43170 - Service Manager

£43,958 - £63,500 (Salary will depend on location)
3
12 Months
National
National
NATIONAL
Grade 7
Grade 7
Fixed Term
For a period of up to 2 years
Full Time
Business Management & Improvement, Knowledge & Information Management, Project Delivery

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

Overview

Her Majesty’s Court and Tribunals Service is an agency of the MoJ and provides the supporting administration for the judiciary across England and Wales. It delivers services to the public directly in court and tribunal buildings, remotely via business centres and some limited services via the internet.

The Reform Programme is a once in a generation opportunity to transform the entire HM Courts and Tribunals Service, enhancing the provision of a world-class justice system, in a manner that provides an improved user experience at reduced cost to the taxpayer. This will contribute to consolidating the UK’s position at the fore-front of an increasingly competitive international legal market as well as ensuring access to justice for all. Approximately £1 billion is being invested in the Programme which is due to complete in 2023/24.

By the time the Reform Programme is complete the services will be simpler and easier to use with many straightforward services online. There will be much greater use of digital systems, significantly less reliance on paper-based manual administration, and there will be fewer buildings.

This in an exciting opportunity working in the Reform Programme. It offers a unique chance to be at the forefront of leading and implementing significant change across the organisation.  The Programme is ambitious and innovative.  Those delivering the change will experience new and exciting opportunities and will play a part in a number of different initiatives throughout the Programme.

Key Purpose

As Service Manager with responsibility for a project within the Future Hearings Programme you will be responsible for ensuring that the service and digital products being developed will meet the users’ needs and support the vision of a courts and tribunals system which is just, proportionate and accessible.

As a strategic leader, the post holder will provide clear direction, visibly drawing out and championing the changes which deliver service transformation for the end user and greater efficiencies for HMCTS. Strong communication and influencing skills will be essential as the role will involve working closely with stakeholders, staff, managers and members of the judiciary, to set priorities, design and implement new business processes whilst also helping them to understand and come to terms with the impact of the changes.

Grade 7 roles are available in three projects:

  • Publications & Information – responsible for improving users’ access to publishable information about court and tribunal hearings, such as listings information, in support of the principles of open justice.
  • Scheduling & Listing / Resource Management – responsible for simplifying and streamlining elements of the work currently required to plan and maintain judicial availability, schedules and lists.   This will help us understand performance, demand and capacity issues, and so improve our ability to respond to backlogs, delays and last-minute changes and to drive improvements in listing administrative practices.
  • Video Hearings – responsible for designing a service to enable participants to take part in a court or tribunal hearing remotely, recognising the gravitas of judicial proceedings. This will enable courts and tribunals to deal with proceedings in a more proportionate, flexible and efficient way for users.

Key Responsibilities:

Service Delivery Development

  • Lead on service design to maximise the opportunities for releasing benefits from the operating model and ensures that user needs are met
  • Work collaboratively with all Reform Projects to ensure a cohesive set of requirements, and help resolve design differences
  • Work with Reform Projects to agree dependencies and timelines for delivery and developing interim solutions where necessary
  • Work with Operations to make sure the business is involved in the design process and prepared for delivery
  • Work with judicial office holders to ensure the reformed services support judicial needs
  • Identify and manage service design groups to provide assurance during design & implementation process
  • Represent users’ needs at all levels within the organisation
  • Be accountable for the quality and usage of their service, and able to continuously improve the service based on user feedback
  • Be able to lead effectively on the change management and process re-engineering required to implement and maintain successful services
  • Have the digital literacy to engage with technical staff and suppliers to define the best system and platform configurations to achieve business/user objectives
  • Support our "no user is disadvantaged" strategy, including ensuring appropriate MI is developed to enable transparency and service improvement, and identifying the potential pitfalls
  • Oversee service redesign and subsequent operational delivery in the HMCTS change portfolio; supporting and ensuring the necessary project and approval processes are followed
  • Actively participate in networking with other service managers inside and outside HMCTS and government, and share good practice and learning

