20998 - Director of Technology Services
Ministry of JusticeJobsCloseBy Editorial Insights
The Director of Technology Services at the Ministry of Justice will oversee technology operations with a budget of over £300 million, unifying computing, networks, cloud, identity and access management, and security to support the department’s priorities. You will lead a performing team, drive modernisation, reduce technical debt, and strengthen cyber resilience while delivering savings through the Evolve programme. Essential skills include proven leadership of critical services, strategic supplier management, and experience in a government or regulated environment. When applying, provide a CV and Statement of Suitability with clear quantified examples against the criteria, using STAR methods and tailoring for senior stakeholders and ministerial engagement; be ready for the staff engagement exercise, panel interview and security clearance.
General Information
Descriptions & requirements
The Role
The Director of Technology Services will report to the Chief Digital and Information Officer. In this role, you will ensure that our technology supports the department’s strategic objectives, enhances security and resilience, drives operational efficiency, and enables a transformation that modernises the infrastructure underpinning the UK justice system, making it flexible, sustainable, and cost-effective.
As Director of Technology Services, your leadership will bring together a diverse community of technical experts to deliver secure, integrated, and user-focused services. You will foster a culture of innovation, security-by-design, and delivery excellence — ensuring technology not only meets compliance standards but drives meaningful outcomes across the organisation.
You’ll work closely with the Chief Technology Officer, Data Transformation Director, Chief Data Officer, Chief Product Officers and senior colleagues across MoJ and its agencies, as well as DSIT and other government departments, to shape cross-government strategies. As a senior leader, you’ll represent the Technology Services Directorate in ministerial briefings and key governance forums, ensuring technology remains central to decision-making and delivery.
You'll also partner with industry and academia to keep MoJ leading in innovation, research, and security.
Key Responsibilities
You’ll lead and inspire a high-performing team of technical specialists, creating a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement. By setting a clear vision aligned with MoJ’s digital strategy, you’ll empower your team to deliver secure, user-centred technology services that embrace emerging trends and challenge the status quo. As part of the senior leadership team, you’ll help shape strategic direction and foster a shared sense of purpose across Justice Digital, Data and Science.
You’ll lead the transformation of MoJ’s technology services by embracing flexible working trends, emerging technologies, and modern delivery methods. Alongside managing the BAU portfolio, you’ll drive major change through the Evolve programme - bringing End User Compute and Digital Infrastructure & Security Operations in-house to deliver cashable savings, strengthen security monitoring, and reduce technical debt.
You’ll manage a budget of over £300 million, ensuring investment delivers maximum value while driving cost savings and efficiencies. Where needed, you’ll secure additional funding by clearly demonstrating ROI and broader strategic benefits. Working closely with commercial colleagues, you’ll oversee supplier performance and risk and shape the future commercial strategy for infrastructure services through strong, forward-looking relationships with current and prospective partners.
You’ll need exceptional stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build consensus across competing priorities and navigate complex organisational landscapes. As a senior technology leader, you’ll provide expert input and strategic guidance to a wide range of stakeholders, including ministers, agency CEOs, and senior officials ensuring technology decisions are well-informed, aligned, and impactful.
Throughout the selection process, you should provide clear evidence and examples that demonstrate how you meet the essential and desirable criteria for the role.
Later in this pack, you will find details of which elements will be assessed at each stage of the process, helping you focus your application and prepare effectively.
Essential Criteria
Proven experience leading complex technology operations at enterprise scale, with accountability for mission critical end user services and infrastructure supporting large, geographically dispersed organisations.
Strong technical understanding of enterprise technology services, including end user computing, networking, cloud platforms, identity and access management, collaboration technologies and enterprise monitoring, with sufficient depth to provide effective technical leadership and challenge.
Experience leading large scale technology modernisation, reducing technical debt, improving cyber resilience and introducing automation and modern operating practices while maintaining stable live services.
Strong understanding of operational cyber security, including security operations, vulnerability management, incident response and secure by design principles, with experience managing technology risk in complex environments.
Significant experience managing strategic supplier relationships, complex commercial contracts, substantial operational budgets and large multidisciplinary technology teams.
Proven ability to build trusted relationships with senior executives and business leaders, influencing strategic decisions and leading organisational and cultural change.
Desirable Criteria
Experience operating technology services across geographically dispersed sites and critical national infrastructure.
Experience of product based or platform operating models within large enterprises.
Experience working in government, regulated or other highly secure environments, including engaging effectively with Ministers, senior officials, regulators or equivalent executive stakeholders.
Strengths
We are looking to understand what motivates and energises you. We want to see what your natural strengths are and what interests you. Strengths may be assessed at interview, but these are not shared in advance.
Assessment
Staff Engagement Exercise
The Staff Engagement Exercise (SEE) gives you the opportunity to lead a two-way discussion with a group of staff on a topic that will be shared with you in advance. An Occupational Psychologist will brief you beforehand, observe the discussion and facilitate feedback from participants. Their observations, together with participant feedback, will inform the panel’s overall assessment.
Panel Interview and Presentation
You will be invited to attend an in-person interview in London with the selection panel. As part of this, we may incorporate a scenario-based exercise. Further details will be given to shortlisted candidates in advance.
We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and a sense of belonging. To find out more about how we do this visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity.
Diversity & 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 and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.
Job Description Attachment
Application form stage assessments
Interview stage assessments
Other Assessments
Use of Artificial Intelligence (Al)
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.