About the job

Job summary

Please refer to Job Description

Job description

We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and a sense of belonging. To find out more about how we do this visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity.

HM Courts & Tribunals Service

Directorate: London Region

Job Title: Administrative Officer

Number of Vacancies: 40

Locations: Central Family Court – x13, Court of protection – x18, Clerkenwell & Shoreditch – x6, ELFC sitting at RCJ – x3

Pay Span or equivalent grade: Administrative Officer (AO)

Duration: 12 months Fixed Term Contract

Salary: London (within M25): £27,000

These positions are available for external applicants as well as existing civil servants on level transfer or promotion.

New recruits to the Civil Service joining MoJ are expected to join at the band minimum. For existing civil servants, where an employee accepts an FTC on promotion, this promotion will be temporary, and the employee will revert to their substantive grade upon return to their home business area. Secondments/ loans will be considered on an individual basis.

Working Hours / Pattern:

These operational roles are customer facing, requiring successful applicants to be office based to provide HMCTS services to the public.  Standard full time working hours are 37 hours per week. HMCTS welcomes part-time, flexible, and job-sharing working patterns, where they meet the demands of the role and are agreed prior to appointment. All applications for part-time, flexible, and job-sharing working patterns will be treated fairly and, on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the MoJ’s Flexible Working policy.

Background:

Good administrative staff with excellent customer service skills are vital to the effective operation of the Courts, Tribunals and other offices within His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS). Most of the staff within HMCTS are employed in administrative roles. HMCTS embraces Lean principles and continuous improvement techniques to provide high standards of customer service.

Key Purpose:

Administrative Officers are assigned to teams to carry out a variety of general administrative duties to progress cases through the court/tribunal system or provide support to other functions within HMCTS. Continuous improvement tools and techniques are used in HMCTS and so there will be opportunities to exercise discretion and initiative and continually seek to improve, within a framework of systems and processes (SOPS). Problem solving is carried out by reference to lean techniques (e.g. problem-solving hubs) and comprehensive guidelines and instructions - complex or difficult issues are normally referred to or will involve a team leader or supervisor. In some positions, role holders will have regular contact with court / tribunal users, including members of the Judiciary and the legal profession. Administrative Officers work within a team with regular management support and are responsible for their own time, although there may be some opportunity to provide advice and carry out limited supervision of others.

Working as part of a flexible team, the postholder will be expected to undertake a range of the functions and responsibilities specified.  It is not intended that each post will be responsible for the full range of duties.

Essential Skills & Criteria:

• Strong customer focus and service skills
• Experience of working in an administrative role in a customer focussed environment
• Proficient with IT and Microsoft Software packages
• Excellent communication and organisational skills

Key Responsibilities:

Administration

• Preparing papers and files for court, tribunals, hearings and meetings
• Producing court/tribunal documents
• General photocopying and filing
• Creating and updating records on in-house computer system and data input
• Post opening and dispatch
• Booking, preparing and organising meeting rooms, supporting training courses and other group activities
• Preparing meeting agenda, joining instructions, handouts etc

Drafting

• Standard letters and correspondence, minutes, notes, reports, submissions etc, according to guidelines and instructions

Operations

• Clerking civil and family courts, tribunals and hearings, ensuring papers & materials are available / up to date
• Assisting court users, supporting listing and rota management, checking files
• Contacting relevant parties, scheduling, serving court documents, executing a range of warrants, collecting

  fines and fees etc, including the use of chip and pin

• Handling counter (face to face), written and telephone enquiries
• To work as a team to ensure TIB (Team Information Board) meetings are relevant, timely and productive
• To work as a team to problem solve, to assess the impact of new SOPS, to contribute to small projects
• To undertake ad hoc roles within the band such as Jury Bailiff Officer, L+D Co-ordinator, H+S roles

Processing Casework

• Including standard documentation and information, court orders, claims, fines and fees, legal aid
• Resulting courts accurately, interpreting accurately the information required on a court file
• To work to workload targets in terms of throughput and accuracy

Checking and Verifying

• Documents, records, accounts, claims and returns for approval, results, statistics, plans etc. against criteria, regulations or procedures
• Ensuring compliance and administration documentation meet quality standards
• Role holders may be required to cross check and validate work completed by colleagues

Collecting and Assembling Information

• For returns, results, accounts, statements, warrants, statistical analysis, reports etc
• Work may require interpretation of source materials, preparation of bundles, chasing
• Modify and adjust information and make decisions to allow work to be completed
• Collect / assemble information to prepare for and run the daily TIB meeting, as required

Undertaking Calculations

• Produce basic statistical analysis reports and where required, process financial information
• Checking the work of others, updating records, assessing the value of goods and/or property, reconciling accounts, preparing invoices, information gathering and running straightforward reports
• Spending limited sums of money on behalf of an office or unit

Communicating with the Public, the Judiciary, other Court and Tribunal Users and Representatives of other Agencies and Organisations

• Communicate and work with the Judiciary, Magistracy, the Cluster Managers, Court staff, and other internal /external stakeholders, suppliers and customers to collect information, check facts, communicate or enforce judicial decisions. Give advice on the completion of forms or court procedures etc and provide excellent customer service
• To deliver a helpful, prompt, polite and “right first time” service to our internal and external customers

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.

