Prisons Data Transformation Lead

Location: National*

Closing Date: 1st July 2026

Interviews: Week commencing 13^th July

Grade: MOJ grade 7

Salary**:
National: salary range: £58,511 – £65,329
London: salary range: £63,343 – £70,725
(MoJ candidates who are on a specialist grade, will be able to retain this grade on lateral transfer)

Working pattern: Full-time, Part-time, Flexible working

Contract Type: Permanent

Number of vacancies: 1

Vacancy number: 18952

*We offer a hybrid working model, allowing for a balance between remote work and time spent in your local office. Office locations can be found ON THIS MAP

Please note that unless you are an existing member of staff at Justice Digital, Data and Science, the only London location being recruited to is 10 South Colonnade, E14 4PU. We are no longer recruiting to 102 Petty France, SW1H 9AJ.

The Role

We’re recruiting for a Prisons Data Transformation Lead here at Justice Digital, Data and Science, to be part of our warm and collaborative Prisons Data Transformation team. The lead role would guide our efforts in enhancing data quality, data accessibility, and data utilisation across the MoJ. This role is pivotal in aligning our Digital products to meet the precise needs of data users while fostering a culture of data-driven decision-making.

You’ll receive a range of excellent benefits when you join our department, including:

• A generous employer pension contribution of 28.97% through the Civil Service Pension Scheme.
• 25 days of annual leave, (increasing to 30 days once you have reached 5 years of service), plus 8 bank holidays and a privilege day for the King’s birthday.
• Flexible working arrangements including hybrid working, working part time or compressed hours. Designed to support a positive work–life balance.
• Employees are allocated 10% of their working time for personal and professional development.
• A £1k per person learning budget is in place to support all our people, with access to best-in-class conferences and seminars, accreditation with professional bodies, fully funded vocational programmes and e-learning platforms.
• Compassionate maternity, adoption, and shared parental leave policies, with up to 26 weeks leave at full pay, 13 weeks with partial pay, and 13 weeks further leave. And maternity support/paternity leave at full pay for 2 weeks, too!

You can find more details of the Benefits we offer here. To help picture your life at MoJ Justice Digital, Data and Science please take a look at our blog.

Key Responsibilities:

• Leadership and Team Management: Lead a team to understand and manage data requirements for a range of products and services across the business – including via Digital, Data, Analysis, Policy, and HMPPS operations.

• Engagement and Communication: Engage with, and influence, senior partners across the MoJ and beyond to promote the value and use of data, using influence to ensure prioritisation, progress and delivery.

• Relationship Building: Establish strong relationships with colleagues in Digital, Data, Analysis, Policy, and HMPPS spheres to build and maintain a collaborative environment that prioritises delivering high quality outcomes whilst promoting and representing the needs of our users.

• Data Requirements Understanding: Collaborate with Analysis, Strategy, and Policy teams to understand their data requirements. Shape how Digital teams can address these needs through new digital services and enhancements to existing services, thereby filling key evidence gaps.

• Technical Collaboration: Work with technical partners in Data Science, Engineering, and Digital/IT teams to identify and deliver the right data solutions.

• Focus on HMPPS: Support initiatives aimed at improving HMPPS data, with opportunities to contribute to broader business engagement as required.

• Focus on OMU Transformation: Prioritise efforts to drive OMU (Offender Management Unit) transformation, ensuring data practices and solutions are aligned with evolving operational needs and contribute to enhanced outcomes for OMU stakeholders.

If this feels like an exciting challenge, something you are enthusiastic about, and want to join our team please read on and apply!

Person Specification

Essential

• Inclusive Leadership: Demonstrate inclusive and emotionally intelligent leadership through which you have developed a highly functional and collaborative team.

• Resilience and Prioritisation: Show high resilience and the ability to prioritise efforts to deliver maximum impact, maintaining enthusiasm and momentum in shifting or uncertain landscapes. Give equal focus to both short-term and long-term priorities, pivoting in response to external impacts.

• Stakeholder Engagement: Engage credibly with analytical, technical, operational, and policy teams, consequently aligning needs and services for all data users. Have the ability to influence senior leaders effectively.

