Role title:

Assistant Private Secretary to the Senior Presiding Judge

Team/Directorate:

SPJ Private Office, Private Offices Directorate

Overview of the Judicial Office

This is standardised wording and cannot be amended.

The Judicial Office (JO) reports to, and is accountable, to the Lady Chief Justice (LCJ). It was established in 2006 to provide support to the LCJ and to the wider judiciary in upholding the rule of law and in delivering justice impartially, speedily and efficiently, following the Constitutional Reform Act 2005.

In addition, we support, and are accountable to, the Senior President of Tribunals, whose responsibilities extend to Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The JO is an interesting and unique place to work. Everything we do is in support of upholding the independence and impartiality of the judiciary. We work closely with HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS), the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and others across Government as well as with the legal professions.

We are an Arm’s Length Body sponsored by the Ministry of Justice. This creates an interesting and complex environment in which to work where we agree our priorities with the senior judiciary and receive our funding to deliver them from the Ministry of Justice. The Judicial Office has been through a period of significant growth resulting from an expansion of our remit and responsibilities.

See JO staff talk about working here: https://design102.wistia.com/medias/uhgtmbtnlv

Overview of the team

The Senior Presiding Judge (SPJ) is a senior member of the judiciary of England and Wales. They are appointed for a fixed two-year period.

The SPJ’s responsibilities and remit include:

• providing support, leadership and guidance for courts judiciary and magistrates, particularly to leadership judges;

• acting as ‘Chief of Staff’ for the Lady Chief Justice, dealing with the day-to-day issues affecting the judiciary, across a wide-ranging field including diversity, HR casework, and judicial appointments;

• representing the Lady Chief Justice on the HMCTS Board and attending a number of other high-profile boards; 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 SPJ is supported in these responsibilities by the Deputy Senior Presiding Judge (DSPJ).

Hybrid Working Requirement

This is standardised wording and cannot be amended.

This position is eligible for hybrid working (current minimum requirement for time spent at base location is 60%, which is subject to business requirements).

Summary of the role

We are recruiting a permanent Assistant Private Secretary (APS) to join the Private Office of the Senior Presiding Judge. We are a team of eleven, responsible for supporting the SPJ and DSPJ on all areas of their portfolio, which includes judicial security, magistrates courts, criminal justice, judicial deployment and welfare, and the court estate.

This is a frontline role working directly with members of the senior judiciary to deliver their priorities across issues which impact judges across England and Wales.

As one of four APSs in the team, you will provide support to a number of high-profile areas that fall within the SPJ’s portfolio, working closely with the Deputy Private Secretaries who lead on these areas.

The role involves close working with teams across the Judicial Office, HMCTS, Ministry of Justice, and other partners across the justice system.

Please be aware that Private Office roles can be unpredictable and may require working long hours and, very occasionally, at weekends. It may be necessary to support the SPJ and DSPJ on visits across the country and therefore some travel will likely be required.

This role is not suitable for job-share or reduced hours working.

Responsibilities,

Activities & Duties:

Key responsibilities will include:

1. Providing secretariat support to senior boards and committees, including drafting agendas, taking notes of meetings, picking up actions and managing them through to completion.

2. Preparing briefings for the SPJ and DSPJ for meetings with senior stakeholders across the justice system.

3. Developing evidence-based recommendations to enable the SPJ and DSPJ to make decisions.

4. Monitoring live issues and taking steps to ensure issues are resolved, ensuring the judiciary are kept informed and escalating matters as required.

5. Developing strong working relationships with colleagues at all levels across the Judicial Office, HMCTS, Ministry of Justice and other agencies.

6. Providing support to the SPJ and DSPJ on standalone projects which they lead on behalf of the judiciary.

7. Building and maintaining an understanding of matters relating to your main portfolio areas, as well as an awareness of the work of the wider team.

Portfolios are subject to change in the SPJ Office, and you may be required to take on other areas of responsibility depending on changing priorities.

Essential Knowledge, Experience and Skills

• Strong written communication skills, with the ability to condense large volumes of information into high quality briefings.

• Ability to work at pace and deliver high-quality outputs.

• Ability to manage your own workload, prioritise tasks effectively and adapt to changing circumstances.

• Ability to build strong working relationships with internal and external stakeholders at all levels.

• Strong organisation skills.

Desirable Knowledge, Experience and Skills

• Experience of providing secretariat support to senior boards or committees.

• Experience of working in a Private Office.

• Experience working with the judiciary and / or the magistracy, and / or an understanding of the workings of courts and tribunals.

Behaviours (for Recruitment/Success Profiles):

• Delivering at Pace (lead behaviour)

• Making Effective Decisions

• Communicating and Influencing

• Working together

Assessment process at application

• CV (not scored)

• Statement of suitability (not scored)

• Behaviours - if there is a high volume of applications the panel will sift on the lead behaviour

Assessment process at interview

• Behaviours

• Strengths

Security clearance required:

Select one of the below.

(this will be determined by the location)

• DBS

• CTC

• SC

• DV

Please note:

Central Government policy dictates that applicants for National Security Clearance must be a resident in the UK for these minimum periods:

• CTC - 3 years

• SC - 5 years

• DV - 10 years

CTC