Ministry of Justice UK
East Midlands (England), East of England, London (region), North East England, North West England, South East England, South West England, West Midlands (England), Yorkshire and the Humber
Job Summary
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is responsible for all aspects of justice. We are a purpose-led organisation focused on increasing confidence in the Criminal Justice System as part of the Safer Streets mission, rebuilding and reforming the justice system so it can protect the public, rehabilitate offenders in the long term, and delivering swift access to justice.
We are the largest department across Government, with over 95,000 people working on a wide range of operational, policy, and major programme delivery challenges. Ensuring that we are attracting and retaining talent, giving our people the skills and training they need to thrive in a dynamic and often challenging environment, and looking ahead to the needs of our future workforce is at the centre of this role.
We are looking for a Director General who can provide compelling professional leadership to a team of over 1,000 staff, contribute to the department’s wider executive team and, with peers across government, help deliver the government’s ambition for transforming the civil service in support of a productive and agile state.
For more information, please see the attached candidate pack.
Job Description
The Director General, People and Capability will lead MoJ’s People Function and have overall responsibility for a team of 1400, with six direct reports (SCS2) and will act as a full member of the MoJ’s Executive Committee and People Function Executive Committee.
The postholder will hold direct accountability for MoJ’s people transformation (including organisational design, business architecture and HR system transformation), and will be the MoJ Senior Responsible Officer for the Synergy Programme, which is a major change project delivering a transformed shared service model for the MoJ and three other major departments.
The Director General, People and Capability operates in a complex, high-profile organisational landscape with multiple different agendas to work through and is required to make day-to-day decisions on sensitive and impactful issues at pace.
The Director General, People and Capability is accountable for People Function’s budget of c. £216m (including £79m for shared services).
As Director General, People and Capability, you will be responsible for leading Ministry of Justice’s People Function and acting as Head of Profession for Human Resources within the Ministry of Justice. You will be a key member of MoJ’s Executive Committee as ExCo champion for professional behaviours and standards, and wellbeing. Additionally, you will be a leader within Government People Group (GPG), working as part of the GPG wider executive committee to work with departments, professions and functions to build a skilled, modern and effective Civil Service. As a senior leader in government, you will work within the Ministry of Justice and with colleagues in other government departments to realise the government’s ambitions to create a productive and agile civil service.
You will act as the most senior people advisor to the Permanent Secretary and will be responsible for creating a culture through which those in MoJ’s People Function can be trusted and are influential advisors to the businesses and their leaders.
For more information, please see the attached candidate pack.
The Director General, People and Capability will lead MoJ’s People Function and have overall responsibility for a team of 1400, with six direct reports (SCS2) and will act as a full member of the MoJ’s Executive Committee and People Function Executive Committee.
The postholder will hold direct accountability for MoJ’s people transformation (including organisational design, business architecture and HR system transformation), and will be the MoJ Senior Responsible Officer for the Synergy Programme, which is a major change project delivering a transformed shared service model for the MoJ and three other major departments.
The Director General, People and Capability operates in a complex, high-profile organisational landscape with multiple different agendas to work through and is required to make day-to-day decisions on sensitive and impactful issues at pace.
The Director General, People and Capability is accountable for People Function’s budget of c. £216m (including £79m for shared services).
As Director General, People and Capability, you will be responsible for leading Ministry of Justice’s People Function and acting as Head of Profession for Human Resources within the Ministry of Justice. You will be a key member of MoJ’s Executive Committee as ExCo champion for professional behaviours and standards, and wellbeing. Additionally, you will be a leader within Government People Group (GPG), working as part of the GPG wider executive committee to work with departments, professions and functions to build a skilled, modern and effective Civil Service. As a senior leader in government, you will work within the Ministry of Justice and with colleagues in other government departments to realise the government’s ambitions to create a productive and agile civil service.
You will act as the most senior people advisor to the Permanent Secretary and will be responsible for creating a culture through which those in MoJ’s People Function can be trusted and are influential advisors to the businesses and their leaders.
For more information, please see the attached candidate pack.
Person specification
For more information, please see the attached candidate pack.
Alongside your salary of £128,000, Ministry of Justice contributes £37,081 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
• 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%
Selection process details
To apply, please complete the online application process accessed via the advertisement listed for this role on CS Jobs. If you are unable to apply online please submit your application to craig.nannestad@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Either way, please send the following information by no later than 23:55 on 11 May, 2025.
• Your CV with no more than two A4 sized pages with educational and professional qualifications and full employment history, including an explanation of any gaps in your employment history, and details where possible of budgets and numbers of people
• A short covering statement of no more than two A4 sized pages (1000 words) explaining why this appointment interests you and how you can evidence your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the criteria in the ‘relevant experience’ section on page 5.
• A diversity monitoring form. All applicants are invited to complete this information to assist the Civil Service with monitoring its recruitment process. All data is reported in an anonymous and aggregate format and will not be seen by anyone assessing your application.
• A declaration of interest form.
Further details of the selection process can be found in the attached candidate pack.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
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.
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.
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 the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).
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 : Craig Nannestad
• Email : craig.nannestad@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Recruitment team
• Email : craig.nannestad@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
To apply for this job please visit uk.linkedin.com.