35245 - Pre-Appointments Advisor

£30,845 - £38,373
1
12 Months
London
London
RCJ LONDON, WC2A 2LL
HEO
C
Permanent
Full Time
Human Resources

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

About the Judicial Office

The Judicial Office (JO) reports to, and is accountable, to the Lord Chief Justice and was established in 2006 to provide support to him and to the wider judiciary following the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. In addition, we support, and are accountable to, the Senior President of Tribunals, whose responsibilities extend to Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The JO is an interesting and important place to work. Everything we do is in support of upholding the independence and impartiality of the judiciary. We work closely with HMCTS, the Ministry of Justice and others across Government as well as with the legal professions.

For further information about working in the JO, please see the attached link: https://design102.wistia.com/medias/uhgtmbtnlv

The PDF entitled JO Recruitment pack says a little more about what working in JO is like and highlights all the great things about working here.

Background: Judicial HR

Led by the Head of Judicial HR, the Judicial HR team is accountable for delivering the right judicial office holders with the right skills, in the right place, at the right time in support of the Lord Chief Justice and Senior President of Tribunals responsibilities for the welfare and conduct of the judiciary as set out in the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. The team also supports and advises the advisory committees that carry out key functions in relation to the magistracy on behalf of the Lord Chancellor.

We are not a typical HR team in that everything we do needs to meet the, often complex, needs of the judiciary who are office holders and not Civil Servants. This provides us with a unique set of HR challenges.   It also provides us with unique opportunities to work with the judiciary at all levels and gives us ample opportunity to broaden our HR skills sets, use our HR and business insights to be curious about doing things differently and continuously learn.  

It’s an exciting time to join us. Judicial HR is currently restructuring with the aim of putting judicial office holders at the heart of the service that we provide. The new structure has three main functions within it: HR Operations, Centres of Expertise and HR Business Advisers. This would be your opportunity to use your HR insights to help shape the leadership and talent offer to the Judiciary.

Judicial Office Holder Appointments Team and The Role

The Judicial Office Holder Appointments Team comprises the Pre-appointments and Post-appointments teams as well as the Magistrates team. The vacancy is in the Pre-appointments team which deals with the planning of recruitment campaigns for courts and tribunals judges all the way through to the deployment and appointment of judicial office holders who have been selected for appointment by the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC). For more information, please see the Judicial Office website.

This role involves briefing and advising the senior judiciary on the national deployment of candidates (judicial office holders) following successful completion of a selection exercise. This role will provide an excellent opportunity for a candidate to work with the judiciary, officials within the JO and across a range of Government departments, including the Ministry of Justice and the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC), a Non-Departmental Public Body. We are looking for candidates who are excellent team players with strong organisational skills and an eye for detail. You will need to have the confidence and ability to work under your own initiative and be able to manage competing priorities effectively.

This post will have line management responsibility for up to two Band D’s.

The successful candidate will have an induction period and support from their line manager throughout. They will also be supported by colleagues in the Judicial Office HR Teams on how the team works with senior judiciary and key stakeholders such as the JAC, MoJ, HMCTS and the Judicial College. Please contact Kerrie Pendry, Pre-Appointments Manager (Kerrie.pendry@judiciary.uk) if you would like further information.

Key duties of the role:

  • Leading on the drafting and compilation of judicial deployment papers for each selection exercise. The deployment of successful candidates (judicial office holders) is a matter for the judiciary, however, to support the senior judges in their role, you will be required to collate often complex information from a variety of sources to enable you to prepare a comprehensive deployment paper. The purpose of the deployment paper is to brief the Senior Presiding Judge or Tribunal Chamber Presidents ahead of their meeting with the appropriate leadership judges. The deployment paper will make recommendations to assist the senior judiciary in their role in determining deployment.
  • Attend and provide advice and support to the senior judiciary at deployment meetings and on any other matters relating to judicial appointments. Ensure all deployment decisions are captured and reflected accurately in follow up papers.
  • Deal with issues that arise either before, during or after deployment meetings with a view to finding solutions that are legally sound. 
  • Provide advice to the Lord Chancellor, Lord Chief Justice or Senior President of Tribunals on JAC reports that recommend candidates for judicial appointment.
  • Statutory Consultation requests, a key part of the JAC selection processes. Seeking comments from the relevant leadership judges, collating these comments and providing a draft response on behalf of and for approval by the appropriate senior judge.
  • Assisting the Band B in tracking career progression in senior judicial appointments.
  • Providing ad hoc flexible support to colleagues as needed to meet work priorities.
  • Contribute to the continuing development of the e-HR database.
  • Line management responsibilities for up to 2 Band D’s.

