32553 - Executive Assistant to the Private Office of the Senior Presiding Judge for England and Wales

The Judicial Office is looking to recruit a high calibre candidate to fill the post of Executive Assistant to support the Private Office of the Senior Presiding Judge (SPJ). 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, fast paced and varied and the post-holder will be required to provide administrative support to the Private Office as well as maintain the diaries of the SPJ and Deputy SPJ. 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 improvement and maintenance of the operation and performance of HMCTS as well as the development of high-profile policy and operational areas.

The Judicial Office was established in 2006 following the implementation of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 which made the Lord 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 SPJ’s and her Deputy’s responsibilities and remit include:

• Providing support, leadership and guidance for courts judiciary, particularly to leadership judges;
• Acting as ‘Chief of Staff’ for the LCJ, dealing with the day–to–day issues affecting the judiciary, across a wide-ranging field including security, appointments, and estates issues;
• The effective and efficient operation of the courts, including regular meetings with senior officials from agencies that are involved in the work of the courts, and working with judges to understand and improve performance.

The SPJ is supported in this capacity by a Private Office, which forms part of the Judicial Office and is based at the Royal Courts of Justice. The Private Office provides administrative, legal, operational and policy support to the SPJ and the Deputy SPJ. The Private Office supports the SPJ in her pastoral responsibilities, in resolving complaints and disciplinary matters and in providing support and guidance for 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 principle member of the SPJ Private Office by managing the diary of the SPJ and her Deputy, in conjunction with other members of the Private Office,
• Organising and prioritising routine work of the SPJ, her Deputy and the office, dealing with requests promptly,
• Undertaking ad hoc requests as required to support the SPJ, her Deputy and the Private Office, when necessary in accordance with business priorities, reorganising own workload where necessary, managing conflicting priorities often with tight deadlines.
• Organise meetings, including booking rooms and dial-in details and issuing calendar invitations,
• 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 SPJ and DSPJ’s clerks,
• Attend meetings as required to take minutes and record action points,
• Using correct procedures to track and monitor action points from meetings supporting the Assistant Private Secretary to ensuring these are followed up and resolved using appropriate means of escalation,
• Screen and filter telephone calls, enquires and requests, handling them directly or referring them to an appropriate source,
• Maintain the team’s generic email 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. Local Leadership Group membership lists and Outlook distribution lists.

All of the task undertaken by the Executive Assistant will require a strong working relationship with a variety of people, from the senior judiciary, colleagues in MOJ/HMCTS and external stakeholders in the legal industry.

Person Specification:

Given 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 stimulating, 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. Some early mornings and late evenings can be expected, though every effort will be made to accommodate flexibility where necessary. 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.

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, those in MoJ/HMCTS, including in the CEO’s office, other Directors’ offices and senior official’s offices including other Private Offices, 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 Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London, WC2A 2LL.

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.