Grade 6 Principal Private Secretary to the Lady Chief Justice of England & Wales

Private Offices Directorate, Judicial Office

Role Summary

The Principal Private Secretary to the Lady Chief Justice (LCJ) is a key leadership role within the Judicial Office. The office holder is an advocate for, and representative of, the LCJ, both internally with other senior judiciary and their private offices and externally across a wide range of Whitehall departments. The successful candidate will have experience of influencing at senior levels across the judiciary, government and/or with senior experts. They will understand the importance of the rule of law and preserving the independence of the judiciary from the executive. This is an exciting and varied role that provides unique opportunities to support the LCJ in the delivery of her strategic priorities. It is a demanding role that requires resilience but comes with the benefit of being at the heart of the leadership of the third arm of the state.

The role of the Lady Chief Justice

The Lady Chief Justice, The Right Honourable Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill is the Head of the Judiciary of England and Wales and the President of the Courts of England and Wales.

The role, which in its modern form dates back to 1873, has some 400 statutory duties. Under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, the LCJ’s key responsibilities include:

• Representing the views of the judges and magistrates of England and Wales to Parliament and Government.

• The welfare, training and guidance of the judges and magistrates of England and Wales.

• Discussing with Government the provision of resources for the judiciary, which are allotted by the Lord Chancellor, and engaging with the Concordat process under the Framework Document.

• Engaging with HMCTS on operational matters, including security issues.

The LCJ also:

• Sits on important cases in all jurisdictions. The LCJ gives judgments and lays down practice directions (these set out the approach that must be taken to cases in future) in many of the most important appeal cases.

• Shares responsibility with the Lord Chancellor for the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO), the body which investigates complaints made against judicial office holders.

• Chairs the Judicial Executive Board and the Judges’ Council, two bodies which assist in managing her responsibilities. The LCJ is also President of the Magistrates’ Association.

The LCJ is supported in her capacity as head of the judiciary by a private office of seven staff, based at the Royal Courts of Justice and led by the Principal Private Secretary. The private office provides legal, strategic policy and administrative support to the LCJ, Judges’ Council, and the wider judiciary across a range of issues, working closely with other parts of the Judicial Office, and wider government, as appropriate.

The Judicial Office

The Judicial Office is the organisation that supports the LCJ in delivering her wide range of functions as the Head of the Judiciary. It is a unique branch of the civil service, reporting direct to the LCJ. The Judicial Office consists of approx. 500 staff working across five directorates. The post holder will be part of the private office directorate, working to the deputy director, Head of Judicial Private Offices. For more information about Judicial Office please see: About us - Judicial Office - Judicial Office Intranet

Main activities/responsibilities:

The LCJ will look to her Principal Private Secretary for advice on the handling of the highest profile and most sensitive issues of the day; and for commissioning, where appropriate, high-quality advice from the wider Judicial Office to support her. The role requires the ability to work at pace and under pressure, to anticipate urgent and important issues, to adapt to rapidly changing events, and to be able to represent effectively the LCJ at the most senior levels of the judiciary and civil service.

The postholder will be required to provide high quality written and oral advice to the LCJ and senior judiciary (Senior Judiciary - Courts and Tribunals Judiciary), overall leadership of the LCJ’s private office team (with management delegated to one G7 Head of Office); and represent the position of the LCJ confidently and effectively to senior officials within the JO, across Whitehall, and operational partner agencies with counterparts in relevant private offices.

Key priorities for the Principal Private Secretary

1. Build strong professional and interpersonal relationship with the LCJ.

• Establish themselves as a trusted source of advice for the LCJ with the ability to provide wider context for their advice and appropriate challenge.

• Horizon scan for emerging issues, anticipating the LCJ’s needs and ensuring that quality advice and information is provided, and others commissioned to provide such information and advice in a timely manner where appropriate.

2. Build strong professional and relationship with the senior judiciary, Judicial Office Management Board

• Develop a close working relationship with the Deputy Director, Head of Private Offices, Judicial Office CEO and Management Board, contributing fully to the leadership of the Judicial Office and building strong relationships with teams across the organisation.

• Establish close working relationships with members of the Judicial Executive Board, and their private offices, understanding their individual priorities and challenges and ensuring the LCJ is fully appraised and able to support them.

