Head of Victims, Vulnerabilities and Criminal Law Economics - Civil, Family and Tribunals Policy DirectorateMinistry of Justice
21639
Descriptions & requirements
Job description
Head of Victims, Vulnerabilities and Criminal Law Economics
Grade 7
Civil, Family and Tribunals Policy Directorate
The Victims, Vulnerability and Criminal Law Analysis Unit within the Ministry of Justice is recruiting permanently for Grade 7 Head of Victims, Vulnerabilities and Criminal Law Economics.
Location:
Successful candidates will have the option to be based at one of the following locations:
102 Petty France, London
5 Wellington Place, Leeds
or your nearest Justice Collaboration Centre or Justice Satellite Office (with flexible working arrangements available). Occasional travel between work locations may be required. We offer a hybrid working model, allowing for a balance between remote work and time spent in your base location.
Ways of Working
At the MoJ we believe and promote alternative ways of working, these roles are available as:
Full-time, part-time or the option to job share
Flexible working patterns
If we receive applications from more suitable candidates than we have vacancies for at this time, we may hold suitable applicants on a reserve list for 12 months, and future vacancies requiring the same skills and experience could be offered to candidates on the reserve list without a new competition.
We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce and pride ourselves as being an employer of choice. To find out more about how we champion diversity and inclusion in the workplace, visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity
Salary
Existing Civil Servants will have their salary calculated in accordance with the Department’s pay on transfer / pay on promotion rules.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ)
MoJ is the largest government department, employing over 90,000 people with a budget of approximately £10 billion. Each year, millions of people use our services across the UK - including at 500 courts and tribunals, and 133 prisons in England and Wales.
Further information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice
The Work of Victims, Vulnerability and Criminal Law Analysis Unit
VVCL Analysis is a multi-disciplinary team of social researchers, economists, operational researchers and statisticians. As part of the analytical restructure, the team is embedded in Civil, Family, Tribunals and Administrative Justice Directorate (CFTAJ) in the Ministry of Justice.
We lead the Department’s analysis on everything related to victims and vulnerability, as well as work related to crime, the criminal law and criminal courts. It is an extremely interesting, fast pace and valuable area to work in, with many of our key workstreams being Departmental and/or Ministerial priorities and of key public interest, such as Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), reform of the criminal courts (response to the Leveson Review) and support services for victims of crime.
We work with colleagues across policy, analysis, data and other government departments including the Home Office and CPS to deliver impactful analysis to decision-makers.
Head of Victims, Vulnerabilities and Criminal Law Economics - the role
The Economics team within Victims, Vulnerabilities and Criminal Law Analysis (VVCLA) provides high quality and insightful economic analysis to a wide range of policy teams across the Criminal Courts & Victims Policy Directorate.
This is a great opportunity to lead economic analysis across a broad, high profile and impactful policy area. You will work with multiple stakeholders covering criminal law, courts and victims’ policy.
We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced G7 Economist to lead the development and delivery of evidence-based policymaking across criminal law, courts and victims’ policy directorate.
You will lead economic analysis, including appraisal for impact assessments and business cases. This is a varied role and interesting role, often requiring the team to work at pace.
Key responsibilities include:
Own the evidence base and strategy for how we monetise the benefits and costs of the VVCL agenda, identifying appraisal evidence gaps and taking strategic action to address these
Leading a team of economists (1 SEO and 1 HEO), balancing priorities, being flexible to adapting needs, and delivering key priority analysis at pace when needed, while addressing long term evidence gaps
Leading the development and maintenance of cost models to inform policy development, spending decisions, and business cases
Producing high-quality economic impact assessments for legislation and public consultations
Providing economic advice to policy teams on the costs, benefits, and trade-offs of different policy options
Providing economic expertise on funding and commissioning decisions through economic modelling and analysis
Leading monitoring, evaluation, and post-implementation reviews, including value-for-money assessments
Collaborating with policy, analytical, and finance colleagues to embed economic thinking across programmes
Presenting complex economic analysis clearly to non-specialist audiences, including senior stakeholders
Being a key member of the VVCLA SMT, putting forward ideas for improving the team and suggesting areas where we should develop economics best practice
Skills and Experience
Essential:
GES membership and substantial experience as a professional economist
Excellent knowledge and application of HMT’s Green Book and economic appraisal, cost modelling and impact assessments techniques
Strong understanding of economic principles and their application to policymaking in the MoJ
Must have experience of delivery of high-quality economic analysis projects
Evidence of improving processes and procedures within analytical contexts
Experience of strong outcomes working with policy, operational or project stakeholders
Strong collaboration skills and stakeholder management skills
Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to and experience of explaining technical/complex concepts to non-technical audiences
The ability to interpret and analyse data to inform decision-making
Experience collaborating across teams and disciplines
Desirable:
Line management/team leadership experience
Familiarity with evaluation methods and value-for-money frameworks
Experience of leading business cases or contributing to spending reviews
Candidates applying from HMPPS should note that the Ministry of Justice does not have the same conditions of employment as HMPPS. It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure they are aware of the terms and conditions they will adopt should they be successful.
The MoJ is proud to be Level 3 Disability Confident. Disability Confident is the approach through which we offer guaranteed interviews for all people with disabilities meeting the minimum criteria for the advertised role as set out in the job description.
Application process
You will be assessed against the Civil service success profiles framework.
You must ensure that any evidence submitted as part of your application, including your work history, statement of suitability and behaviour examples, are truthful and factually accurate. Please note that plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own.
You will be asked to supply evidence of your GES membership at application stage, this can consist of confirmation of passing the GES badging board or an email from your current line manager confirming your GES badged status. Applicants who do not provide this will be rejected.
Experience
You will be asked to provide your work history during the application process in order to assess any demonstrable experience, career history and achievements that are relevant to the role.
You will also be asked to upload a Statement of Suitability of no more than 750 words stating what you would bring to the role, with reference to the Skills and Experience listed above.
Candidates invited to Interview
You will be assessed against the following behaviours and technical competencies at the interview stage where you will be asked to provide examples of how you have demonstrated them.
Behaviours:
Leadership
Communicating & Influencing
Delivering at Pace
Technical Skills
Professional Competency (1) Knowledge & Skills
o GES: Application of Knowledge
Professional Competency (2) Influence & Impact
o GES: Analysis of Data
You will be required to give a presentation at interview. Details of this will be sent to those candidates who are invited for interview.
Please note that interviews will be carried out remotely and expected to take place September/October 2026.
Contact information
Please do get in touch if you would like to know more about the role or what it is like working in our team. Dr Sarah Barnes – [email protected]