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This vacancy is only available to existing Civil Servant employees and employees of accredited non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs). Please review the "Eligibility" section before you apply.

General Information

Salary
The national salary range is £29,303 - £31,061, London salary range is £33,551 - £35,564. Your salary will be dependent on your base location
Working Pattern
Full Time, Flexible Working
Vacancy Approach
Cross Government
Location
National
Region
National
Closing Date
15-Sep-2026
Post Type
Permanent
Civil Service Grade
EO
Number of jobs available
1
Reserve List
12 Months
Job ID
21701

Descriptions & requirements

Job description

Introduction

HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is responsible for the administration of criminal, civil and family courts and tribunals in England and Wales. Our roles support our service users and colleagues, where people and businesses access potentially life-changing justice. We’re looking for individuals who are committed to public service and want to make a difference in people’s lives in delivering justice. If you’re interested in developing a career with a real purpose, please apply.

Job Description

The successful candidate will manage their own caseload ensuring they meet deadlines in a timely manner. You will need to be organised and can manage a varied workload, proactively identifying priorities. You will also need to form and manage productive relationships with stakeholders and colleagues.

You will need to work in a flexible way and be part of a team that is multi-skilled and supports each of the three areas of work: correspondence, complaints, and litigation.

The purpose of this role is managing a varied caseload across correspondence, complaints and litigation, ensuring responses are clear, accurate and delivered within agreed timescales. You will investigate and resolve a wide range of customer and stakeholder enquiries, analyse complex information, undertake research where required and draft high-quality responses on behalf of HMCTS. Working with a high degree of autonomy, you will prioritise competing demands, coordinate incoming work and identify issues that may impact service delivery. You will also act as a key point of contact for colleagues across HMCTS, providing advice and guidance on customer and service-related matters. Success in this role requires strong organisational skills, sound judgement, excellent written communication and the ability to build effective working relationships with a range of stakeholders while contributing flexibly across all areas of the team’s work.

Please refer to the attached role profile for a comprehensive overview of the role.

In this role you will

Your role as User Investigation Officer will encompass several key responsibilities listed below (but not limited to):

  • Prepare high-quality draft replies to correspondence from customers including appeal stage complaints.
  • Deliver clear, empathetic, respectful and timely
  • Draft replies to MPs on behalf of Ministers and the Chief Executive.
  • You will manage a varied caseload including Data Protection Act and Freedom of Information requests
  • You will need to prioritise and manage work effectively to meet deadlines.
  • Build strong relationships across HMCTS teams.
  • Liaise with the judiciary and Government Legal Department.
  • Work with the Ministerial Correspondence Unit, Chief Executive's Office and Parliamentary Branch.
  • Keep up to date with the HMCTS reform programme and its impact.
  • Respond to Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman enquiries.
  • Analyse feedback and complaints to help shape and improve services across the organisation.
  • Continually seek opportunities to improve processes, increase efficiency and enhance the customer experience.
  • Consider the bigger picture, assessing the wider organisational and policy implications of issues and decisions.
  • You will be reporting to a User Investigations Manager and full training will be provided

Essential skills

  • Experience & evidence of accurate high-quality drafting, particularly letters is
  • Excellent communication skills with the ability to convey complex information in a clear & concise way in writing.
  • Proficient in drafting correspondence in the ‘Human Voice of Justice’ style.
  • Good planning and organising skills are essential.
  • Basic knowledge of Word, Excel & Office 365
  • Ability to work at pace and under pressure.
  • Experience working with a wide variety of stakeholders
  • Experience in making initial decisions and offering advice in line with policy and

The below criteria are desirable only. These will not be assessed throughout the recruitment process, but will be used in the event of tied scores between candidates

Desirable skills

  • Experience or knowledge of drafting submissions.
  • Experience or knowledge of one or more HMCTS jurisdictions

Application process:

Stage 1 - Sift:

To apply for this position, you must submit the following as part of your application:

  • A Statement of Suitability which should give us real life examples of how your skills and experience match those needed for this role. We recommend following the [1] STAR
  • Behaviour examples illustrating the Civil Service Behaviours listed under the Application form stage assessments section.
Should we receive a high volume of applications, a pre-sift may be conducted on the Statement of Suitability. Candidates who pass the pre-sift will be fully assessed on all the sift criteria.

Please access the following link for guidance on how to apply - [2] Application Guidance

Stage 2 - Interviews:

Successful candidates who passed the sift will be invited to interview via Microsoft Teams. At interview stage, you will be assessed against the following - Strengths and Behaviours. Details can be found under the interview stage assessment section on the advert.

For further guidance on the interview process please click [3] here

Important information

Salary details

New recruits to the Civil Service joining MoJ are expected to join at the band minimum.

Existing Civil Servants applying on promotion, will usually be appointed on the salary minimum of the new pay band, or receive an increase of 10 percent on the current base salary, whichever is higher (This is restricted to the pay maximum of the new band).

Travel requirements

There will be a requirement to travel occasionally to any HMCTS site in line with business needs.

Proud to Serve. Proud to keep justice going.

Additional Information

Working Arrangements & Further Information

The MoJ offers Hybrid Working arrangements where business need allows. This is an informal, non-contractual form of flexible working that blends working from your base location, different MoJ sites and / or from home (please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas). All employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in an office, subject to local estate capacity.

Some roles will not be suitable for Hybrid Working. Similarly, Hybrid Working will not suit everyone’s circumstances. Arrangements will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate(s) and subject to regular review.

