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.

Diary Manager to the Private Office of the Chancellor of the High Court

Please note, the salary for this role is: £31,169 - £32,760.

New recruits to the Civil Service joining MoJ are expected to join at the band minimum. 

The Judicial Office is looking to recruit a high calibre candidate to fill the post of Diary Manager to support the Private Office of the Chancellor of the High Court (CHC). This is a business-critical post, working at the heart of the Judicial Office; the post-holder will need to manage conflicting priorities and use their initiative daily. The role is demanding and varied, the post-holder will be required to provide administrative support to the Private Office as well as maintain and manage the diary of the CHC. Collaboration and flexibility is essential in this role given the requirement to work with a variety of people, all working towards key priorities which focus on the effective operation of the Business and Property Courts as well as the development of high-profile priority initiatives on behalf of the CHC.

The Judicial Office was established in 2006 following the implementation of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 which made the Lady Chief Justice (LCJ) the Head of the Judiciary. The LCJ’s specific responsibilities include representing the views of the judiciary of England and Wales to Parliament, the Lord Chancellor and ministers generally; maintaining arrangements for the welfare, training and guidance of the judiciary; and maintaining arrangements for the deployment of judges and the allocation of work within the courts. The role of the Judicial Office is to support the LCJ in carrying out these responsibilities. Where those responsibilities have been delegated to other members of the judiciary, the Judicial Office supports them directly. For more information see www.judiciary.gov.uk.

The Chancellor of the High Court is supported by a Private Office, which forms part of the Judicial Office and is based in the Rolls Building as part of the Royal Courts of Justice estate. The Private Office provides administrative, legal, operational and policy support to the CHC and the High Court Judges of the Chancery Division. The Private Office supports the CHC in his pastoral responsibilities, in resolving issues, driving the CHC’s strategic priorities and in providing support and guidance to leadership judges.

The post-holder will be required to work collaboratively as part of a small team and should be prepared to support the highly cohesive work environment.

Main activities/responsibilities:

The successful candidate will be required to undertake the following duties and responsibilities (the following list is not exhaustive):

• Act as a principal member of the CHC’s Private Office by managing his diary, in conjunction with other members of the Private Office.
• Organising and prioritising routine work of the CHC and the office, dealing with requests promptly.

• Organise meetings, including travel arrangements, booking rooms and issuing calendar invitations.
• Planning the sequencing and rhythm of the CHC’s engagement with senior judiciary, government Ministers and other interested parties.
• Commissioning agenda items, collating and supporting the relevant member of the Private Office.
• Monitoring attendance and coordination/circulation of papers.
• Ensuring effective preparation for meetings and daily workloads, printing papers when necessary,
• Working in partnership with the CHC’s clerks, to diarise and arrange hearings and ceremonial duties.
• Attend meetings as required to take minutes and record action points.
• Using efficient procedures to track and monitor action points from meetings supporting the Private Secretary and Deputy Private Secretary to ensure these are followed up and resolved using appropriate means of escalation.
• Screen and filter telephone calls, enquiries, event invitations and requests, handling them directly or referring them to an appropriate source,
• Maintain the team’s mailbox account and respond to queries in a timely manner, directing them to the relevant team lead where necessary.
• Proactively and consistently maintain accurate records to support effective engagement with the judiciary, e.g., Outlook distribution lists.
• Undertaking ad hoc requests as required to support the CHC, High Court Judges of the Chancery Division and the Private Office, when necessary in accordance with business priorities, reorganising own workload where necessary, managing conflicting priorities often with tight deadlines.

All of the tasks undertaken by the Diary Manager will require a strong working relationship with a variety of people, including the senior judiciary, colleagues in MOJ/HMCTS and external stakeholders in the legal industry and family justice system.

Person Specification:
Given the close working with very senior members of the judiciary, senior officials across Government, and a wide range of other stakeholders, the post holder will be expected to be able to communicate exceptionally clearly, both orally and in writing. The successful candidate must be able to demonstrate excellent organisational and inter-personal skills, whilst managing a very busy inbox. The role is fast-paced, challenging, and varied, offering significant scope for personal development and stretch. The post-holder will be required to manage conflicting priorities diplomatically but robustly and will be required to work collaboratively as part of a small team, drawing links with colleagues across the Judicial Office and HMCTS as necessary. The ability to build and maintain resilient relationships against shifting priorities and a demanding workload is important.

The support provided by Judicial Private Offices involves working before and after court.  Regular in office working, as well as some early mornings and late evenings can be expected, though every effort will be made to accommodate flexibility where necessary. the post holder will be 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.

Essential specifications:

• Ability to produce work which is clear and concise;
• Effectively engage with the relevant people to obtain the most accurate information and get advice when unsure of how to proceed;
• Foster effective working relationships with a wide range of colleagues and stakeholders within and outside of Judicial Office, its various private offices, and those in MoJ/HMCTS, demonstrating good team working and communication skills.

Essential Criteria:

To be successful in this role, you should have/be working towards the following:

• Skilled in the Microsoft office suite (specifically Excel, Word, Outlook and PowerPoint).
• Experience of diary management and arranging meetings / preparing papers.
• A strong communicator, able to communicate messages clearly to a range of audiences at all levels – both verbally and in writing.
• Strong organisational skills and ability to prioritise work.
• The ability to build productive working relationships quickly and to engender confidence with colleagues and stakeholders;
• Experience of managing conflicting priorities in a fast paced, constantly changing work environment to achieve successful outcomes;
• Be proactive and prepared to take initiative. 

Overview

Please refer to the contract of employment for terms and conditions.

The post will be based in the Roll Building, 7 Fetter Lane, EC4A 1NL.

It should be noted that the nature of this post will require the post-holder to work longer hours on some occasions, and to support early and late meetings and although flexible working will be accommodated when possible, the post holder will be expected to be based in the office for the majority of judicial term.

Application

To apply for this role please provide a 500 word statement of suitability and examples of the following:

• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together

Candidates who are invited to interview will be tested on the Civil Service Behaviours listed above and Civil Service Strengths.

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £31,169, Ministry of Justice 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.