3. Maintain a strategic overview of the relationship between the Judiciary, Executive and Parliament

• Advise the LCJ on political, constitutional, and organisational considerations and keep her abreast of key developments and issues.

• Articulate judicial views, within the parameters for judicial comment, clearly and constructively to members of the executive and parliament, based on an understanding of judicial views and judicial independence.

• Establish strong and effective working relationships with colleagues in the private offices of the Ministry of Justice, Number 10, and other government departments.

4. Ensure effective delivery of high-quality policy and advisory support to the LCJ

• Ensure that the office provides timely, effective, and appropriate advice to the LCJ using subject matter experts from across Judicial Office.

• Build strong relationships with officials across the Judicial Office, MoJ and HMCTS, ensuring that judicial views are communicated clearly.

• Lead preparation of the LCJ for public and Parliamentary appearances.

5. Support the LCJ in exercising her governance and statutory functions

• Collaborate closely with the Secretaries to the Judicial Executive Board and Judges’ Council to ensure both are considering the right matters and the right time, in line with the LCJ’s priorities.

• Working with the LCJ senior legal advisor, support LCJ in fulfilling or delegating various functions and corresponding on various statutory duties formally exercised by the Lord Chancellor

• Support the LCJ’s relationships with her judicial colleagues working collaboratively with their private offices.

6. Provide strong leadership to the immediate team and the wider Judicial Office

• Lead the LCJ’s Private Office Team, set the constructive and positive tone for the team’s work with colleagues in Judicial Office, and beyond.

• Line manage the Head of Office (G7).

• Ensure the team responds flexibly and effectively to commissions of work including ensuring that there are efficient systems in place to support the work and adopting a continuous improvement attitude.

• Collaborate with all members of the JO management board to ensure effective ownership and delivery of LCJ priorities.

• Facilitate close relationships between the private offices to support the working relationships between the principals.

Person Specification

• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to identify key issues and constructively challenge when dealing with senior officials, senior judiciary, and senior experts, and to provide high quality written briefings.

• Strong organisational skills and diligence.

• Experience of working at pace, under pressure, and of taking decisions in a high-profile environment.

• Strong leadership skills, particularly leading through influencing.

• Interest in the justice system.

Desirable Knowledge and Skills

• Experience of working closely with the judiciary, and an interest in the workings of the courts and tribunals system more widely.

• Experience of working with departments, or closely alongside, on the development of policy issues.

Principal Private Secretary posts are unpredictable and can require working long hours, including at short notice, particularly as meetings often need to take place before or after court. The general expectation is that the PPS will be in the office when the LCJ is in the Royal Courts of Justice. However, there is greater flexibility during vacation when there are significant opportunities to work from home.

Eligibility

The post is available to existing Grade 6’s on lateral transfer and to other candidates on promotion. This post is not suitable for job-share or reduced hours working.

Location

This post is primarily based in London, at the Royal Courts of Justice but does require some travel, accompanying the LCJ to events across England & Wales, and abroad.

Length of Deployment

We are looking for the successful candidate to be in post as soon as possible. This is a permanent post.

How to apply

The application process will follow 3 stages.

1. Written application

Experience

You will be asked to provide a 1000 word CV, which should include information demonstrating your suitability for the role, any demonstrable experience, career history and achievements that are relevant to the role.

Behaviours

You will be asked to provide examples of how you have met the following behaviours:

• Delivery at Pace

• Seeing the Big Picture

• Communicating and Influencing 

• Working Together

Successful applicants will then be invited to an interview. Please note, feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview.

2. Interview

Please note that interviews will be carried out in person at the Royal Courts of Justice in London during w/c 30^th June 2025. 

During the panel interview, you will be asked behaviour-based questions to explore in detail what you are capable of, and strengths-based questions to also explore what you enjoy, and your motivations relevant to the job role. 

There is no expectation or requirement for you to prepare for the strengths-based questions in advance of the interview, though you may find it helpful to spend some time reflecting on what you enjoy doing and what you do well. You can refer to the CS Strengths dictionary for more details.

3. Fireside chat with the LCJ

Candidates successful at interview will be invited to a fireside chat with the LCJ. Feedback from the LCJ will inform the outcome of the campaign. Fireside chats will take place in person at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on the 22^{nd of} July 2025.

If you wish to discuss the role before submitting an application, please contact Clare Farren (Clare.Farren@judiciary.uk) Deputy Director, Head of Judicial Private Offices.