For nationally advertised roles: All successful candidates will be appointed to the nearest viable office nearest to their home postcode and on its respective pay scale.  This will be at either a HQ building (subject to desk allocation, a Justice Collaboration Centre (JCC) or a Justice Satellite Office (JSO) – See Map. All employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in an office, subject to local estate capacity). 

For current MoJ employees, your base location will need to be changed to the nearest viable office (to your home postcode), either at a HQ building, JCC or JSO within the National Office Network and moved its location’s respective pay scale (any legacy arrangements/locations will need to be amended).

Some of MoJ’s terms and conditions of service are changing as part of Civil Service reform. The changes will apply to staff joining MoJ who are new to the Civil Service. Staff joining MoJ from other civil service employers will transfer onto the new MoJ terms if they are already on 'modernised' terms in their current post or onto 'unmodernised' MoJ terms if they are on 'unmodernised' terms at their current post. Details will be available if an offer is made.

MoJ candidates who are on a specialist grade, will be able to retain their grade on lateral transfer.

All candidates who are currently in receipt of Mark Time / Pay Protection should ensure they are familiar with the new policy on permanent and temporary promotion which can be found on the employee intranet.

Flexible working hours 

The Ministry of Justice offers a flexible working system in many offices. Standard full time working hours are 37 hours per week. MoJ welcomes part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns, where they meet the demands of the role and business needs. All applications for part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns will be considered in accordance with the MoJ’s Flexible Working policy.

Benefits 

The MoJ offers a range of benefits:

Annual Leave

Annual leave is 25 days on appointment and will increase to 30 days after five years’ service.

There is also a scheme to allow qualifying staff to buy or sell up to three days leave each year. Additional paid time off for public holidays and 1 privilege day. Leave for part-time and job share posts will be calculated on a pro-rata basis.

Pension 

The Civil Service offers a choice of pension schemes, giving you the flexibility to choose the pension that suits you best.

Training 

The Ministry of Justice is committed to staff development and offers an extensive range of training and development opportunities.

Networks 

The opportunity to join employee-run networks that have been established to provide advice and support and to enable the views of employees from minority groups to be expressed direct to senior management. There are currently networks for employees of minority ethnic origin, employees with disabilities, employees with caring responsibilities, women employees, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees.

Eligibility

Staff on fixed term appointments must have been recruited through fair and open competition.

Vacancies advertised “cross-government” are only open to all Civil Service employees and employees of accredited non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) who were appointed on merit following a fair and open competition; or were appointed to a permanent post through an exception in the Civil Service Commissioners' rules.

Support

  • A range of ‘Family Friendly’ policies such as opportunities to work reduced hours or job share.
  • Access to flexible benefits such as voluntary benefits, retail vouchers and discounts on a range of goods and services.
  • For moves to or from another employer or moves across the Civil Service this can have implications on your eligibility to carry on claiming childcare vouchers. You may however be eligible for alternative government childcare support schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. More information can be found on www.www.GOV.UK or Childcare Choices. You can determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.
  • Paid paternity, adoption and maternity leave.
  • Free annual sight tests for employees who use computer screens.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles. Should you feel that the recruitment process has breached the recruitment principles you are able to raise a formal complaint in the following order

As a Disability Confident employer, MoJ are committed to providing everyone with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, talent and abilities, by making adjustments throughout all elements of the recruitment process and in the workplace. MoJ are able to offer an interview to disabled candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns.

You will be able to request reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process within the application form. If you need additional help completing the application form, please contact the TBS Recruitment Enquiries Team.

For more information on applying for a role as a candidate with a disability or long-term condition, please watch our animated videos.

Diversity & Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.

Redeployment Interview Scheme

Civil Service departments are expected to explore redeployment opportunities before making an individual redundant. The MoJ is committed, as part of the Redeployment Interview Scheme, to providing opportunities to those who are 'at risk of redundancy'.

MoJ is able to offer an interview to eligible candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns. Candidates will not be eligible for the Redeployment Interview Scheme if they are applying on promotion.

Civil Service Nationality Rules

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules

Reserve list

A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made for the same or similar roles.

Contact Information

MoJ:

If you require any assistance please call 0345 241 5359 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk

Please quote the job reference: 21701

HMPPS

If you require any assistance please call 0345 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk

Please quote the job reference: 21701

Application form stage assessments

Behaviours
A sift based on the lead behaviour, Making Effective Decisions, may be held if a large number of applications are received. If a large number of applications remain after the initial sift, your application will be progressed to a full sift, where all behaviours will then be considered.
Behaviours Application Form Question Word Limit
250
Making Effective Decisions
Experience
We will assess your experience for this role via the following methods
Statement of Suitability
Statement of Suitability
Guidance for the Statement of Suitability
Your Statement of Suitability should be no more than 500 words and should give us real life examples of how your skills and experience match those needed for this role. Consider addressing particular points in the person specification requirements and key responsibilities. We recommend following the STAR format.

You must ensure that any evidence submitted as part of your application, are truthful and factually accurate. Please note that plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own.
Evidence of Experience
Statement of Suitability

Interview stage assessments

Interview Dates
Interview expected w/c 12th October 2026 but could be sooner
Behaviours
Making Effective Decisions
Delivering at Pace
Communicating and Influencing
Strengths
Strengths will be assessed but these are not shared in advance. To learn more about Strengths and how they are assessed please click here.
Level of security checks required
DBS Basic

Use of Artificial Intelligence (Al)

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.  Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.