Summary

The role of the magistracy has never been more important to the effective administration of justice. This nearly 15,000 strong group of part-time volunteers hear cases in their communities, making important decisions that affect people’s lives. The role of magistrates in supporting the justice system is critical. They are the largest group within the judiciary and are responsible for hearing more than 90% of criminal cases, as well as family and civil cases.

The Ministry of Justice’s Magistrate Uplift Programme aims to increase the size of the magistracy as part of a package of measures to tackle the backlog in the courts. The Uplift Programme has three broad aims to: 1) attract and recruit new magistrates in required and sustainable volumes that appropriately reflect the diversity of the society the magistracy serves; 2) modernise the role and supporting processes; and 3) better retain and support magistrates.

The Judicial College has a significant role to play in supporting this programme through delivering timely, relevant and high-quality training to magistrates. The increased demand for training alongside the modernisation of the role and processes will mean adapting the existing training programme, including a review of delivery methods and (where appropriate) harnessing advances in digital training, to handle the increase and continue to deliver high quality and effective training. Change is afoot to make sure our training supports the recruitment and retention of a diverse magistracy that is confident and competent in meeting the current and future needs of the justice system, and that continues to have the profile and status it deserves within the judiciary. Meeting these significant changes will need ambitious and creative solutions and a step change in how the training programme is designed and delivered.

The organisation

The Judicial College operates within the Judicial Office and reports to the Lady Chief Justice and the Senior President of Tribunals. Its purpose is to support the judiciary in upholding the rule of law and delivering justice effectively, impartially and efficiently.

The Judicial Office was established under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, which made the Lord Chief Justice Head of the Judiciary, responsible for representing the judiciary, overseeing judicial welfare, training and guidance, and managing judicial deployment and work allocation. The Senior President of Tribunals holds equivalent responsibilities for the tribunals jurisdiction.

The Judicial College supports the senior judiciary in meeting their statutory responsibility for judicial training. This includes training for all judicial office holders in England and Wales, including judges, magistrates and legal advisers.

In practice, the College delivers around 1,800 training courses each year for approximately 24,500 judicial office holders. It advises on course content for courts and tribunals judges, designs and delivers training materials for magistrates and legal advisers, develops new training areas such as digital skills and AI, and promotes a mix of delivery methods including digital and online learning. It also supports international judicial training activity to promote the rule of law.

The Judicial College is governed by the Judicial College Board, chaired by a Court of Appeal judge.

For more information see www.judiciary.uk. https://www.linkedin.com/company/judicial-office/ and follow us on Twitter.

Job description

Summary

Reporting to the SEO Change Delivery Manager and supporting the Grade 6 Head of Change Delivery, the Change Delivery Officer (HEO) will help coordinate change activity, support planning and readiness, and ensure that delivery teams have the information, structures and support they need to embed change effectively.

This role offers a unique opportunity to contribute to a high-profile programme, gain experience in programme and change delivery, and work closely with senior stakeholders inside and outside the Judicial College.

Job Description

The Change Delivery Officer will support the planning, coordination and implementation of change activity across the wide range of workstreams contributing to the modernised magistrates’ training programme. You will help ensure that information flows effectively, risks and issues are identified early, and delivery products and materials are created to a high standard.

You will work collaboratively across Judicial College design, delivery, planning and digital learning teams, providing practical support to embed new processes, support change readiness, and maintain consistent programme standards.

This role is ideal for someone with strong organisation and communication skills, an interest in project and change management, and a desire to work at the heart of an ambitious justice system initiative.

Key Responsibilities

Programme Coordination & Support

• Support the development and maintenance of programme plans, action logs, risk registers and readiness assessments.

• Coordinate input from workstream leads and collate updates into clear programme documents and reports.

• Track milestones, flag emerging risks or slippage, and support actions to keep activity on track.

Change Management Support

• Assist with the creation of change materials, including impact assessments and engagement plans.

• Support workstream leads to prepare for changes in delivery models, processes or digital learning tools.

• Gather feedback and insights from teams to inform continuous improvement.

• Help coordinate workshops, meetings and engagement sessions, including preparing agendas, papers and capturing actions.

• Support the consistent application of project documentation standards and programme governance.

Stakeholder Engagement & Communications

• Build effective working relationships across the Judicial College and wider MOJ partners.

• Input into communications, briefing notes and updates for internal and external audiences.

• Act as a first point of contact for routine stakeholder queries relating to programme activity.

Key Skills and Behaviours

Essential

• Experience supporting projects, programmes or operational change.

• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and maintain accuracy in fast‑paced environments.

• Good written and verbal communication skills, able to summarise information clearly for different audiences.

• Strong interpersonal skills, with confidence working across teams and building collaborative relationships.

• A proactive, solutions‑focused approach, with the ability to identify issues early and help resolve them.

• Competent user of Microsoft Office tools, particularly Excel, Word and PowerPoint.

Desirable

• An understanding of the judiciary / the justice system, particularly the magistracy.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Working Together

• Communicating and Influencing

• Delivering at Pace

• Changing and Improving

Please also refer to the Civil Service Behaviours framework for more details at this grade (HEO).

Success Profiles: Civil Service behaviours - GOV.UK

Selection process and application

This vacancy is using Success Profiles Success Profiles - GOV.UK, and the sift will assess the behaviours outlined above.

This role will be filled through an Expression of Interest process.

Please submit your CV and a Statement of Suitability (maximum 750 words) setting out how you meet the criteria in the job description and addressing the behaviours.

Interviews will be conducted over Teams to further explore your experience in relation to this role, including the behaviours listed above.

Eligibility

You must secure line manager approval in applying for this role. [Judicial Office staff applying will need Deputy Director approval.] This is essential because you will need to be released swiftly (no later than 4 weeks), with the expectation that you will return to your home department at the end of the fixed term.