Skills and Qualifications

Essential Criteria

  • The ability and confidence to communicate with people at all levels including senior members of the judiciary both verbally and in writing.
  • Excellent organisational skills.
  • Excellent drafting skills.
  • Strong IT skills (i.e. should be able to work confidently in Word, Excel and Outlook, including the ability to make formatting and layout changes to documents, manipulate data in Excel using basic formulae, sorting and filtering).
  • Willingness to contribute to the successful delivery of the work of the team as a whole by supporting others in their work as necessary and in building and maintaining a continuous learning environment for the team (applicable to all in the team).
  • The ability to effectively manage a broad range of work and changing workloads through forward planning and effective prioritisation.
  • The ability to use initiative; having a sense of purpose and motivation to get things going and get the job done.
  • The ability to remain calm and professional under pressure.

Behaviours

Seeing the Big Picture – Lead Behaviour

  • Be alert to and identify emerging issues and trends which might impact or benefit your own or your team’s work.
  • Develop an understanding of your team’s priorities for the year ahead and how these contribute to the JO Business Plan.
  • Seek and understand how your own and your team’s work contributes to delivery of high quality HR services to the judiciary and stakeholders.

Changing and Improving

  • Actively seek ways to improve processes and working practices, to deliver a quality HR service within resource constraints. Encourage others to do the same.
  • Be prepared to take managed risks, ensuring these are planned and their impact assessed.
  • Actively encourage views from a wide range of sources and relevant stakeholders, and use these to inform own thinking.
  • Prepare for, and respond appropriately to, the range of possible impacts that change may have on your own role or on your team.

Making Effective Decisions

  • Make appropriate decisions when needed, even if they are difficult or unpopular.
  • Identify a range of relevant, credible information sources and recognise the need to collect new information when necessary. Recognise patterns and trends in a wide range of evidence/data and draw logical conclusions.
  • Explore different options, taking account of and expressing clearly the costs, benefits, risks and possible reactions to/impact of each option.
  • Recognise scope of own authority for decision making. Empower team members to contribute to decision making, and make their own decisions.

Communicating and Influencing

  • Establish credible relationships with the judiciary and stakeholders to support delivery of objectives.
  • Consider seeking input from an appropriate range of people, ensuring that different viewpoints are taken into account.
  • Work collaboratively within own team and across the JO. Be flexible and pragmatic, willing to share resources to support colleagues and deliver priority objectives.
  • Deal with conflict in a prompt, calm and constructive manner.

Managing a Quality Service

  • Develop, implement, maintain and review systems and service standards to provide quality, efficiency and value for money.
  • Work with team to set priorities, goals, objectives and timescales.
  • Continuously seek to develop proposals to improve the quality of service provided by liaising with a diverse range of colleagues, stakeholders and the judiciary.

Due to the current pandemic, Interviews are likely to take place over MS Teams.

If the volume of applications exceeds expectations then the sift will take place on the Lead Behaviour - Seeing the Bigger Picture

Working Arrangements & Further Information

Some of MoJ’s terms and conditions of service are changing as part of Civil Service reform. The changes will apply to staff joining MoJ who are new to the Civil Service. Staff joining MoJ from other civil service employers will transfer onto the new MoJ terms if they are already on 'modernised' terms in their current post or onto 'unmodernised' MoJ terms if they are on 'unmodernised' terms at their current post. Details will be available if an offer is made.

Flexible working hours

The Ministry of Justice offers a flexible working system in many offices.

Benefits

The MoJ offers a range of benefits:

Annual Leave

Generous allowances for paid holiday starting at 25 days per year, and rising as your service increases. There is also a scheme to allow qualifying staff to buy or sell up to three days leave each year. Additional paid time off for public holidays and 1 privilege day. Leave for part-time and job share posts will be calculated on a pro-rata basis.

