Service Justice System and Policing Governance Risk and Assurance Lead

Job summary

This vacancy is open to Department of State employees only.

The Conduct, Justice & Legislation Directorate provides strategic leadership, policy direction and assurance across Defence’s conduct, discipline, policing, complaints, legislation and casework systems. It is Defence’s core route for service justice and casework reform, sustaining statutory and operationally critical activity while underpinning operational effectiveness and institutional credibility. It brings together policy, assurance and programme delivery across the Service Justice System, Service and Civilian Complaints, conduct and discipline frameworks and major legislative reform, the Directorate strengthens accountability and provides end-to-end oversight of how Defence prevents, manages and responds to misconduct and grievance. Operating in a high-profile and scrutinised environment, the Directorate enables timely, transparent and consistent handling of conduct and justice issues, reinforces the highest standards of behaviour, and ensures Defence meets its legal, moral and societal obligations. Through sustained delivery of legislative reform, system transformation and rigorous oversight, it strengthens Defence’s grip on conduct and justice risk, improves confidence among personnel, Parliament and the public, and supports a disciplined, accountable and values-led organisation underpinned by fair and credible justice and conduct systems.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

Job description

The Conduct and Justice Directorate sets direction and provides assurance for Defence’s conduct, discipline and justice systems, ensuring they are fair, robust and command confidence. It brings together policy, system oversight and legislative reform to strengthen accountability, improve case handling and support delivery of Defence’s legal obligations.

The post holder will lead the development and operation of a Directorate-wide risk and assurance function across Conduct, Justice and Legislation. Establish and maintain a single view of strategic and delivery risk, design proportionate assurance arrangements, strengthen controls, provide evidence-based reporting and support senior leaders to make timely, defensible decisions.

The role will operate alongside programme and sponsorship teams to ensure risks, issues, dependencies, recommendations, actions, benefits and evidence are visible, actively managed and escalated through the right governance routes. It will provide senior-level advice on the health of the Directorate portfolio and help embed disciplined, proportionate and auditable delivery controls.

The post holder will be accountable for leading the Directorate risk model and assurance framework, ensuring effective use of risk and control information to support governance, escalation, senior reporting, assurance activity and continuous improvement.

The post holder will be expected to work flexibly across the Directorate and wider Defence People, providing support to other directorate priorities and emerging business requirements as required to create an agile workforce.

Key responsibilities:

• Lead the design, implementation and continuous improvement of a Directorate-wide risk model, including risk appetite, ownership, scoring, controls, mitigations, review rhythm and escalation routes.
• Establish and maintain a proportionate assurance framework aligned to Directorate governance, portfolio priorities, delivery milestones, performance reporting and senior decision points.
• Provide strategic oversight of risks, issues, assumptions, dependencies, opportunities and controls across the Conduct, Justice and Legislation portfolio, ensuring timely escalation and resolution.
• Produce decision-ready reporting for senior leaders and governance boards, including consolidated risk reports, assurance summaries, control assessments and evidence-based recommendations.
• Work with programme, sponsorship, policy and operational teams to create clear audit trails for decisions, risks, controls, approvals, actions and delivery evidence.
• Lead assurance activity across high-priority programmes, implementation activity and emerging business requirements, identifying gaps, weaknesses, duplication and opportunities for improvement.
• Coordinate risk and assurance inputs for ministerial, parliamentary, senior board or external scrutiny requirements where required.
• Strengthen portfolio controls, including action tracking, recommendation tracking, benefits evidence, dependency management and governance reporting.
• Provide leadership and direction to any supporting risk or assurance resource, setting standards for analysis, reporting, escalation and assurance products.
• Build risk and assurance capability across the Directorate by coaching colleagues, improving templates, embedding consistent standards and supporting organisational learning.

Person specification

Essential criteria

• Significant experience leading risk, assurance, governance, controls, PMO, programme delivery or portfolio management activity in a complex organisation.
• Experience developing and operating risk management frameworks, assurance approaches, governance products and senior-level reporting.
• Experience providing evidence-based advice to senior leaders, including clear analysis of risks, controls, dependencies, options and recommended action.
• Strong understanding of risk management, assurance, internal controls, delivery governance, dependency management, escalation and audit trails.
• Experience working with multidisciplinary teams and senior stakeholders to improve delivery grip, reporting quality and accountability.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to turn complex or sensitive information into clear, balanced and actionable advice.
• Ability to work at pace, manage ambiguity and maintain professional judgement in high-profile or scrutinised environments.

