We’re recruiting for an Innovation Strategist here at Justice Digital, Data and Science to be part of our warm and collaborative MOJ Science Office team.

The purpose of the role is to embed futures thinking as a core, practical capability across the department: ensuring long-term insight directly informs risk and resilience planning, annual strategic cycles, innovation initiatives, and investment decisions.

This role exists to translate foresight into action: making sure futures work isn’t abstract or siloed, but integrated into how the organisation plans, prepares and makes decisions today. The Innovation Strategist (Foresight) will help shift the culture from reactive to anticipatory by aligning scenario thinking, trend analysis and systems insight with the rhythms of government, from strategy development to the Spending Review.

As Innovation Strategist (Foresight), you will lead strategic intelligence, reporting to the Head for Futures, Insights and Emerging Technology (G6) and working closely with policy, strategy and transformation teams. You’ll help shape bold, 5–10 year plans that anticipate disruption, surface new opportunities, identify emerging technology products for piloting for our R&D unit and build a more resilient justice system.

The MoJ Science Office sits within the Data Directorate, and is led by MoJ Chief Scientific Advisor, Hugh Stickland. We are the MoJ's centre of expertise for science, R&D strategy, foresight and emerging technology, ensuring that decision making across the justice system is informed by robust evidence, scientific thinking, and forward-looking insight. Our work brings together futures and horizon scanning, deep-subject specialism in natural and behavioural sciences, and the responsible application of new and emerging technologies to address current challenges and support long term, strategic decision making.

As a team we are collaborative, outward facing, and impact driven. We operate as an open innovation unit working closely with other government departments, the Government Office for Science, regulators, academics and industry partners to bring fresh thinking and robust insight into the heart of MoJ.

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:

• Lead the development of future-facing strategies using a blend of futures thinking, systems thinking, and design thinking, adapting or inventing new methods as needed.
• Lead strategic foresight processes including foresight research (signal gathering, horizon scanning, trend analysis), scenario planning, back-casting and policy stress-testing.
• Translate complex insight into clear, compelling narratives and artefacts that drive action and influence senior decision-makers.
• Design and facilitate engaging, thought-provoking workshops for senior stakeholders to align on responses to complex or ‘wicked’ problems.
• Collaborate with policy, digital, transformation and operational teams to embed futures thinking in strategic and tactical decision-making during governance cycles (spending reviews, policy design, risk frameworks)
• Build foresight capability across the organisation (training, coaching, toolkits)
• Build external relationships across academia, think tanks, futures networks, and industry to continuously engage them in foresight strategy
• Translate futures into emerging technology recommendations and pilots
• Represent the organisation in cross-government and external foresight networks
• Commission, manage, and quality assure external partners to ensure high-quality, impactful foresight outputs.
• Develop and apply AI-enabled approaches to automate and scale foresight activities where appropriate, selecting and tailoring the most effective methodologies for different contexts.
• Regularly publish, present and communicate findings through storytelling, visualisation and speculative design outputs for senior stakeholders, adapting foresight to Ministerial priorities
• Line manage and professionally support staff within the Science Office as required, setting clear expectations for scientific rigour, integrity and communication.

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

• Innovation strategy:
• Strong expertise in Futures Thinking and/or adjacent approaches (e.g. Systems Thinking, Design Thinking, service design, or strategic innovation), with the ability to apply and combine methodologies to develop and implement transformational strategies, policies, services, or innovation portfolios. Able to balance long-term strategic vision with clear, actionable recommendations that influence real-world decisions.
• Insight generation and strategic storytelling:

Strong capability in qualitative and quantitative foresight research (e.g. horizon scanning, trend analysis, scenario development), with the ability to synthesise complex and ambiguous inputs into clear, compelling narratives (verbally and visually) and artefacts that influence senior decision-makers through exceptional storytelling.

• Applied innovation and emerging technology:

Experience translating foresight/innovation strategy into tangible outputs, such as emerging technology opportunities, pilot briefs, prototypes, or service interventions. Demonstrates understanding of how to move from concept to testing and implementation within organisational constraints.

• Senior stakeholder engagement and facilitation:

Proven ability to engage, challenge, and influence senior stakeholders in complex environments; experienced in designing and facilitating high-impact workshops and strategic engagements that align diverse perspectives and drive decisions on complex or ‘wicked’ problems.

Willingness to be assessed against the requirements for SC 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.