Operational Delivery in HMCTS:

This role is part of the Operational Delivery Profession. Operational delivery professionals are the outward face of government, providing essential services to the public in a variety of roles. They work in many different departments and agencies across the breadth of the UK, delivering service to customers in

• Face-to-face roles in HMCTS for example a court usher
• Processing roles in HMCTS for example Staff at the County Courts Money-Claims Centre and Courts and Tribunal Administration

Being part of the operational delivery profession means belonging to a cross-government community of people.  This will offer you access to information on professional standards, skills development and qualifications to help you continue to improve your development and performance and expand your career options.

Application Process:

To apply for this position please complete the online application form, ensuring you provide the following:

• An up-to-date CV showing your skills and experience
• A 250-word suitability statement providing evidence of your personal skills, experience, strengths and behaviours relevant to the role, as outlined in the Essential Skills & Criteria and Key Responsibilities above.

In the event we receive a large volume of applications, we will sift using the suitability statement as the lead assessment criteria.

If selected for interview, you will be tested against the following Success Profile Behaviours (Level 1):

• Communicating & Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace

Interviews will also test three Strengths.

Interviews may also be required to be conducted via video conference.

Further information on Success Profile Behaviours and Strengths, as well as the required standards for this post (Level 1), can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles        

If we receive applications from more suitable candidates than we have vacancies for at this time, we may hold suitable applicants on a reserve list for 12 months, and future vacancies requiring the same skills and experience could be offered to candidates on the reserve list without a new competition.

We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce and pride ourselves as being an employer of choice. To find out more about how we champion diversity and inclusion in the workplace, visit:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity

The MoJ is proud to be Level 3 Disability Confident. Disability Confident is the approach through which we offer guaranteed interviews for all people with disabilities meeting the minimum criteria for the advertised role as set out in the job description.

Location Preferences:

When applying for this role you will be given options to choose a number of locations as your preference for placement, if you were to be successful. 

Whilst the post holder will be allocated to a specific office base, there may be a need for flexibility to work on an ad hoc or regular basis at other local HMCTS sites / courts.  Where applicable, associated travel cost / time will be applied in line with organisational policies.  We will make every effort to take your preference/s into account, this is not always possible and subject to business needs. 

Please note that you might be placed at another location that is not one of your preferences.

Security Clearance:

Some locations require a higher level of clearance – CTC (Counter Terrorist Check). 

Successful applicants will be vetted to Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) level. However, some sites require the higher-level Counter Terrorist Check (CTC) checks to be completed. Once allocated a site these checks, where applicable, will be undertaken.

Subject to the placement process, you may be placed at one of these CTC locations, whilst your CTC vetting is being processed. If you do not pass your CTC you may be moved to another suitable location in the London area (subject to availability), which is not a CTC location.

Terms & Conditions:

Fixed Term Appointment

These appointments will be made on a 18-month fixed term contract basis.

Fixed Term Contracts (FTC) on Promotion:

MoJ employees may apply for FTC opportunities in MoJ that are advertised at a higher grade than their current substantive grade. Where an employee accepts an FTC on promotion, this promotion will be temporary, and the employee will revert to their substantive grade upon return to their home business area, as per the loan policy for OGD loans. Before applying, employees must seek approval from their line managers to ensure they can be released for the duration of the FTC and can return to their substantive role at the end. If there is no role available at the end of the FTC, the employee will be subject to redeployment and potentially redundancy procedures.  Loans are also available for OGD candidates

Working Hours / Pattern:

These operational roles are customer facing, requiring successful applicants to be office based to provide HMCTS services to the public.  Standard full time working hours are 37 hours per week. HMCTS welcomes part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns, where they meet the demands of the role and are agreed prior to appointment. All applications for part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns will be treated fairly and, on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the MoJ’s Flexible Working policy.

Excess Fares and Relocation Allowances

This job is not eligible for relocation allowances, but excess fares may be considered in accordance with MoJ’s excess fares allowance policy.

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £27,000, HM Courts and Tribunals Service contributes £7,317 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.