Desirable criteria

• Experience in Defence, wider public sector, regulated, statutory, assurance, audit or high-scrutiny environments.
• Professional project delivery, risk, assurance, audit or governance qualification, or equivalent experience.
• Experience designing assurance frameworks, portfolio controls, benefits evidence, recommendation trackers or senior board reporting products.
• Experience coaching teams, embedding standards and improving risk, assurance or project delivery maturity.

Behaviours

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

• Leadership
• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £61,630, Ministry of Defence contributes £17,854 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).

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

The post does not offer relocation expenses.

External recruits who join the MOD who are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a six-month probation period.

Please Note: Expenses incurred for travel to interviews will not be reimbursed.

Please be advised that the Department is conducting a review of all pay related allowances which could impact on those allowances that the post currently being advertised attracts.

Any move to MOD from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for its staff which includes educating them on the benefits of not smoking, protecting them from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke and supporting those who want to give up smoking. Under the Smoke-Free Working Environment policy, Smoking and the use of all tobacco products (including combustible and chewing tobacco products) will not be permitted anywhere in the Defence working environment however some exemptions are in place, please refer to local guidance. The policy is Whole Force and includes all Defence personnel, contractors, visitors and other non-MOD personnel. All applicants seeking, considering, or accepting employment with the Ministry of Defence should be aware of this policy and that it is already in place at a number of Defence Establishments.

MOD Recruitment Satisfaction Survey – We may contact you regarding your experience to help us improve our customer satisfaction. The survey is voluntary and anonymous. You may however be given the opportunity to provide additional information to help us improve our service which includes the collection of some personal data as defined by the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). The MOD Privacy Policy Notice sets out how we will use your personal data and your rights.

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.

Candidates will be required to provide CV details to include job history; qualification details and previous skills and experience.

Candidates will be required to provide a statement of suitability 750 Words.

The sift will be based on a CV, Personal Statement of suitability and the following Civil Service Success Profile Behaviours:

• Leadership
• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace

Should there be a large amount of applicants, a sift will be based on a CV, Personal Statement of suitability and the lead Behaviour of Leadership only.

At interview, candidates will be assessed against the following:

• Leadership
• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace

Further information:

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.

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came into effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points-based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical. This role does not meet that category, and we will not sponsor a visa. It is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points-based system.
Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

The Ministry of Defence requires all candidates who are successful at interview to declare any outside interests. These declarations will be discussed with successful candidates following the interview process and before a formal offer of employment is made, as some outside interests may not be compatible with MOD civilian roles. This will not, in the majority of cases, prevent employment in MOD, but it is a measure that must be taken to ensure that appropriate mitigations can be put in place to manage any potential, perceived or actual conflicts of interest from the first day of employment.

The Ministry of Defence adopts a zero-tolerance approach to unacceptable behaviours, which includes bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, and victimisation. You will not be eligible and will not be considered for this post if you have been dismissed from a role for such unacceptable behaviours within the last five years. This will also apply if you resign or otherwise leave a role but, because of an adverse decision, would have been dismissed for gross misconduct had you continued in that employment. Pre-employment checks will be carried out.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).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 : Julie Grugel
• Email : Julie.Grugel100@mod.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : DBSCivPers-Resourcingteam3@mod.gov.uk

Further information

Please ensure you read the attached candidate information document prior to completing your application. If you are dissatisfied with the service you have received from DBS, or believe that DBS has failed to follow the recruitment process in line with the Civil Service Commission principles of selection for appointment on merit on the basis of Fair and Open competition, you can raise a formal complaint by writing to DBS at the following address: Defence Business Services, Scanning Hub, Room 6124, Tomlinson House, Norcross Lane, Blackpool, FY5 3WP. If after raising your complaint with DBS you remain dissatisfied you can complain directly to the Civil Service Commission at the following address: Civil Service commission, Room G/8, 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ Or by email: info@csc.gov.uk.

Attachments

Candidate Information Opens in new window (docx, 32kB)Defence Internal Brief notice Opens in new window (docx, 43kB)