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.
Judicial Office
Job Title: Various Roles across Private Offices, Strategy, and Change (up to 5 posts available)
Pay Band: Senior Executive Officer (SEO)
Location: Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London WC2A 2LL
Judicial Office
The Judicial Office is a unique branch of the civil service, with around 350 people dedicated to supporting the judiciary in upholding the rule of law, promoting judicial independence, and administering justice impartially, speedily, and efficiently. The Judicial Office reports to the Lord Chief Justice (LCJ) and the Senior President of Tribunals (SPT) and helps them fulfil their responsibilities to the judiciary, in an ever-evolving justice system.
The Judicial Office provides a wide range of operational support, policy, legal and handling advice to judges. This includes the senior judiciary and more than 20,000 judicial officeholders. Across diverse functions, the Judicial Office share a strong sense of common purpose: strengthening the rule of law and improving the administration of justice by supporting the leadership and governance of the independent judiciary.
The Judicial Office is responsible for:
- Facilitating judicial leadership of reform
- Providing legal, policy and handling advice on issues arising from the statutory functions of the senior judiciary
- Supporting judicial governance structures
- Advising on relationships and communication with the Government, Parliament, and other UK (UNITED KINGDOM) legal jurisdictions
- Supporting communication with the public including through the media, and internally within the judiciary
- Providing human resources services for the judiciary
- Developing and delivering training
- Investigating disciplinary matters
- Providing legal information and library services
- Promoting the courts and tribunals and supporting the rule of law internationally.
For more information see www.judiciary.uk
https://www.linkedin.com/company/judicial-office/
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We are recruiting Senior Executive Officers (up to five posts) across several Judicial Office teams:
Court and Tribunals Reform Team
The Judicial Office Courts and Tribunals Reform team works across all jurisdictions to ensure that judges can input into the design of the reform programme and can adopt new ways of working as reform changes are implemented in the courts and tribunals. As we move into the final year of the Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) Reform Programme, our focus shifts from supporting design and implementation activity, to the transition of reformed services into business-as-usual ways of working. We ensure that change is managed well and that the reform programme continues to be led and owned by the judiciary in partnership with Ministers and implemented in close partnership with HMCTS.
Private Office of the Senior Presiding Judge
The Senor Presiding Judge’s responsibilities include providing leadership, support, and guidance to courts judiciary, particularly to leadership judges; acting as ‘Chief of Staff’ for the Lord Chief Justice, dealing with the day–to–day issues affecting the judiciary across a wide-ranging field including security, appointments, and estates issues; and the effective and efficient operation of the courts, including regular meetings with those involved in the work of the courts, and working with judges to understand and improve performance.
The Senior Presiding Judge and Deputy Senior Presiding Judge are supported by a private office team, who supply administrative, operational and policy support. The private office also supports the Senior Presiding Judge in their pastoral responsibilities, and in supplying support and guidance to leadership judges.
Private Office of the Senior President of Tribunals
The Senior President of Tribunals is the independent leader of the tribunals judiciary. The SPT is responsible for around 5,000 judicial office holders across a range of jurisdictions including employment, immigration and asylum, social security and information rights. The SPT is supported by a Private Office of five staff, who together provide policy, strategy, legal, governance and administrative advice and assistance in support of the SPT’s statutory leadership responsibilities and strategic priorities.
Private Office of the President of the Queen’s Bench Division
The President of the Queen’s Bench Division is responsible for the largest division of the High Court. The President of the Queen’s Bench Division has leadership responsibilities for 70 High Court judges. The private office supplies advice and support to the President on a wide range of issues such as appointments, the deployment of judges and training, ensuring the efficient operation of the division.
Judicial Strategy Team
The Judicial Strategy Team is a small but expanding team, sitting within the private office division and working across all jurisdictions. The Strategy Team supports the development of key judicial policies and advising the most senior judges on the strategic questions of the day.
The Senior Executive Officer roles on offer will involve some, or all, of the following:
- Establishing positive and trusting working relationships senior judiciary, supplying clear and compelling advice on a variety of issues.
- Working with colleagues in HMCTS to ensure judicial input into issues affecting the efficiency and effectiveness of the courts and tribunals.
- Engagement with Ministry of Justice (MoJ) colleagues on policy development.
- Development and deployment of change implementation plans to ensure judges are ready to adopt new ways of working
- Developing processes for transitioning change projects into business-as-usual ensuring systems are in place to facilitate judicial engagement with ongoing change.
- Ensuring that the senior judges have the information they need to engage effectively with others, including keeping an overview of issues that affect the relevant jurisdiction and supplying and/or commissioning written and oral advice and briefing.
- Acting as an ambassador for the senior judiciary, communicating with senior stakeholders with accuracy and authority.
Key Relationships
- Judges, magistrates, and fee-paid tribunal members
- HMCTS
- MoJ
- Other parts of Judicial Office, including other private offices, Judicial HR (Human Resources), the Judicial College, and Judicial Press and Communications
Skills and Experience
Strong candidates will have demonstrable skills and experience in the following areas:
- Stakeholder engagement
- Effective communication, including in writing, and interpersonal skills
- Clear and strategic thinking
- Problem solving
- Ability to work across multiple issues at the same time
- Strong organisational skills
- Experience working directly with the judiciary (desirable)
- Experience developing structures, systems, and processes (desirable)
Civil Service Behaviours
You will have to supply evidence of the following Behaviours at Level 3 at interview [Link to full guide]:
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Changing and Improving
- Communicating and Influencing
- Working Together
- Delivering at Pace
Candidate are asked to complete a single application which will be considered for all the available posts. If invited to interview candidates will be asked which posts they are most interested in, however, recruiting managers will match successful candidates to posts following the interview stage of the process.
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