• Data Improvement Recognition: Acknowledge the value of data and identify data improvement opportunities to transform outcomes for downstream data users.

• Experience with Multidisciplinary Teams: Demonstrate experience in working with multidisciplinary teams, particularly in translating between technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Willingness to be assessed against the requirements for BPSS clearance

We welcome the unique contribution diverse applicants bring and do not discriminate based on culture, ethnicity, race, nationality or national origin, age, sex, gender identity or expression, religion or belief, disability status, sexual orientation, educational or social background or any other factor.

Our values are Purpose, Humanity Openness and Together. Find out more here about how we celebrate diversity and an inclusive culture in our workplace.

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 and the Civil Service D&I Strategy.

Salary Information**

Base salary for this role is from £58,511–£65,329 (National), £63,343 – £70,725 (London)

• New entrants to the Civil Service joining the MoJ are expected to start at the minimum of the pay band.
• Existing Civil Servants moving on a level transfer will retain their current base salary or move to the minimum of the pay band for the role, whichever is higher.
• Existing Civil Servants who are promoted will either move to the bottom of the new grade’s pay band or receive a 10% uplift, whichever provides the greater increase.

How to Apply

In Justice Digital, Data and Science, we recruit using a combination of the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability and Success Profiles Frameworks. We shall assess a combination of your Experience, Technical skills and Behaviours during the assessment process.

Stage 1 - Application and sift:

To apply for this position, you must submit the following as part of your application

• an anonymised CV, maximum 2 pages at font size 12, including career history, responsibilities, and achievements (including any relevant qualifications)
• a Personal Statement (no more than 1000 words) which should outline your experience and skills, giving clear examples of work undertaken. It should specifically address the following sift criteria listed below.

- Inclusive Leadership: Demonstrate inclusive and emotionally intelligent leadership through which you have developed a highly functional and collaborative team

- Resilience and Prioritisation: Show high resilience and the ability to prioritise efforts to deliver maximum impact, maintaining enthusiasm and momentum in shifting or uncertain landscapes. Give equal focus to both short-term and long-term priorities, pivoting in response to external impacts

- Stakeholder Engagement: Engage credibly with analytical, technical, operational, and policy teams, consequently aligning needs and services for all data users. Have the ability to influence senior leaders effectively.

- Data Improvement Recognition: Acknowledge the value of data and identify data improvement opportunities to transform outcomes for downstream data users.

- Experience with Multidisciplinary Teams: Demonstrate experience in working with multidisciplinary teams, particularly in translating between technical and non-technical stakeholders.

A diverse sift panel will review the information in your CV and Personal Statement to assess the sift criteria specified above. We operate an anonymous shortlisting process. Please ensure your CV and Personal Statement do not include your name or any other identifying details.

Should we receive a high volume of applications, a pre-sift based on Stakeholder Engagement: Engage credibly with analytical, technical, operational, and policy teams, consequently aligning needs and services for all data users. Have the ability to influence senior leaders effectively.

Please access the following link for guidance on how to apply - Application Guidance

Stage 2 - Interviews:

Successful candidates who meet the required standard will then be invited to a 1-hour panel interview held via Microsoft Teams. At interview stage, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements - Experience, Technical and the following Behaviours:

• Seeing the Big Picture

• Communicating and Influencing

• Leadership

As part of your interview, you will be asked to deliver a 5-minute presentation. Details of the presentation will be sent across prior to interview.

Appointments are made strictly in merit order. If two or more candidates receive identical interview scores, Leadership will be applied as the primary lead behaviour criterion to determine the final merit order.

Should you be unsuccessful in the role that you have applied for but demonstrate the capability for a role at a lower level, we reserve the right to discuss this opportunity with you and offer you the position without needing a further application.

A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months, from which further appointments may be made.

Use of 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 for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Terms & Conditions

Please review our Terms and Conditions which set out how we recruit and provide further information related to the role and salary arrangements.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact digitalanddatarecruitment@justice.gov.uk