Role title:    

Human Resources Advisor for Tribunals

Team/Directorate:    

Judicial HR Business Partner and Organisational Design & Development Team (HRBP and OD&D team)

Location: London

Judicial Office HR (JOHR) supports the judiciary, judicial leaders, and works in partnership with His Majesties Courts & Tribunal Service (HMCTS) and Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to ensure the Lady Chief Justice and the Senior President of Tribunals have a properly resourced, visible and accessible HR service based on the needs of the judiciary.

The mission of the HRBP and OD&D team is to provide professional and quality support, advice and guidance to judicial office holders and by adding this value we further the delivery of justice. Our collaboration with wider Judicial HR, Judicial Office and HMCTS colleagues is key to support a common purpose to provide a seamless service to all judicial office holders. We are proud to make a difference to judicial office holders through the service we provide.

Overview of the role:

With a passion for people/operational management, and a desire to build an HR generalist foundation for a future career, the post holder will work with the HR Business Partners (HRBPs) to optimise effective working relationships and HR support for the tribunal judiciary.

The role requires agility, forward-thinking, and a proactive approach to problem-solving to adapt to the evolving priorities of the judiciary. The post holder will interpret HR policy, deliver HR processes, and develop a detailed understanding of the judiciary and their unique status as office holders.

The post holder will contribute to the link between the judiciary and the HR Centres of Expertise and Operations teams working collaboratively to achieve effective outcomes.

As a key point of contact to the judiciary, the post holder will be required to manage judicial expectations and gather intelligence to provide specialist advice or deploy the appropriate service from within the Judicial Office. This is an ambiguous environment, and the post holder must be comfortable working autonomously and proactively, garnering credible information from a range of sources to provide accurate advice.

Responsibilities, Activities & Duties:

• Appraising, assessing and adapting to a range of issues on a day-to-day basis. Offering options to assist the judiciary in discharging their pastoral responsibilities.

• Building relationships and personal credibility with the judiciary, including travelling to the tribunals across the country for in-person meetings and potential conference attendance.

• Supporting the HR triage service to judicial office holders. This requires a keen attention to detail, and the ability to ensure information and advice provided is timely, and accurate.

• The post holder will have autonomy to make decisions within their area of work, to deploy appropriate resources using initiative and in communication with their established network of contacts across the wider HR community.

• Consider sensitive or multiple opposing opinions to establish facts; establishing the best approach; determining appropriate methodologies; analysis to ensure quality and application of results.

• Exercise judgement, knowing when to seek advice and guidance from their management team as appropriate.

• Interpreting HR advice may require follow up questions, discussion or further investigation to understand the wider impact of the issue.

• Decisions might involve considerable discretion but will be constrained by policy and informed practice.

• Adopting a balance of a data-driven mindset with a personable and empathetic approach.

• Operating as an integral member of the HRBP/OD&D Team, scanning for emerging trends and acting as an intelligent customer into the wider HR Team on behalf of judiciary.

• Work closely with the respective Chamber Presidents Offices as appropriate, to identify and address relevant HR issues.  

• Have a clear understanding of the Lady Chief Justice and Senior President Tribunals priorities and be able to support a Tribunals plan that will add value to the local judiciary.

• Demonstrate commitment to personal continuous development, professional expertise and skill.

Key tasks:

• Working closely with the HRBPs to support delivery of a strategic field-based HR service.

• Analysing HR data and applying understanding to decide on an appropriate intervention or course of action and making recommendations to the HRBPs or directly to judicial office holders.

• Sickness absence monitoring and escalating any concerns or trends to the HRBP.

• Formulation of reports which can be fed back into key areas of the organisation.

• Oversight of all record keeping, ensuring compliance with GDPR and data retention policies.

• Provide advice to enable judicial leaders to take proactive steps to deal with or pre-empt issues relating to judicial health, welfare and to provide high quality timely advice on specific or generalised HR problems.

• Liaise with HMCTS on complex workplace adjustment cases.

• Collation of Judicial Office Holder appeal information and drafting of briefing notes.

• Supporting the HR triage system, ensuring the advice and signposting is accurate and timely.

• Signposting complex queries to the correct part of JO HR.

• Responding to queries which require review of numerous policies and T&Cs in order to provide accurate advice.

• Providing HR support to the judiciary, including email, call and in-person meeting attendance. Taking minutes in appropriate meetings which require HR to be present.

• Presenting information, both virtually and in-person, on HR topics to increase understanding and improve collaborative processes amongst stakeholders, including operational colleagues and judicial office holders.

• Forming a collaborative relationship with stakeholders namely Chamber President Offices to garner local insights.

Behaviours:

• Communicating and Influencing

• Making Effective Decisions

• Managing a Quality Service

• Seeing the Big Picture

Essential Knowledge, Experience and Skills:

• An ability to forge strong working relationships; being recognised as a trusted Advisor.

• Solution focused and able to identify opportunities for improvements.

• Able to work well under pressure.

• Experience of managing change.

• Excellent communication skills, both in verbal and written formats, including the confidence to speak with authority when operating at a senior level.

• Experience of working in an operational delivery environment and/or knowledge and experience of HR, or as a manager working with complex problems.

• Confidence working autonomously and in an ambiguous environment.

Desirable Knowledge, Experience and Skills:

• Understanding of the judiciary.

Technical Skills/Qualifications:

• Credible HR/operational experience.

• Level 3 or 5 CIPD qualified or willing to work towards.

Security clearance required:

Security clearance will include a requirement of CTC and DBS.

Interview dates

Interviews are expected to take place w/c 19^th January 2026.

Assessments

Upon invitation to interview you will be sent a topic to prepare an 8-minute presentation for the interview. You should be prepared to respond to follow up questions.