Programme and project management

  • Understand how to use a range of agile project management principles and approaches to translate the vision and user needs into deliverables
  • Understand programme / project requirements and develop proposals to meet them
  • Identify key stakeholders and their requirements and ensure where appropriate their needs are incorporated through engagement and discussion
  • Ensure that programme design principles are applied in creating programme deliverables
  • Establish clear delivery plans and monitor for performance
  • Manage conflicting demands through negotiation and reprioritisation
  • Draft papers and presentations for the team as required
  • Act as daily representative for the Service Owner and senior service manager in engagement with customers, stakeholders and suppliers

Stakeholder relations and collaboration

 

  • Identify all relevant partners and stakeholders to ensure, where appropriate that their needs are incorporated
  • Develop and maintain constructive relations with all programme and project partners and stakeholders. This will include: staff and managers as customers, external suppliers, judiciary, other government departments
  • Deliver effective communications and engagement using stakeholder and communication plans
  • Actively build and maintain a network of colleagues and contacts to achieve progress on objectives and shared interests
  • Demonstrate genuine care for staff and others – build strong interpersonal relationships
  • Encourage contributions and involvement from a broad and diverse range of staff and judicial office holders by being visible and accessible
  • Effectively manage complex design and delivery team dynamics
  • Actively involve partners to deliver a business outcome through collaboration that achieves better results for citizens
  • Seek constructive outcomes in discussions, challenge assumptions but remain willing to compromise when it is beneficial to progress

Representation

  • Act alone and with senior colleagues in frequent representation of HMCTS with stakeholders on programme and project matters
  • Operate as the link between headquarters and those affected by the programme / projects in HMCTS operations and other partners
  • Take the lead in specific negotiations with suppliers, partners and other agencies

Team leadership

  • Acting as a role model displaying leadership behaviours in accordance with the organisation’s ethos
  • Actively encourage, support, reward and develop staff
  • Engagement of and close working with specialists as required according to the programme / project plan, which might include judicial office holders, lawyers, policy, procurement, ICT and finance
  • Create and collapse teams to deliver specific objectives or products, ensuring clear aims, objectives and deliverables are defined from the outset and monitored throughout
  • Line manage staff and lead teams in accordance with MoJ HR policy. Setting benchmarks and managing performance standards

Resolution of complex and difficult problems

 

  • Identify and manage issues which may impact or be impacted by the programme. These may be within HMCTS, the wider MOJ or across government
  • Formulate and approve plans and strategies for addressing issues, having considered and evaluated the pros and cons of alternative options
  • Use influencing and persuasion skills as required with internal and external stakeholders
  • Direct and draw on the expertise of service suppliers to identify and implement innovative solutions for new and unusual challenges
  • Provide authoritative advice to senior colleagues on issues and proposals to address them
  • Apply sound judgement and decision making to complex situations, often under the pressure of time, quality and commercial imperatives

Accountability

  • P&I: Report to SCS1 – Service Owner
  • S&L/RM and VH: Report to Grade 6 – Senior Service Manager

Key interactions will be with:

  • Programme SRO and the Service Owner, to ensure alignment with senior strategic vision for the design of reformed services.
  • Programme Director, Project Managers and teams, responsible for delivery of the reforms.
  • Tech development teams, responsible for developing digital products.
  • Operational managers, responsible for delivering components of the future service.
  • Analysts, responsible for identifying trends and issues from data on services.
  • Policy colleagues, to ensure designs take account of policy considerations and are championed from the perspective of departmental priorities for the courts and tribunals system.
  • Service users comprising of end users, professional bodies and other interested parties
  • Judicial partners, responsible for delivering the business of the court to ensure designs support a just, proportionate and accessible system.

Essential Skills

The successful candidate should be able to demonstrate the following criteria:

  • Excellent leadership skills with the ability to build and sustain high performing teams.
  • Ability to lead others through a period of cultural change and to make it a positive experience.
  • A strong background in improvement in a complex operational environment.
  • Skilled at operating through ambiguity; proactively identifying and solving nebulous problems to address key business issues.
  • Skilled and confident in quickly synthesising evidence from a range of sources (including data & analytics) to draw out key insights.
  • Self-awareness (e.g. aware of impact on others, aware of own development needs), self-regulated, and with strong ethics.
  • A proven ability to broker solutions across organisations, including managing conflicting and competing business priorities.
  • Demonstrable experience of delivering complex and diverse projects under pressure and to tight deadlines.
  • Ability to identify and understand user needs and translate these into proposed design approaches and services to meet these needs.
  • Able to apply and Agile mindset to all aspects of your work. You can work in a fast-paced, evolving environment and use an iterative method and flexible approach to enable rapid delivery.

