Job Description

Job description
This role offers an excellent opportunity to develop your strategic awareness and expand your skills and experience in a broad and high-profile role at a particularly busy time for the Scotland Office, encompassing the Scottish Parliament election in 2026.
The Strategy team is a new function at the heart of the Scotland Office that reports directly to the Head of the Scotland Office. We work with ministers, senior officials and teams across the department, and across Whitehall, to set strategic direction and provide advice and analysis on a range of high-profile and cross-cutting issues. The current team consists of six friendly and motivated officials from a range of backgrounds working on strategy, priority projects, analysis and providing private office support to the Head of the department.
This is an exciting opportunity to undertake a busy and challenging role, with more exposure to senior officials, ministers and special advisers and opportunities to engage in impactful work than would typically be available in a bigger department. The successful candidate will lead on key strategic projects (including internal and external planning, delivery governance, fiscal event coordination and cross-Whitehall engagement), as well as contributing to projects on priority policy issues impacting Scotland. They will work with teams across the Scotland Office and more widely across Whitehall.
The nature of the team is that our work changes as ministerial priorities evolve, and so the postholder will work in an agile way across the department. This means there will be some scope to shape this role to the strengths of the successful candidate, and an expectation that they will work on high-profile issues impacting Scotland as they emerge and be willing to adapt to changing ministerial priorities as needed.
The role is being offered as a six-month loan. You should have your manager's permission to apply, and we would expect you to be released as soon as possible/by the end of January latest. Occasional travel between Scotland and London will be required.
Key Responsibilities

• Lead on key strategy functions including priority tracking, internal and external delivery and engagement planning, and capability building. o Take a leading role in the coordination of fiscal events across the department.
• Lead and/or contribute to priority projects for Ministers/the Head of the Scotland Office.
• Lead on strategic cross-Whitehall engagement, including potentially acting as the secretariat for the SCS2-level Delivering for Scotland Board.
• Provide high-quality policy advice to ministers and senior officials on these issues as required, as well as other priority issues as they arise.
• Working with No10/HMT/CO on the department's reporting to the centre of government.

Person Specification Essential:

• Excellent written and verbal communication, and confident working closely with senior leaders/ministers.
• Experience of providing policy and/or strategy advice to government ministers or senior leaders and demonstrated ability to pick up new topics quickly.
• Project management skills in a policy/strategy context.
• Able to effectively communicate with and influence internal and external stakeholders.
• Outcome-focused and possessing good strategic awareness.

Desirable:

• Experience of navigating government fiscal processes and events, working in a strategy role, working with the centre of government or working closely with senior leaders.

Selection Process
You will be asked to submit a 500 word personal statement that sets out how you meet the essential and desirable criteria set out above. Interviews will be held in January. Please note: We are recruiting using Ministry of Justice terms and conditions, but this is not a MoJ role.
Flexible working
The Scotland Office is a smarter working organisation which fully supports flexibility with our colleagues based in Edinburgh and London. We operate a hybrid working model.
Additional Information
The MoJ offers Hybrid Working arrangements where business need allows. This is an informal, non-contractual form of flexible working that blends working from your base location, different MoJ sites and / or from home (please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas). All employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in an office, subject to local estate capacity.
Some roles will not be suitable for Hybrid Working. Similarly, Hybrid Working will not suit everyone's circumstances. Arrangements will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate(s) and subject to regular review.
All successful candidates will be appointed to the nearest viable office nearest to their home postcode and on its respective pay scale. This will be at either a HQ building (subject to desk allocation, a Justice Collaboration Centre (JCC) or a Justice Satellite Office (JSO) - See . All employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in an office, subject to local estate capacity).
For current MoJ employees, your base location will need to be changed to the nearest viable office (to your home postcode), either at a HQ building, JCC or JSO within the National Office Network and moved its location's respective pay scale (any legacy arrangements/locations will need to be amended).
Some of MoJ's terms and conditions of service are changing as part of Civil Service reform. The changes will apply to staff joining MoJ who are new to the Civil Service. Staff joining MoJ from other civil service employers will transfer onto the new MoJ terms if they are already on 'modernised' terms in their current post or onto 'unmodernised' MoJ terms if they are on 'unmodernised' terms at their current post. Details will be available if an offer is made.
MoJ candidates who are on a specialist grade, will be able to retain their grade on lateral transfer.
All candidates who are currently in receipt of Mark Time / Pay Protection should ensure they are familiar with the new policy on permanent and temporary promotion which can be found on the employee intranet.
Flexible working hours
The Ministry of Justice offers a flexible working system in many offices. Standard full time working hours are 37 hours per week. MoJ welcomes part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns, where they meet the demands of the role and business needs. All applications for part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns will be considered in accordance with the MoJ's Flexible Working policy.
Benefits
The MoJ offers a range of benefits:
Annual Leave
Annual leave is 25 days on appointment and will increase to 30 days after five years' service.
There is also a scheme to allow qualifying staff to buy or sell up to three days leave each year. Additional paid time off for public holidays and 1 privilege day. Leave for part-time and job share posts will be calculated on a pro-rata basis.
Pension
The Civil Service offers a choice of pension schemes, giving you the flexibility to choose the pension that suits you best.
Training
The Ministry of Justice is committed to staff development and offers an extensive range of training and development opportunities.
Networks
The opportunity to join employee-run networks that have been established to provide advice and support and to enable the views of employees from minority groups to be expressed direct to senior management. There are currently networks for employees of minority ethnic origin, employees with disabilities, employees with caring responsibilities, women employees, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees.
Eligibility
Staff on fixed term appointments must have been recruited through fair and open competition.
Vacancies advertised "cross-government" are only open to all Civil Service employees and employees of accredited non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) who were appointed on merit following a fair and open competition; or were appointed to a permanent post through an exception in the Civil Service Commissioners' rules.
Support

• A range of 'Family Friendly' policies such as opportunities to work reduced hours or job share.
• Access to flexible benefits such as voluntary benefits, retail vouchers and discounts on a range of goods and services.
• For moves to or from another employer or moves across the Civil Service this can have implications on your eligibility to carry on claiming childcare vouchers. You may however be eligible for alternative government childcare support schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. More information can be found on www.

or . You can determine your eligibility at . * Paid paternity, adoption and maternity leave.

• Free annual sight tests for employees who use computer screens.

Working for the Civil Service
The 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 . Should you feel that the recruitment process has breached the recruitment principles you are able to raise a formal complaint in the following order

• To Transformative Business Services (0345 241 5359 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail

); * To Ministry of Justice Resourcing team (
); * To the Civil Service Commission (details available
)
As a Disability Confident employer, MoJ are committed to providing everyone with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, talent and abilities, by making adjustments throughout all elements of the recruitment process and in the workplace. MoJ are able to offer an interview to disabled candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns.
You will be able to request reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process within the application form. If you need additional help completing the application form, please contact the TBS Recruitment Enquiries Team.
For more information on applying for a role as a candidate with a disability or long-term condition, please watch our .
Diversity & Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the and the .
Redeployment Interview Scheme
Civil Service departments are expected to explore redeployment opportunities before making an individual redundant. The MoJ is committed, as part of the Redeployment Interview Scheme, to providing opportunities to those who are 'at risk of redundancy'.
MoJ is able to offer an interview to eligible candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns. Candidates will not be eligible for the Redeployment Interview Scheme if they are applying on promotion.
Civil Service Nationality Rules
This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• 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

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)
Reserve list
A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made for the same or similar roles.

Skills Required