23438 - Policy Advisor, Victim and Witness Commissioning and Implementation Unit (up to 4 roles)

The Ministry of Justice is seeking to fill up to four Policy Advisor roles within the Victim and Witness Commissioning and Implementation Unit, part of the Criminal Courts and Victims Directorate. These are permanent postings designed for current civil servants on level transfer or promotion who want to work on victim-focused policy and delivery projects. Successful candidates will choose between two base locations, with hybrid working that blends time in the office with remote working. The roles sit in a team dedicated to funding and commissioning high-quality victim and witness support, using evidence to drive policy decisions and improve outcomes for those affected by crime. If you’re drawn to cross-government collaboration and hands-on delivery alongside policy, you’ll likely feel right at home.

The unit sits at the heart of MoJ’s policy agenda, delivering multi‑agency reform to strengthen support for victims and witnesses. VWCI leads on commissioning and funding, using data to demonstrate impact and to shape standards and capability across the system. The work blends delivery, policy and strategy, offering a real view of how funding translates into real-world services and better justice outcomes. It’s a friendly, supportive environment with experts in grants, contracts, policy and delivery who bring experience from frontline organisations.

What you’ll do day to day in the VWCI

Expect to work on a mix of policy and delivery projects focused on funding and commissioning, supporting key strategic initiatives that aim to improve victim services. You’ll provide clear, high‑quality briefing for Ministers and senior officials on victims policy and funding, and you’ll cultivate productive relationships with policy colleagues across MoJ and other departments, such as the Home Office. You’ll also work with external stakeholders, including grant recipients, to ensure strong coordination and alignment with wider priorities. A core part of the role is working with finance, commercial, legal and the Grants Centre of Expertise to keep work compliant and connected to the broader commissioning cycle, while gathering both qualitative and quantitative evidence to inform decisions.

As part of the team, you’ll lead on contract and grant evaluation, acting as a main point of contact for external partners and for internal updates. You’ll manage grants as a primary contact, lead on grant management activities, and provide governance support, including secretariat duties for key meetings and keeping forward-looking plans aligned with stakeholders. You’ll be involved in the implementation of new contracts for high‑profile services, and you’ll oversee a portfolio of around 25 grants, including site visits, risk management and issue resolution. Across the team, there is a balance of policy, strategy and delivery tasks, with some roles leaning more towards policy and strategy and others towards delivery and contract management. You will have an opportunity to express a preference at interview, with final placement determined by business need and assessed strengths.

Must‑have requirements and nice‑to‑haves

To be considered, you should bring a clear ability to shape work direction, collaborate effectively, and communicate complex issues with diverse audiences. The role demands comfort with data-driven decisions, strong project management, and a track record of handling multiple work strands while maintaining high standards. You’ll need to demonstrate your capacity to manage stakeholder relationships and represent the department externally, with a focus on improving outcomes for vulnerable people.

• Essential: you can steer work decisively and work well with teammates and external partners
• Essential: you are passionate about improving outcomes for vulnerable individuals
• Essential: you communicate clearly in writing and are able to break down complex topics for varied audiences
• Essential: you perform well in a fast-paced setting, prioritising effectively to deliver quality work
• Essential: you use data and evidence to inform policy or commissioning decisions
• Essential: you have solid project management skills
• Essential: you’re well organised and comfortable working across several strands
• Essential: you can manage stakeholder relationships, including external representation

• Desirable: previous policy experience
• Desirable: worked on victims‑focused issues
• Desirable: familiarity with the commissioning cycle, such as grant administration or contract management
• Desirable: experience handling budgets or finance
• Desirable: understanding of how grant management works

Pay, benefits and practical details

Salary is based on location: the national range is £35,335–£37,847, while the London range is £40,014–£42,859. Your exact salary depends on your base location. The roles are permanent and sit at Civil Service Grade HEO. The vacancy is for four posts, with eligibility limited to current civil servants or employees of accredited NDPBs who meet the merit and competition rules.

Location options include 102 Petty France in London or 5 Wellington Place in Leeds, with occasional travel between the two sites. MoJ offers a hybrid working model, allowing for a balance between remote work and time in the base office, and you should expect to spend a minimum of 60% of working time in an office, subject to local capacity. The MoJ supports flexible working patterns, including full-time, part-time and the option to job share, aligned with business needs.

In addition to salary, MoJ provides a range of benefits, including annual leave that starts at 25 days and rises to 30 days after five years, with pro‑ration for part‑time roles. The Civil Service offers a choice of pension schemes, and the department is committed to staff development with extensive training opportunities. The MoJ is recognised as a Disability Confident employer and supports reasonable adjustments in recruitment and the workplace. All candidates will be considered under Civil Service nationality rules and the post requires BPSS security checks. Interviews are expected to take place in November 2026, with remote interviewing arranged for eligible candidates.

For nationally advertised roles, the successful candidate will be placed at the nearest viable office to their home postcode and moved to the corresponding pay scale. If you are a current MoJ employee, your base location will be adjusted to the nearest suitable office and aligned to the appropriate pay scale.

Advice for applicants

When you summarise your experience, place recent roles that show you’ve delivered both policy and delivery work at the top. If you’ve managed a portfolio of grants or contracts, highlight the scope, numbers and outcomes, especially if you’ve worked on victim or justice-related projects. Tie your achievements to the essential skills, such as collaboration, data-led policy development and cross‑department engagement.

In your evidence, point to concrete examples where you shaped directions and influenced stakeholders. Use clear, outcome-focused language that demonstrates how you used data to inform a decision or to adapt a project timeline while keeping deliverables on track. If you’ve worked across multiple strands, describe how you stayed organised and maintained governance for those streams.

Prepare for interviews by thinking through concrete scenarios that show you made effective decisions, delivered at pace and worked well with others. Have a couple of ready examples in the WHO or STAR formats, illustrating how you led on a policy or delivery piece, what actions you took, and what results followed. Be ready to discuss how you would approach grant management or evaluation for victim services and what success would look like for the VWCI in the first six to twelve months.

Finally, consider a thoughtful question to ask at interview about the unit’s approach to measuring impact: for example, how VWCI uses data to demonstrate outcomes and influence policy, or how this role shapes the commissioning cycle across stakeholders and partners.

How to apply

If you’d like more details, you can contact the vacancy manager at [email protected]. When applying, you’ll be assessed under the Civil Service success profiles framework, and you’ll need to provide a CV and a statement of suitability with behaviour examples. The process emphasises the lead Behaviour: Making Effective Decisions, with interviews expected in November 2026 and conducted remotely. You must ensure that any evidence you submit is truthful and accurate, with plagiarism taken seriously. If you have questions about eligibility, the MoJ recruitment team can help at the contacts above, and you should quote the job reference 23438 on all correspondence.