Competencies

You will be required to provide evidence of the following key behaviours at Level 4.

Seeing the Big Picture

Understand the strategic drivers for your area of work. Align activities to contribute to wider organisational priorities. Remain alert to emerging issues and trends which might impact your work area. Seek out and share experiences to develop knowledge of the team’s business area. Understand how the strategies and activities of the team create value and meet the diverse needs of all stakeholders.

Leadership

Promote diversity, inclusion and equality of opportunity, respecting difference and external experience. Welcome and respond to views and challenges from others, despite any conflicting pressures to ignore or give in to them. Stand by, promote or defend own and team’s actions and decisions where needed. Seek out shared interests beyond own area of responsibility, understanding the extent of the impact actions have on the organisation. Inspire and motivate teams to be fully engaged in their work and dedicated to their role.

Working together

Actively build and maintain a network of colleagues and contacts to achieve progress on shared objectives. Challenge assumptions while being willing to compromise if beneficial to progress. Build strong interpersonal relationships and show genuine care for colleagues. Ensure consideration and support for the wellbeing of yourself and individuals throughout the team. Understand the varying needs of the team to ensure they are supported and their experiences are utilised. Create an inclusive working environment where all opinions and challenges are taken into account and bullying, harassment and discrimination are unacceptable. Remain available and approachable to all colleagues and be receptive to new ideas.

Managing a Quality Service

Develop, implement, maintain and review systems and services to ensure delivery of professional excellence. Work with stakeholders to set priorities, objectives and timescales. Successfully deliver high quality outcomes that meet the customers’ needs and gives value for money. Identify risks and resolve issues efficiently. Involve a diverse range of colleagues, stakeholders and delivery partners in developing suggestions for improvements. Establish ways to find and respond to feedback from customers about the services provided.

Application Process:

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

  1. An up-to-date copy of your CV which details your experience and achievements
  2. A 750-word statement of suitability which demonstrates your suitability against the Key Responsibilities and Essential Skills outlined above

Should you be successful at the application stage, you will be invited for a face-to-face interview

At interview you will be tested against the following key behaviours (Level 4):

  • Seeing the Bigger Picture
  • Leadership
  • Working together
  • Managing a Quality Service

Further information on the required standards for this post can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-competency-framework

Terms & Conditions:

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. Some travel to sites across the UK is likely to be required.

Location of Post

HMCTS has locations nationwide and supports flexible working. The Future Hearings team is a nationally dispersed team however many of the team are based in 102 Petty France, London. Post-COVID, some travel to London will be expected but applications will be accepted from candidates from any location.

Travel to other HMCTS sites will be required as part of these working arrangements. In line with the department’s policies, travel and subsistance and where appropriate overnight accommodation will be available.

Fixed Term Appointment

This appointment will be made on a fixed term basis, due to the time limited nature of the Reform Programme.

For existing civil servants, whilst the role itself is time limited, at the end of the fixed term period, you will retain your permanent status but will be placed on the re-deployment register.

Secondments and loans will be considered on an individual basis.

Flexible working options

HMCTS offers a flexible working system in many of its offices.

Job sharing and reduced hours

All applications for job sharing or reduced hours will be treated fairly and on a case by case basis in accordance with the MoJ’s flexible working policy and equality policy.

Excess Fares and Relocation Allowances

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

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

Annual leave is 25 days on appointment and will increase to 30 days after five years’ service.

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.  

Interviews will take place the W/C 20/05/2021

10/05/2021, 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 - 43170.

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.

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

Experience
CV
Statement of Suitability - 750 word limit

Interview stage assessments

There is 1 interview stage for this vacancy.
Behaviours
Seeing the Big Picture
Leadership
Working Together
Managing a Quality Service

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.