Job Specification

Assistant Private Secretary in the Senior President of Tribunals’ Office, Judicial Office.

Organisation

The Judicial Office (JO) is a unique branch of the civil service, independent from the machinery which supports the Government and dedicated to supporting the judiciary as the third arm of the state. We promote and safeguard judicial independence to maintain confidence in the rule of law. We are answerable not to Ministers but instead, through our Chief Executive, to the Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales and the Senior President of Tribunals as we help them to fulfil their responsibilities to the judiciary.

We support c.22,000 judicial office holders, providing policy, legal and handling advice, and operational support. This includes advice on judicial leadership, support with relationships with Government and Parliament, assistance with justice sector reform, judicial education and training, comms, and HR.

Directorate

The postholder will join the Judicial Private Offices directorate. The business units include operational private offices; jurisdiction and policy private offices; and the Judicial Executive Board Secretariat.

Overview:

This is an exciting opportunity to provide leadership and support to a busy Judicial Private Office, supporting the Senior President of Tribunals. The role would suit someone looking for a stretching role working with the most senior judges in the judiciary.

Within the Judicial Office, the Operational Private Offices support the senior judges in all of their leadership functions. Each Private Office provides policy and legal advice, general secretariat and administrative support to their principal, working collaboratively with expert teams across the Judicial Office. The Private Office supports the Senior President of Tribunals in achieving their statutory responsibilities and in pursuing their strategic priorities.

Role Summary:

The postholder will be responsible for ensuring that the Private Office provides high quality policy advice and administrative and operational support to the Senior President of Tribunals. This role involves the development and implementation of new ways of working within the Private Office and the delivery of efficiencies across the wider Private Offices and Judicial Office.

The role involves maintaining an overview of developments in the respective jurisdictions, liaising with and building strong relationships with peers and senior stakeholders across the Justice system, including His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service, the Ministry of Justice, other government departments, and across the Private Office Directorate in Judicial Office.

The postholder will be joining the Private Office during a busy and exciting time with the appointment of a new Senior President of Tribunals expected to be announced imminently. The postholder will be expected to work at pace to deliver operational priorities of the new Senior President of Tribunals once they are appointed.

Main Activities / Responsibilities:

The main responsibilities of the post include, but are not limited to:

• Supporting the provision of advice for the Senior President of Tribunals and acting as the single point of contact for enquiries on a variety of matters including governance, legislation and policy and signposting to professional support e.g. HR, Communications, Judicial Training, Data, across the Judicial Office.

• Setting the Agenda and briefing the Senior President of Tribunals in preparation for set piece meetings, providing and/or commissioning written and oral advice and, noting and chasing action points and implementing decisions.

• Providing secretariat support to a number of judicial boards and committees.

• Communicating on behalf of the Senior President of Tribunals with tribunal judicial office holders and where directed, with officials from MoJ, HMCTS, and OGDs, stakeholder organisations, and members of the public/their legal representatives.

• Providing advice and support to the Senior President of Tribunals on specific jurisdictional projects, including arranging and supporting judicial working groups and networks as directed.

• Being responsible for a distinct portfolio of work, focused on operational judicial matters in the tribunals.

• Develop and implement/maintain systems, processes and new ways of working to deliver efficiencies within the Private Office to align with other Private Offices across Judicial Office.

• Undertake ad hoc requests as required to support the Senior President of Tribunals, managing conflicting priorities often with tight deadlines.

• Providing cover for the Deputy Private Secretary during periods of planned and unplanned absence to ensure the smooth running of the office.

Management of Resources:

The postholder will manage an EO Executive Assistant to the Senior President of Tribunals. The postholder will report to the Deputy Private Secretary to the Senior President of Tribunals.

Person Specification:

The successful candidate must:

• be able to influence and manage upwards and speak with authority when dealing with senior officials or judiciary;

• have excellent communication and leadership skills;

• be confident implementing and driving forward changes in ways of working and modernisation initiatives

• have strong organisational skills

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.

The support provided by Judicial Private Offices involves working before and after court, in keeping with the judge’s diary commitments and sitting patterns. Some early mornings and late evenings can be expected, though effort will be made to accommodate flexibility where necessary. This role is not suitable for reduced hours working.

Location:

This post is based in London in the Royal Courts of Justice.

Occasional travel will be required to support the Senior President of Tribunals when visiting regions.

These posts are eligible for hybrid working (current requirement is at least 60% of working hours each week to be spent in the office, in line with all government departments). However, working in a senior judicial Private Office will require attendance in the office when required by the Senior President of Tribunals.

How to apply:

This is a Success Profiles based recruitment and Civil Service Behaviours will be considered at application stage, along with a candidate CV (not scored).

Behaviours to be assessed at application stage:

Communicating & Influencing, Delivering at Pace, Working Together and Seeing the Bigger Picture.

In the event of a high volume of applications, we will sift on the lead behaviour of Communicating and Influencing.

Candidates invited to interview will be assessed on these behaviours and on Civil Service Strengths.

We anticipated that sift will be held during w/c 14^th July 2025 and interviews from WC 4^th August.

If you wish to discuss the role before submitting an application, please contact Cari Jones (Cari.Jones@judiciary.uk).