19413 - Organisation Design Officer - Legal Aid Agency

Job Title & Grade: Organisation Design Officer, SEO

Contract Type: Detached Duty / Loan – 24 months

Salary range (depending on location): 

National - £42,914 - £46,182

London - £49,325 - £53,081

Please note that unless you are currently employed by the Civil Service and are earning more than the minimum above, if successful you will be offered the minimum for the grade depending on your location.

Location: National (any LAA office)

Please note that whilst this role is open to all Civil Service staff, you can only apply for London, Cambridge and Brighton offices if you are a current LAA staff member based in those offices. This is due to and in line with the LAA's Location Strategy and the Cabinet Office's Places for Growth Strategy.

Minimum Working Pattern:

If you are applying for a part time role, please note that to meet business demands we need cover for a minimum of 30 hours per week.

The Legal Aid Agency

We are an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). We are responsible for operationally administering the legal aid fund to provide criminal and civil legal aid advice to people in England and Wales. 

Our people are at the heart of achieving excellence. Employing around 1,200 colleagues across England and Wales, we feel proud to have some of the best People Survey results in the Civil Service. 

Corporate Services

The Corporate Services directorate works across the LAA to help shape and enable the priorities of the Chief Executive and Executive Leadership Team, providing support on areas such as strategy, data analysis, risk, assurance, communications, people and capability to all other parts of the LAA. 

People and Capability

The People & Capability Team oversee the implementation and delivery of the LAAs People Strategy, the annual People Survey and delivery of actions within the People Plan, the LAA’s learning and development offer, capability, talent, management support, recruitment, diversity and inclusion.

The People and Capability Team play a key role in helping us to deliver our People Strategy objective to become an inclusive and diverse employer of choice.

Job Summary

Join us to shape how the Legal Aid Agency transforms its workforce. As an Organisation Design Officer, you will play a key role in helping the LAA design effective structures, build capability, and ensure our workforce is aligned to deliver legal aid services across England and Wales. You will work with senior leaders to analyse workforce challenges, design solutions, and support major organisational change. This includes redesigning structures, processes and governance arrangements to ensure they are aligned with our strategic objectives and enable high quality service delivery.

Using your experience in organisational design and development (the process of aligning an organisation's structure, processes, and roles with its goals to improve efficiency and performance), behaviour change and continuous improvement, you will advise and coach project teams to modernise ways of working, streamline end to end processes and embed sustainable change that makes work simpler, faster and better for our people and those we serve.

The role will help ensure the LAA’s organisational structures, capability and workforce planning support delivery of strategic priorities, enabling us to provide high-quality legal aid services to those who need them most. 

This is a fixed-term opportunity for 2 years requiring the ability to manage multiple stakeholders, quickly understand the operating environment, and navigate the challenges of a whole system transformation effort across legal aid.

This role offers the opportunity to develop expertise in organisational design, workforce planning and organisational change, while working closely with senior leaders across the Legal Aid Agency.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and deliver organisational design activity, working with stakeholders to diagnose issues, define requirements and deliver high quality design interventions that support LAA and MoJ priorities.
• Provide organisational design support to legal aid change and transformation programmes, including restructuring teams, redesigning governance, and improving end‑to‑end processes to enable effective future operating models.
• Support the development of high level and detailed operating model designs, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives, workforce plans and service delivery needs.
• Support ongoing, iterative change towards the target operating model, monitoring progress, and identifying risks or barriers
• Apply analytical capability to organisational challenges, generating insight from data, evidence and best practice, and translating this into clear options and actionable recommendations.
• Coach and advise leaders and project teams, bringing expertise in organisational development, behaviour change and continuous improvement to build their capability and support effective decision making.
• Other work as required to support business effectiveness

Essential Knowledge, Experience and skills

• Experience of all stages of the organisation design process (Including organisation capabilities, designing future ‘to be’ design options, scenario testing, detailed design options).
• Experience analysing organisational or workforce information to identify improvement opportunities.
• Ability to work with senior stakeholders and influence decision making.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Experience supporting organisational change, workforce planning or service improvement activity.
• Ability to communicate complex information clearly to a range of audiences.

