International Relations Manager

Region: London


Grade: HEO


Post Type: Permanent


Working Pattern: Full Time


Directorate: DCEO


Team: International Team


Location: The team is based in the Thomas More Building in the Royal Courts of Justice. The post is eligible for hybrid working, the current requirement being a minimum 60% of time spent at RCJ, subject to business requirements. The successful candidate will be required to travel to attend meetings, committees and staff events. These meetings may be before or after court so there will be the need for flexibility. There will be some international travel.


Security clearance: CTC level


The Judicial Office


The Judicial Office (JO) reports to, and is accountable, to the Lady Chief Justice and was established in 2006 to provide support to her and to the wider judiciary 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 HMCTS, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and others across Government as well as with the legal professions. See JO staff talk about working here: https://design102.wistia.com/medias/uhgtmbtnlv


The International Team


The International Team supports the judiciary in their engagement with other jurisdictions around the world through bilateral activity and as part of multilateral organisations. This can be through welcoming visiting judges and providing programmes of activity, engaging in roundtables on technical subjects, attending conferences on matters of mutual interest, and the provision of training on specific topics or judicial skills. All the team’s work is guided by the Lady Chief Justice’s international strategy: Judicial Strategy for International Engagement 2025-29


The team provide support through policy briefing and advice on strategic engagement, logistics and administration, record keeping and analysis, and liaison with Government and strategic partners on emerging priorities.


The team consists of a G7 Head of Team, three Band B/SEOs (one position 50/50 with the Law Commission), four Band C/HEOs and two Band D/EOs.


The post-holder will work closely with a range of judicial international leads and will be line-managed by a Band C/SEO in the team.


The role


This is a unique role in the civil service. The post-holder will take a critical leading role in the delivery of international relations through the facilitation of international engagement by the judiciary.


Particular responsibilities will include:

1. Supporting engagement with strategic priority jurisdictions as set out in the international strategy of the judiciary of England and Wales and facilitating judicial and official engagements. This may require assisting with arrangements for incoming and outgoing visits, and occasional international travel for scoping visits or to accompany judges.

2. Drafting advice, reports and briefing for judges and officials on topics within agreed portfolio areas including Europe and Global Economic Powers.

3. Working collaboratively and regularly liaising with others (UKSC/MOJ/HMCTS/FCDO/OGDs in particular) regarding the delivery of judicial activities.


3. Line management of an EO and overseeing secretariat support to the International Training Committee.

4. Accurately forecast demands on judicial and official resources (including the international budget) and ensure the judiciary and colleagues are kept informed by contributing to the international work log and forward look.


5. Providing support to the rest of the team as required.


Skills and Qualifications

The responsibilities of this role offers an opportunity for the successful candidate to apply their skills and experience in a unique context, that of supporting an independent judiciary, making the role substantially different from other civil service roles.

Essential Criteria

Desirable Criteria

Please contact international@judiciary.uk if you would like to discuss this role.

Assessment

This vacancy is using Success Profiles and will assess the Behaviours and Experience elements.


Application stage:

As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide a Personal Statement of Suitability of no more than 750 words. Your answers should outline your skills, experience, and achievements, providing evidence of your suitability for the role.


The Behaviours tested at application stage will be:


You will also be asked to provide information within the ‘Employer/ Activity history’ section of the application form. This is equivalent to the information you would provide on a CV, setting out your career history. This will be used in the sifting process and will not be scored. Feedback will not be provided at this stage.

Interview stage:

All applicants that progress to interview will be assessed on (Success Profiles) Behaviours and Strengths, with reference to your Experience and the Essential Criteria for the role. The Behaviours tested during the interview stage will be: