84089 - 2 Assistant Private Secretary roles in the Chamber Presidents Offices, Judicial Office

Job Specification

2 Assistant Private Secretary roles in the Chamber Presidents Offices, Judicial Office.

• Upper Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal Private Office

• First Tier Property Private Office

Organisation

The Judicial Office (JO) is a unique branch of the civil service, independent from the machinery which supports the Government, and dedicated to supporting the judiciary as the third arm of the state. We promote and safeguard judicial independence to maintain confidence in the rule of law. We are answerable not to Ministers but instead, through our Chief Executive, to the Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales and the Senior President of Tribunals as we help them to fulfil their responsibilities to the judiciary.

We support c.22,000 judicial office holders, providing policy, legal and handling advice, and operational support. This includes advice on judicial leadership, support with relationships with Government and Parliament, assistance with justice sector reform, judicial education and training, comms, and HR.

Directorate

The postholder(s) will join the Judicial Private Offices directorate. The business units include operational private offices; jurisdiction and policy private offices; and the Judicial Executive Board Secretariat.

Overview:

This is an exciting opportunity to provide leadership and support to a busy Judicial Private Office, supporting Chamber Presidents of the UT or First Tier Tribunal, working in either the Upper Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal Private Office or the Property Chamber Private Office.  These positions would suit someone looking for a stretching role working with some of the most senior Tribunals judiciary in the country.

Within the Judicial Office, the Chamber Presidents Private Offices are a series of small jurisdictional teams focused on supporting each Chamber and Tribunal President across all of their leadership functions. Each Private Office provides policy and legal advice, and general secretariat and administrative support to the Chamber and Tribunal Presidents, working collaboratively with expert teams across the Judicial Office.

Role Summary:

The postholder will be responsible for ensuring that the jurisdictional Private Office provides high quality policy advice and administrative and operational support to the Chamber President.  These roles involve the development and implementation of new ways of working within the Private Office(s) and the delivery of efficiencies across the wider CPO and Judicial Office.

The role involves maintaining an overview of developments in Tribunals liaising with and building strong relationships with peers and senior stakeholders across the Justice system, including His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service, the Ministry of Justice, other government departments, and across the Private Office Directorate in Judicial Office.

Main Activities / Responsibilities:

The main responsibilities of the post include, but are not limited to:

• Supporting the provision of advice for the Chamber President and act as the single point of contact for enquiries on a variety of matters including governance, legislation and policy and signposting to professional support e.g. HR, Communications, Judicial Training, Data, across the Judicial Office.

• Setting the Agenda and briefing the Chamber President in preparation for set piece meetings, providing and/or commissioning written and oral advice and, noting and chasing action points and implementing decisions.

• Communicating on behalf of the Chamber President with judges from both the courts and tribunals system and where directed, with officials from MoJ, HMCTS, and OGDs, stakeholder organisations, and members of the public/their legal representatives.

• Providing advice and support to the Chamber President on specific jurisdictional projects, including arranging and supporting judicial working groups and networks as directed.

• Supporting the Chamber President in their interaction with the JO Data Governance, Policy and Analysis Team and with the HMCTS Analysis & Performance Team, acting as the single point of contact for those Teams.

• Playing a key role in both internal and external recruitment and forecasting for the Chamber. Drafting and obtaining the relevant approvals for business cases.

• Develop and implement/maintain systems, processes and new ways of working to deliver efficiencies within the Private Office as we begin to align CPO with the established Private Offices structures across Judicial Office.

• Undertake ad hoc requests as required to support the Chamber President, managing conflicting priorities often with tight deadlines.

• Providing cover for Deputy Private Secretary during periods of planned and unplanned absence to ensure the smooth running of the office.

Management of Resources:

The postholder will manage an EO Executive Assistant to the Chamber President and a small judicial support team.

The post-holder will report to the Deputy Private Secretary to the Chamber and Tribunal Presidents of the First Tier and Upper Tier Tribunals.

Person specification:

The successful candidate must:

• be able to influence and manage upwards and speak with authority when dealing with senior officials or judiciary;

• have excellent communication and leadership skills;

• be confident implementing and driving forward changes in ways of working and modernisation initiatives

• have strong organisational skills.

Desirable Knowledge and Skills:

• experience of working closely with the judiciary, and an interest in the workings of the courts and tribunals system more widely.

The support provided by judicial Private Offices necessarily involves working before and after court, in keeping with the judge’s diary commitments and sitting patterns. Some early mornings and late evenings can be expected, though every effort will be made to accommodate flexibility where necessary. These roles are not suitable for reduced hours working.

Location:

The Upper Tribunal APS post is based in London within the Royal Courts of Justice estate (combining the Royal Courts of Justice (Strand), Rolls Building (Fetter Lane)) and, Fox Court (Grays in Road) and Field House (Breams Buildings).

The Property APS post is based in London, Alfred Place (WC1E 7LR).

Occasional travel may be required.

These posts are eligible for hybrid working (current requirement is at least 40% of working hours each week to be spent in the office, in line with all government departments – but this is subject to change).

How to apply

This is a Success Profiles based recruitment and Civil Service Behaviours will be considered at application stage along with a candidate CV.

Behaviours to be assessed at application stage:

Leadership, Communicating & Influencing, Working Together, Seeing the Bigger Picture, Making Effective Decisions

In the event of a high volume of applications, we will sift on the lead behaviour of Communicating and Influencing.

Candidates invited to interview will be assessed on these behaviours and on Civil Service Strengths.

We anticipated that interviews for candidates successful at sift will be held during w/c 11th March 2024.

If you wish to discuss the role before submitting an application, please contact Mark Chander (Mark.chandler1@judiciary.uk) or Emma Killick (Emma.killick@judiciary.uk).