About the job

Job summary

Please refer to Job Description

Job description

HM Courts and Tribunals Service

Directorate: RCJ - Operations

Job Title: Clerk to HM Judges (2 posts available)

Locations: Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London, WC2A 2LL

Duration: Permanent Contract

Pay Span or equivalent: EO

Salary: London (within M25): £31,169 - £32,760

Please note:  It is anticipated that successful candidates will not start before October 2024.

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. Secondments and loans will be considered on an individual basis. 

About HMCTS:

HM Courts and Tribunals Service is responsible for the administration of criminal, civil and family courts and tribunals in England and Wales. We work with an independent judiciary to provide a fair, efficient and effective justice system.

For more information about HMCTS and what we do, visit: https://www.hmctsjobs.co.uk/. 

Overview:

The role is to provide first line support to a Lord or Lady Justice of Appeal or High Court Judge by ensuring best use of the judge's time, to enable them to concentrate on the delivery of justice. Using your organisational skills, you will efficiently manage all aspects of your judge’s day; this involves administrative duties which may include typing documents including judgments or orders and diary management.  You will also likely be required to liaise with internal and external stakeholders including legal representatives, members of the public and other members of the judiciary.

The appointment to some Judges may require extensive travelling with overnight stays during the week for a considerable number of weeks at a time. This circuit work entails staying with the judge(s) and other clerks in judicial accommodation, returning home at weekends.

This is a unique role within the justice system. If you are organised, adaptable and you care about ensuring the delivery of justice then working as a Judges’ Clerk can be incredibly rewarding.  Full training will be given in the role.

Key Responsibilities:

Administration

Keep an up-to-date diary of your Judge’s court sittings/visits/meetings, maintenance of his/her robes and library, co-ordinating visits and assisting visitors plus other office functions.

Domestic duties as required by the judge; e.g. tea/coffee preparation, lunch collection, washing up, dry cleaning and other ad hoc duties as agreed. Transportation of large court bundles around the building; trolleys are provided but some lifting will be required. When judges go on circuit, clerks are responsible for transporting books, bundles, files, computers, robes and other judicial requirements as well as their own, and judge’s, personal belongings.

Communication

You will be responsible for the smooth running of the judge’s court commitments whether in London or on circuit. This will involve communicating by telephone, email and correspondence to ensure the resolution of many and varied queries and requests. On a regular basis you’ll be liaising with:

• judges and senior figures
• litigants and members of the public
• jurors
• court and tribunal users
• representatives of other agencies and organisations

You will be representing your assigned judge at an operational level. Using your organisational skills, you will be expected to efficiently manage all aspects of your judge’s day. You will be required to make decisions regarding changing priorities as they occur, without reference to the judge, and work on your own initiative. In many instances you will be the first point of contact between your judge and others. The need for confidentiality, tact, courtesy and diplomacy is therefore paramount.

This short video will give you an insight to the role from some clerks currently in post – Clerk to HM Judges

Working Arrangements:

Hours

Your actual working pattern is agreed with the judge and your line manager. Judge’s Clerks are not normally required to work more hours each week than the standard working week (37 hours) but there is an expectation that a clerk will work longer hours if a situation arises. Due to the travelling involved and the variety of court duties performed, this role is not suitable for part-time working, job sharing or frequent working from home.

Location

The position is London based and therefore you should live within a reasonable daily commute of London.  However, due to the nature of the role you could be required to travel within England and Wales.  When in London, you will be based within the Royal Courts of Justice or other buildings within the immediate area.

Circuit work

Any judge may undertake circuit work anywhere in England and Wales up to 3 times annually for periods of around 2-6 weeks (or more depending on the case). On circuit you will stay at judges’ lodgings or hotels on weekdays (at no cost to you) and liaise with the housekeeper and lodging’s manager on domestic matters that may include arrangement of dinner parties and visits.

You will be expected to continue managing the judge’s other commitments while on circuit.

Annual leave

Annual leave may only be taken in accordance with the Judges Clerks’ supplemental working T&Cs. The minimum entitlement is 25 days rising to 30 days after 5 years’ service.

Security Level:

Counter-Terrorism Check (CTC)

To apply for roles in MOJ you will need to confirm your employment and residence history for at least 3 years prior to the date of application so that pre-employment checks (BPSS) can be undertaken. If you have spent significant time abroad (a total of 6 months in the past 3 years) you would be required to give a reasonable account of the reasons why. 

For some roles you will be required to successfully complete National Security Vetting at Counter Terrorism (CTC), Security Clearance (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV) level as a condition of appointment. To meet CTC/SC/DV requirements you will need to have been resident in the UK for at least 3/5/10 years prior to the date of application (the level of checks that are required are stated in the advert).

If you do not meet the above requirements, you may still be considered if, for example:

• You've been serving overseas with HM Forces or in some other official capacity as a representative of HM Government
• You were studying abroad
• You were living overseas with parents

In such cases you will need to be able to provide referee cover for the period(s) of residence overseas. The duration of overseas residence and the country of abode will also be taken into account and a local police check carried out.

Essential Skills and Criteria:

Accurate typing speed of a minimum of 35 wpm, this is tested before proceeding to interview and will be tested in 3 parts, average speed will be calculated for part 1 & 2 below:

• Speed test when copying from typed text and making corrections
• Speed test when copying from Manuscript and making corrections
• Drafting emails on behalf of Judges, in response to the correspondence received
• Previous experience of using IT Microsoft Office applications.
• A high standard of spoken and written English. You need to be able to understand and assimilate information from various sources and accurately summarise it in a clear and concise written format, tested before proceeding to interview.

Desirable Skills Include:

• A full driving licence

Application Process:

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

• An up-to-date copy of your CV which details your experience and achievements
• A 250-word suitability statement against the desirable and essential skills above
• A 250-word statement against each of the following Success Profile Behaviours (Level 2):
• Communicating & Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions
• Delivering at Pace

If successful at sift stage, candidates will be invited to attend an assessment day which consists of two parts – a practical assessment (which comprises of word processing and drafting skills) and a panel interview.  Candidates must pass both parts of the assessment day to be offered a position.

If selected for interview, the Success Profile Behaviours listed above will also be tested / assessed (Level 2).

Interviews will also test two Strengths.

Applicants progressing to interview will be invited to an assessment day which will involve two stages:

• A practical assessment (as outlined in Essential Skills and Criteria above)
• Face to face interview based on the Success Profile Behaviours listed above, Strength questions and discussion of IT skills

Candidates must pass both parts of the assessment day to be offered a position.

Further information on Success Profile Behaviours and Strengths, as well as the required standards for this post (Level 2), 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.

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £31,169, HM Courts and Tribunals Service contributes £8,446 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. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). 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.