Desirable Knowledge, Experience and skills

• Organisation Design qualification, change management qualification, significant commitment to personal and professional development.

Person Specification 

• You’ll work well with people and be able to maintain positive relationships whilst ensuring objectives are met.
• You’ll enjoy working in both a pro-active and re-active way, to be able to reprioritise effectively.
• You’ll have strong analytical and project management skills.
• You’ll have effective facilitation and communication skills.
• You’ll be fluent in PowerPoint and Excel.

Assessment Approach

Application Process 

To apply please submit a CV and statement of suitability showing how you meet the essential criteria in no more than 1250 words.

Your statement should demonstrate your ability to do all the essential criteria listed, using examples can help strengthen your application.

If you meet most of the criteria but not every requirement, we would still encourage you to apply.

Please note that we only require a CV & Statement of Suitability for your application. The wording on this advert may suggest that an Experience question is also required, however this is not necessary.

Interview / assessment Process

If you are successful through the application stage, you will be invited to an interview / assessment centre in person or via Microsoft Teams where you will be assessed against the following: 

Strengths relevant to the role

The following Behaviours: 

• Changing & Improving
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Leadership
• Communicating & Influencing

Your Experience of implementing, promoting, or understanding diversity and inclusion policy - Diversity is the presence of difference, this can include one or more of the protected characteristics (Gender, Age, Race, Disability etc.) or it can be about working patterns, whether we like to jump into a task or reflect on it before acting. Inclusion is how we welcome, value, and celebrate diversity, giving everyone a voice, tapping into ideas, and enabling everyone to be themselves at work and achieve their potential.

For this grade/ role we would expect the candidate to demonstrate understanding of the terms Diversity and Inclusion and be able to explain why they are important in a work environment. We would also expect examples of action they have taken to embrace diversity (e.g., increasing understanding for self or others) or improve inclusion at a team or wider group level. 

There will be a short presentation assessed against your experience of all stages of the organisation design process (including organisation capabilities, designing future ‘to be’ design options, scenario testing, detailed design options). Full details will be provided to you within your Microsoft Teams interview invite.

Shortlisting is planned for week commencing 13th July 2026

Interviews are planned for week commencing 27th July 2026

If you would like more information on this opportunity, please contact – Paula Mulroy at paula.mulroy@justice.gov.uk

Our LAA commitment to Diversity and 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.

As a Disability Confident organisation, we will offer a guaranteed interview to candidates with a disability who meet the essential criteria for this role. Under the Equality Act 2010 a disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities which has lasted, or is expected to last, at least 12 months. 

If you are responding to a role within the Legal Aid Agency and would like to be considered under the guaranteed interview, please indicate this in your application and let us know of any reasonable adjustments you may require during the sift or later selection processes.

The LAA’s goal is to build an organisation that is open and inclusive and truly values and celebrates the diversity of its workforce. One that reflects and understands the needs of the diverse society we serve. This is regardless of social background, gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, beliefs, disabilities or long-term illness or caring responsibilities.

Reasonable Adjustments

We are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible to all. If you have a disability or long-term condition (for example dyslexia, anxiety, autism, a mobility condition or hearing loss) and need us to make any reasonable adjustments to support you through the recruitment process, please let us know by adding the information to the applications system or emailing LAARecruitment@justice.gov.uk after you have applied so that we can discuss options with you

Complaints procedure

If you have any complaints about this recruitment activity, please share your concerns by emailing LAARecruitment@justice.gov.uk initially. We aim to respond to any complaint within 10 working days.

Working Arrangements & Further Information

The MoJ offers Hybrid Working arrangements where business need allows. This is an informal, non-contractual form of flexible working that blends working from your base location, different MoJ sites and / or from home (please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas). All employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in an office, subject to local estate capacity.

Some roles will not be suitable for Hybrid Working. Similarly, Hybrid Working will not suit everyone’s circumstances. Arrangements will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate(s) and subject to regular review.

For nationally advertised roles: All successful candidates will be appointed to the nearest viable office nearest to their home postcode and on its respective pay scale.  This will be at either a HQ building (subject to desk allocation, a Justice Collaboration Centre (JCC) or a Justice Satellite Office (JSO) – See Map. All employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in an office, subject to local estate capacity). 

