Head of the Ministerial Priorities and Delivery Unit

This position is based at 102 Petty France (MOJ) London, SW1H 9AJ

The Role

This role is one of the most senior in Private Office, offering a unique opportunity to work at the centre of ministerial decision-making and support one of government’s biggest and most complex departments.

Key Responsibilities

The postholder will lead a high performing team in a fast paced and challenging environment, responsible for supporting the Lord Chancellor to:

• Set priorities: leading a 12-month cycle of priority and delegation letters to Junior Ministers. These set out priorities for the Department and policy delegations for Junior Ministers.
• Track delivery: lead across the Department on a quarterly stocktake of the priorities set out in letters. This provides an update on progress and an early warning system for anything that is off track.
• Enhance delivery: overseeing a Delivery Unit function that works directly with policy and operational teams on a small number of priority projects, where delivery is off track.
• Forward Plan: responsibility for a six-month forward look, which brings together all the known events and moments - legislative, parliamentary, policy, operational, statistical releases, internal and external publications. This is designed to reveal crunch points, potential risks and opportunities to articulate key messages.
• Articulate key messages: leading through others to ensure high-quality written briefing for parliamentary-appearances, reflecting key messages and priorities. The postholder will also oversee Ministerial correspondence, as part of this.

Additional Responsibilities

Leadership: this role provides leadership to two Grade 6s, two Grade 7s and the wider Ministerial Correspondence Support Team.

Essential Experience:

• A track record of leadership in high profile roles.
• A clear understanding of both political and departmental priorities.
• Confidence in engaging with senior officials, Ministers and external stakeholders.
• A track record of success in service delivery.
• Clear written and verbal communication.
• The ability to thrive and lead in a fast-paced environment.

Desirable Experience:

• Prior exposure to ministerial or senior official support roles
• Understanding of parliamentary processes
• Understanding of ministerial correspondence

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)

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

For full details of the Selection Process and Recruitment Timeline, please view the Candidate Information pack.

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