developing and maintaining analytical solutions and applying data science techniques

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:

Leadership

Changing and improving

Communicating and influencing

Successful candidates who meet the required standard will be invited to a 1 hour panel interview held via video conference. As part of your interview, you will be asked to deliver a 10-minute presentation. Details of the presentation will be sent across prior to interview.

• Appointments are made strictly in merit order. In the event that two or more candidates receive identical interview scores, strong understanding of data science / AI techniques, quality assurance and data ethics, with experience of guiding teams on best practices will be applied as the primary lead criterion to determine the final merit order.

Should you be unsuccessful in the role that you have applied for but demonstrate the capability for a role at a lower level, we reserve the right to discuss this opportunity with you and offer you the position without needing a further application.

A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months, from which further appointments may be made.

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.

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

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).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://www.jobtrain.co.uk/justicedigital/Job/JobDetail?JobId=1102

Attachments

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