For current MoJ employees, your base location will need to be changed to the nearest viable office (to your home postcode), either at a HQ building, JCC or JSO within the National Office Network and moved its location’s respective pay scale (any legacy arrangements/locations will need to be amended).

Some of MoJ’s terms and conditions of service are changing as part of Civil Service reform. The changes will apply to staff joining MoJ who are new to the Civil Service. Staff joining MoJ from other civil service employers will transfer onto the new MoJ terms if they are already on 'modernised' terms in their current post or onto 'unmodernised' MoJ terms if they are on 'unmodernised' terms at their current post. Details will be available if an offer is made.

MoJ candidates who are on a specialist grade, will be able to retain their grade on lateral transfer.

All candidates who are currently in receipt of Mark Time / Pay Protection should ensure they are familiar with the new policy on permanent and temporary promotion which can be found on the employee intranet.

Flexible working hours 

The Ministry of Justice offers a flexible working system in many offices. Standard full time working hours are 37 hours per week. MoJ welcomes part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns, where they meet the demands of the role and business needs. All applications for part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns will be considered in accordance with the MoJ’s Flexible Working policy.

Benefits 

The MoJ offers a range of benefits:

Annual Leave

Annual leave is 25 days on appointment and will increase to 30 days after five years’ service.

There is also a scheme to allow qualifying staff to buy or sell up to three days leave each year. Additional paid time off for public holidays and 1 privilege day. Leave for part-time and job share posts will be calculated on a pro-rata basis.

Pension 

The Civil Service offers a choice of pension schemes, giving you the flexibility to choose the pension that suits you best.

Training 

The Ministry of Justice is committed to staff development and offers an extensive range of training and development opportunities.

Networks 

The opportunity to join employee-run networks that have been established to provide advice and support and to enable the views of employees from minority groups to be expressed direct to senior management. There are currently networks for employees of minority ethnic origin, employees with disabilities, employees with caring responsibilities, women employees, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees.

Eligibility

Staff on fixed term appointments must have been recruited through fair and open competition.

Vacancies advertised “cross-government” are only open to all Civil Service employees and employees of accredited non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) who were appointed on merit following a fair and open competition; or were appointed to a permanent post through an exception in the Civil Service Commissioners' rules.

Support

• A range of ‘Family Friendly’ policies such as opportunities to work reduced hours or job share.
• Access to flexible benefits such as voluntary benefits, retail vouchers and discounts on a range of goods and services.
• For moves to or from another employer or moves across the Civil Service this can have implications on your eligibility to carry on claiming childcare vouchers. You may however be eligible for alternative government childcare support schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. More information can be found on www.www.GOV.UK or Childcare Choices. You can determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.
• Paid paternity, adoption and maternity leave.
• Free annual sight tests for employees who use computer screens.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles. Should you feel that the recruitment process has breached the recruitment principles you are able to raise a formal complaint in the following order

• To Transformative Business Services (0345 241 5359 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk);
• To Ministry of Justice Resourcing team (resourcing-management-office@justice.gov.uk);
• To the Civil Service Commission (details available here)

As a Disability Confident employer, MoJ are committed to providing everyone with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, talent and abilities, by making adjustments throughout all elements of the recruitment process and in the workplace. MoJ are able to offer an interview to disabled candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns.

You will be able to request reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process within the application form. If you need additional help completing the application form, please contact the TBS Recruitment Enquiries Team.

For more information on applying for a role as a candidate with a disability or long-term condition, please watch our animated videos.

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.

Redeployment Interview Scheme

Civil Service departments are expected to explore redeployment opportunities before making an individual redundant. The MoJ is committed, as part of the Redeployment Interview Scheme, to providing opportunities to those who are 'at risk of redundancy'.

MoJ is able to offer an interview to eligible candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns. Candidates will not be eligible for the Redeployment Interview Scheme if they are applying on promotion.

Civil Service Nationality Rules

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) https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families
• 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) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules

Reserve list

A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made for the same or similar roles.