Pension

The Civil Service offers a choice of pension schemes, giving you the flexibility to choose the pension that suits you best.

Training

The Ministry of Justice is committed to staff development and offers an extensive range of training and development opportunities.

Support

  • A range of ‘Family Friendly’ policies such as opportunities to work reduced hours or job share.
  • Access to flexible benefits such as voluntary benefits,retail vouchers and discounts on a range of goods and services.
  • For any moves across the Civil Service may have implications on your ability to carry on claiming childcare vouchers
  • Paid paternity, adoption and maternity leave.
  • Free annual sight tests for employees who use computer screens.

Networks

The opportunity to join employee-run networks that have been established to provide advice and support and to enable the views of employees from minority groups to be expressed direct to senior management. There are currently networks for employees of minority ethnic origin, employees with disabilities, employees with caring responsibilities, women employees, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code 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. Should you feel that the recruitment process has breached the recruitment principles you are able to raise a formal complaint in the following order

1-     To Shared Service Connected Ltd (0845 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com);

2-     To Ministry of Justice Resourcing (resourcing-services@justice.gov.uk);

3-     To the Civil Service Commission (details available here)

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity.

There is a guaranteed interview scheme (GIS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Grading Structure Review

The Ministry of Justice is currently undergoing a review of posts which are currently graded at Band A to realign our grading structure with the majority of the wider Civil Service.

Posts advertised at Band A may be graded at either Grade 6 or Grade 7 once the review has taken place.  

To be confirmed - Due to the current pandemic, Interviews are likely to take place over MS Teams

08/07/2020, 23:55 hours.

If you require any assistance please call 0845 241 5359 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com Please quote the job reference - 35245.
Counter-Terrorism Check (CTC)

To apply for roles in MOJ you will need to confirm your employment 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 normally 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.

Success Profiles will enable a fairer and more inclusive method of recruitment by enabling us to assess the range of experiences, abilities, strengths, behaviours and technical/professional skills required for different roles. This flexible approach to recruitment focuses more on finding the right candidate for the specific role. To find out more about Success Profiles to support your application please click here for further guidance.

In the event that we receive a large volume of applications we reserve the right to conduct the sift based on one lead behaviour. The chosen lead behaviour for this campaign is Seeing the Big Picture.
if you feel that your application has not been treated in line with the Civil Service Recruitment Principles, please contact SSCL (Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com) in the first instance

We have provided detail of the assessment stages and areas being assessed to help you prepare for completing your application form, and to advise of what will be assessed following this, if you successfully pass the application stage.


Application form stage assessments

Behaviours
Seeing the Big Picture - 250 word limit
Changing and Improving - 250 word limit
Making Effective Decisions - 250 word limit
Communicating and Influencing - 250 word limit
Managing a Quality Service - 250 word limit
Experience
CV
A sift based on the lead behaviour, Seeing the Big Picture, may be held if a large number of applications are received. If a large number of applications remain after the initial sift, your application will be progressed to a full sift, where all behaviours will then be considered.

Interview stage assessments

There is 1 interview stage for this vacancy.
Behaviours
Seeing the Big Picture
Changing and Improving
Making Effective Decisions
Communicating and Influencing
Managing a Quality Service
Strengths may also be assessed at interview but these are not shared in advance.

A Great Place to Work for Veterans

The "Making the Civil Service a Great Place to work for veterans" initiative includes a guaranteed interview scheme to those who meet the minimum criteria to provide eligible former members of the Armed Forces with opportunities to secure rewarding jobs. Allowing veterans to continue to serve their country, and to bring highly skilled individuals with a broad range of experience into the Civil Service in an environment, which recognises and values your previous service in the Armed Forces.
For further details about the initiative and eligibility requirements visit : https://www.gov.uk/government/news/making-the-civil-service-a-great-place-to-work-for-veterans

Redeployment Interview Scheme

Civil Service departments are expected to explore redeployment opportunities before making an individual redundant. The MoJ are committed, as part of the Redeployment Interview Scheme, to providing opportunities to those who are 'at risk of redundancy'.

MoJ are able to offer an interview to eligible candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns. Candidate's will not be eligible for the Redeployment Interview Scheme if they are applying on promotion.

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) https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families

· 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) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules

This Vacancy is closed to applications.