Role title:

Deputy Private Secretary to the Senior President of Tribunals

Team/Directorate:

Private Offices Directorate

Overview of the Judicial Office

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

We are recruiting a permanent Deputy Private Secretary to join the Office of the Senior President of Tribunals. The Senior President is the independent head of the tribunals judiciary, with responsibility for around 5,000 judicial office holders across a range of jurisdictions including employment, immigration and asylum, social security, and information rights. He is supported by a Private Office of 8 staff, who together provide policy and legal advice, and general secretariat and administrative support to him, and to the most senior tribunals’ judges (including Chamber and Tribunal Presidents) across the United Kingdom.

Hybrid Working Requirement

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

The support provided by judicial Private Offices necessarily involves working before and after court in keeping with the judge’s diary commitments and sitting patterns. Some early mornings and late evenings can be expected though every effort will be made to accommodate flexibility where necessary.

Summary of the role

The postholder will play a critical role in ensuring the Senior President receives high quality policy and legal advice. They will be expected to lead on policy projects, as well as supporting and deputising for the Private Secretary when necessary.

Responsibilities,

Activities & Duties:

The postholder will need to build strong relationships across Judicial Office and the justice system more broadly, including HMCTS, MOJ, and with other Government Departments. They will need to be confident dealing with senior officials and able to gain the confidence and trust of the judiciary, whilst providing appropriate challenge.

They will be expected to:

• Provide high quality written and oral advice/briefing, sometimes within short timeframes, to the Senior President and other senior judiciary or JO officials;
• Act as an ambassador for the Senior President and the Chamber/Tribunal Presidents with other senior judges and senior officials from MoJ, HMCTS, and OGDs, and senior stakeholder organisations. Communicating with appropriate authority, accuracy and sensitivity views/concerns/questions as required.
• Assist the Senior President with the preparation of articles, speaking notes, report forewords, and other internal and external communications.

Essential Knowledge, Experience and Skills

The successful candidate must:

• be able to influence and manage upwards and speak with authority when dealing with senior officials or judiciary;
• have excellent communication and interpersonal skills;
• be able to and work flexibly to manage changing priorities in a fast-paced environment;
• be able to work independently to manage their workload and address unforeseen challenges professionally and quickly.

Desirable Knowledge, Experience and Skills

Desirable Knowledge, Experience and Skills

• working knowledge of the reserved unified tribunals;
• experience of working closely with the judiciary, and an interest in the workings of the courts and tribunals system more widely.

Behaviours (for Recruitment/Success Profiles):

This is a Success Profiles based recruitment and Civil Service Behaviours will be considered at application stage along with a Statement of Suitability and candidate CV (not scored).

Assessment process at application

Behaviours to be assessed at application stage:

Delivering at Pace, Communicating & Influencing, Working Together, Seeing the Big Picture, Making Effective Decisions

In the event of a high volume of applications, we will sift on the lead behaviour of Communicating and Influencing.

Assessment process at interview

Candidates invited to interview will be assessed on these behaviours and on Civil Service Strengths.

We anticipated that interviews for candidates successful at sift will be held during w/c 23^rd February 2026.

If you wish to discuss the role before submitting an application, please contact Cari Jones (Cari.Jones@judiciary.uk) or Emma Killick (Emma.killick@judiciary.uk).

Security clearance required:

CTC