Ministry of Justice

Job title: Deputy Service Manager (Possession)

Directorate: Development

Workstream:  Housing Dispute Policy Implementation Project (HDP Project)

About us

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.

About the team

The Development Directorate (part of HQ) is responsible for service strategy and development, operational policy and modernisation of courts and tribunals. The Civil Team in Development Directorate supports the business of the County Courts.  It is responsible for service management of existing services; the design of new digital services; maintenance of operational policies for the jurisdiction and providing operational support to court and business centre staff on these; the implementation of change arising from government policy, legislation, or judicial initiatives; and for improving performance. 

The Housing Dispute Policy Implementation Project (HDP Project) is responsible for delivery and implementation of HMCTS obligations under the Leasehold and Freehold Act 2024, as well as any future legislative changes under the Renters Rights Bill to reform the private rented sector and possession.  This includes delivering a new Civil Possession Digital Service along with any interim business processes ahead of introducing a digital solution. The Civil Team is recruiting staff, on a fixed-term appointment basis, to deliver this significant change.  An effective civil justice system is fundamental to our democracy, underpinning the rule of law. This is an opportunity to work in a role that will deliver a high-profile change in the law on housing and improve how we deliver justice. 

About the role

The Deputy Service Manager role is responsible for service management on all matters relating to county court possession claims and will work with the service manager to define and develop a digitally enabled possession service in the county court to time and on budget. Working within a service design team you will support the development of the high-level service journeys and business processes that support the digital solution design, ensuring they are in line with legislation and procedure rules whilst meeting the needs of all users, judiciary, and staff. You will represent the organisation and engage openly and constructively with all stakeholders and interested parties whilst working with other government departments and senior judiciary. You will operate across a complex policy, technical, and operational landscape, and you will help reach agreement to progress plans.  

You will support the work of the Civil team as a whole, engaging widely as regards performance, continuous improvement, the vision and strategy for the jurisdiction and services within it, policy and legislative impacts, and providing support to operations.   

Key interactions will be with: 

·       Judiciary – at all levels including leadership judiciary. 

·       HMCTS operational colleagues – court staff and leadership 

·       HMCTS project, data/analysis/insight, and digital teams 

·       MOJ policy and legal advisers 

·       MHCLG policy teams

·       External stakeholders   

Your role as the Deputy Service Manager encompasses several key aspects (but not limited to):

Jurisdictional strategy, service design, service development and improvement, governance:   

·       Focusing on the outcomes of live services across the whole delivery chain, you will support:

Continuous improvement strategy and process:  

·       In collaboration with operations and corporate functions, identify opportunities and challenges within the civil courts and develop strategies for addressing them, consistent with the vision for the jurisdiction, HMCTS operating model and business architecture. 

·       Work with policy teams on policy and legislative proposals, ensuring that policies take account of the needs of HMCTS and are operationally deliverable. 

·       Develop standard business processes and operating procedure, overseen by organisational governance (service board / business authority / project governance), to deliver improvement initiatives.  

Developing service design in keeping with the organisational vision: 

·       Develop digital service design which meets all users’ needs and is consistent with HMCTS’ operating model and the CFT Service model, in collaboration with operational colleagues, the judiciary and other users and stakeholders including the Online Procedure Rule Committee.

·       Develop effective service design which enables technical development and end-to-end delivery of a digital service, to time and budget, and within agreed scope. 

Quality of services:   

·       Manage and shape services in line with the jurisdiction’s priorities and users’ needs, looking end-to-end and ensuring the issues that can impact on the running of the service are addressed. Identify national performance issues and take forward problem solving activity and continuous improvement.                      

·       Deliver nationally driven changes arising from policy, legislative or judicial initiatives, improving service delivery and aligning with the service strategy and vision in so doing. 

Corporate responsibilities:    

·       Provide high quality written and oral advice to colleagues and to governance boards, and advice to senior civil servants, judiciary and Ministers as required and in a timely manner.

·       Ensure high standards in analysis, advice and drafting to enable effective decision- making.   

·       Ensure high quality operational support is provided to courts and court staff on the postholder’s areas of jurisdictional and service responsibility. 

·       Ensure performance is maintained against correspondence, FOIs, MCs, PQs. 

·       Contribute to briefings, reports, and lines to take as required and in a timely manner.  

Engagement and Representation:

·       Sustain collaborative relationships with MOJ policy and other Government departments, public bodies, justice agencies and the judiciary to ensure HMCTS strategy and plans are aligned to wider justice policy and the Government’s agenda. 

·       Sustain collaborative relationships across HMCTS operational and HQ functions to ensure shared understanding of vision, plans, and activities and to ensure these are operationally viable. 

·       Confidently engage with staff and stakeholders, build trust, and ensure understanding of users’ needs.   

·       Represent HMCTS both internally and externally in areas of own responsibility and wider civil jurisdictional matters. 

Leadership:

·       You will be responsible for the line management of a Service Support Officer. You will give clear sense of direction and purpose; lead, coach and mentor members of the team; and develop capabilities in line with business needs.  

·       They will be an active member of the Civil Team, contributing to priorities across the team, sharing learning, promoting effective working, and upholding and role-modelling our team pledge and supportive culture.    

Other duties 

The post holder is required to work in a flexible way and undertake any other duties reasonably requested by line management which are commensurate with the grade and level of responsibility of this post.  

Who are we looking for? (Person Specification)

The ideal candidate for this position should demonstrate:

Essential

·       Experience of designing business processes and developing operational solutions across organisational boundaries, with a focus on delivering value to the people who use our services. 

·       Strong engagement skills with the ability to persuade and influence others, upwardly manage, and speak with authority when dealing with senior stakeholders. 

·       Highly organised, with the flexibility and confidence necessary to set direction and effectively prioritise tasks amidst demanding and competing priorities. 

·       A highly motivated self-starter with a proactive nature. 

·       Efficient at analysing information quickly, make sound decisions. 

Desirable 

·       Previous county court civil jurisdiction experience. 

·       Previous experience of working with in a project to deliver a digital product. 

·       Experience or knowledge of project delivery and change management.

Interview Stage

If successful at sift, you will be invited to attend a remote interview, via Microsoft teams. During your interview, you will be assessed against the following Civil Service Success Profiles which will include:

Questions in relation to the following Civil Service behaviours:

Seeing the Bigger Picture 

Working Together 

Communicating and Influencing 

Delivering at Pace 

Working pattern

Full time, Part-time / Job share, Flexible Working

Travel requirements

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

Location

This is a national role.

About our benefits

We reward our people for their hard work and commitment. We have a number of family

friendly and flexible working polices that will help you achieve a healthy work-life balance. In addition, we offer a range of employee benefits which include generous annual leave, a highly competitive contributory pension scheme, childcare benefits, season ticket and bicycle loans. 

Proud to Serve. Proud to keep justice going.