43507 - Dual Caseworker/Admin Manager

£21,170 - £26,901 (Salary will depend on location)
13
12 Months
East Midlands, West Midlands
Birmingham , Nottingham
NOTTINGHAM OPG NOTTINGHAM, NG2 1AR, OPG BIRMINGHAM, B1 1TF
EO
D
Permanent
Full Time, Part Time, Part Time/Job Share, Flexible Working
Legal Services

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

Office of the Public Guardian’s (OPG) remit is to support the Public Guardian in the delivery of his statutory functions under the Mental Capacity Act (MCA). It supports and enables people to plan to prepare for their health and finances to be looked after, should they lose capacity in the future. It provides a safeguard by investigating the conduct of attorneys if a concern is raised. It also supervises guardians appointed by the High Court to manage the affairs of people who are defined as missing under the Guardianship (Missing Persons) Act 2017. The statutory function also requires the Public Guardian to supervise deputies appointed by the Court of Protection and the investigation of representations made about the decision making of registered attorneys, deputies and guardians. OPG plays an important role in raising public awareness of the MCA.

The Legal and Information Directorate in the OPG has two business areas, a legal function and information assurance function.  The directorate supports all other business areas within the organisation. Its many roles include offering legal advice and information assurance, helping to prepare court? documents, providing research and assisting the Public Guardian, the OPG board and the Executive board.

The legal team structure is based on 3 pillars, within each pillar are lawyers and operational support staff, with a team of admin support for?  all the pillars. All of the pillars carry out the functions below.

The legal function operates and manages the litigation process for the OPG from drafting applications to representing the Public Guardian at the Court of Protection (COP).  The team also provides usable guidance for other business areas.  This guidance must be up to date, easily understood and may require the development and delivering of training.

The role of the information assurance team is to support and enhance the activity of the OPG and ensure that it complies with departmental policy and legislation pertaining to the management of information.

The Directorate has 10 Band D roles available within the legal team primarily where you will be a litigation caseworker and part of a team delivering a key aspect of these duties.

In addition, there is also one Administrative Manager role, includes management of staff responsibilities.

Please note, as there are two separate positions this campaign, candidates applying will not be able to choose a specific role, if they are successful at interview the business will allocate a role accordingly.

Responsibilities may include any of the following, but not limited to:

Dual Caseworker

To undertake case management duties within the legal team.

To ensure the Public Guardian (or those representing him) are fully prepared to present cases in Court.

To assist lawyers, as part of the overall legal team, through the preparation and progression of matters through the Court of Protection (COP), with an early review of the case to ensure all documents are received from parties and COP. You will retain ownership of the case from court application to closure.

To deal effectively and timeously with all case preparation, case progression and administrative tasks throughout the life cycle of a case including a regular review and closure of cases.

To consult with instructing lawyers regarding correspondence and court documentation, amend/approve draft court documents in accordance with court timetable.

To prepare and draft court forms to a high standard to for submission to lawyer with conduct of a case, for signature, with sufficient time so they can be considered and approved within court deadlines.

To provide administrative support to OPG Lawyers (including the wider Legal Team), to ensure effective delivery of all targets.

 Litigation Casework Officer:

  • Following instructions from client departments.
  • Giving client departments and members of the public legal information.
  • Dealing with client departments.
  • Handling a caseload.
  • Updating files.
  • Helping to produce legal documents including schedules of issues and Court Orders.
  • Preparing and drafting court forms and witness statements to a high standard.
  • Handling and storing confidential information.
  • Gathering formal statements from parties and witnesses; and other important documents for Lawyers and Solicitors to review for use in Court.
  • Creating Court Bundles.
  • Filing and general administrative work.
  • Providing administrative support to Lawyers which may include, accompanying them to Court, taking notes during Court Hearings.
  • Working from lawyer’s instructions, both written and verbal and managing their diaries.
  • Arranging meetings such as case conferences, teleconferences and advocates meetings with respondents, investigators, Counsel and external Solicitors.
  • Liaising with parties to court proceedings, counsel, other external agencies and other members of the public.

Other responsibilities

  • Supporting and helping to deliver on projects to improve the efficiency of the Legal Team’s work.
  • Meeting any relevant Impact Indicators and Service Standard targets in respect of the Legal Team.
  • Engaging with the legal team’s customer base, to improve and maintain positive working relationships.
  • Taking part in the development and delivery of training materials to our customer base to improve their legal knowledge.
  • Participating in a culture of safeguarding awareness.
  • Contributing to a culture of continuous improvement and excellent service delivery. To keep up to date law updates as part of the team’s continuous improvement. To take an active role in your own development.
  • This role requires the jobholder to travel to other OPG sites and other venues as/when required.
  • There may be a requirement to manage staff.

Admin Manager

  • Managing the Admin Teams’ work and resources to ensure all administrative tasks are completed to deadlines set by the Court and Legal Team. This includes but is not limited to posting Court Applications and supplementary witness statements to Court, serving Court Orders and Court documents on parties within proceedings including supporting post service actions, issuing safeguarding letters and enforcing bonds.
  • Managing the Admin Teams’ work and resources to ensure all administrative inboxes are continually monitored and swift action taken to provide a quality customer service.
  • Managing the Admin Teams’ work and resources to ensure incoming post is sorted and distributed to the Legal Team and wider OPG in a timely manner to ensure swift safeguarding actions can be taken.
  • Dealing with all aspects of HR including but not limited to updating Etarmis, updating SOP, holding touch point conversations, holding return to work meetings and performance management.

Skills & Qualifications

Essential:

  • Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office computer packages i.e. Word, Excel, Outlook, MS Teams, OneNote, Presentations and PowerPoint
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills.
  • Flexible approach to dealing with the changing nature of the work.
  • Accuracy and attention to detail
  • Ability to independently plan and manage a caseload, and analyse physical data using your own judgment, whilst working to tight deadlines.
  • Ability to work across all grades and areas of OPG, MoJ and other government departments and to work to deliver competing priorities.

Desirable

  • Legal qualification, including but not limited to; law degree, qualifying law degree, Graduate Diploma in Law, CiLex, LPC, BPC.
  • Legal knowledge.
  • Experience in casework.
  • Knowledge of court procedures and government regulations.
  • Knowledge of MCA, Code of Practice, LPA & EPA Regulations.

Application process

This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and we will assess your Strengths, Experience and the following Behaviours:

  • Working Together level 2
  • Managing a Quality Service level 2
  • Delivering at Pace 2

Form of application:  Please provide a CV plus a supporting personal statement of no more than 750 words setting out how your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role. The supporting statement must provide evidence of:

  • Dealing with a changing nature of work
  • Planning and managing a caseload
  • Analysing physical data and using your own judgment to make decisions
  • Working to tight deadlines

Interview Process

If you are successful at sift, you will be invited to an interview which will follow the Success Profiles process (see above). At interview candidates should expect strength-based questions and questions on the behaviours listed above.

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 commence from 17th June 2021

17/05/2021, 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 - 43507.
Please note the successful applicant will need to undertake a Disclosure and Barring Security Check for this post.

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
Working Together
Managing a Quality Service
Delivering at Pace
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.