17158 - Business Support Manager to the Head of Legal Operations

The post may be based at any location within the South East Region, subject to agreement. Occasional travel around the Region will be required.

Background

Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is responsible for the administration of the criminal, civil and family courts and tribunals in England and Wales and non-devolved tribunals in Scotland and Northern Ireland. It provides a fair, efficient and effective justice system delivered by an independent judiciary. HMCTS aims to ensure that all citizens receive timely access to justice according to their different needs, whether as victims or witnesses of crime, defendants accused of crime, consumers in debt, children at risk of harm, businesses involved in commercial disputes or as individuals asserting their employment rights or challenging the decisions of government bodies.

Consequently, there are high expectations of all staff regardless of the job they do and high performance is expected from everybody. The organisation is continuously adopting new or better ways of working to ensure that it focuses on just that which is essential

Band C staff will need to display a commitment to four key principles: Continuous change, continuous improvement (CI) principles, managing uncertainty and improving performance. All those appointed to new roles in HMCTS must be wholeheartedly committed to these principles and evidence this in their application.

Overview

HMCTS is a continually changing organisation. Strong leadership is a critical element in this being successful. As a leader and manager within HMCTS the jobholder must provide clear direction and focus and visibly championing the changes which deliver greater efficiencies. HMCTS Senior Management Team expects all leaders to operate in a culture of openness and honesty, demonstrating a commitment to change through involvement and empowerment, and by delivering results.

The jobholder will need to help staff and other stakeholders to understand the impact of the changes and the reasons for them, recognising that staff will need support during what will be an unsettling period. This will include helping staff prepare for changes and supporting them through it. There may also be times when it will be necessary to deliver difficult or unwelcome messages. This must be done sensitively, but firmly, addressing any inappropriate reactions or responses.

The key purpose of the role is to

• Overseeing the flow of work into and out of the Head of Legal Operations (HoLO) office including management of e-mails, correspondence, paperwork and telephone queries;

Operations

• Management of the HoLO’s office and diary commitments. Negotiating with others to resolve conflicting priorities.
• Overseeing the flow of work into and out of the HoLO’s office;
• Responsible for delegation of the HoLO’s work when in meetings/out of the office
• Provide administrative solutions and support to the HoLO, and, where appropriate, his management team, using initiative when confronted with unusual situations
• Take strategic decisions about how to make the best use of the HoLO’s time, including assessing when targeted visits should be undertaken and prioritising meeting attendance
• Facilitate SMT and inter-agency meetings, including scheduling, preparing agendas and additional papers, in-meeting facilitation and producing minutes.
• Handle and direct enquiries and requests for information on behalf of the HoLO;
• Manage and process relevant correspondence on behalf of the HoLO.
• Ensure safeguards are in place around processing sensitive documentation.
• Assist the HoLO in the monitoring of financial and performance related information, producing reports and suggesting corrective action where needed to allow targeted interventions
• Provide executive support to the HoLO to monitor compliance with performance reporting, governance, quality assurance, appraisal, performance management etc. policies and regimes across the Region
• Represent the Region (as required) at internal/external meetings at which strategic issues are decided

Managing casework

• Manage the HoLO’s inbox and flow of work, taking decisions about where work should be directed in their absence, and diverting unnecessary work away from them
• Own discrete areas of continuous improvement and/or change activity/projects

Analysis

• Draft documentation including; briefings, communications, guidance and policy documents, often to short deadlines
• Analysing Management information and preparing reports for dissemination.
• Undertake research on operational matters on behalf of the HoLO, providing them with the information needed to decide a course of action
• Approve or recommend expenditure within delegated financial parameters.

Communicating with the public, the judiciary, other court & tribunals users and representatives of other agencies and organisations

• Communicating of the HoLO’s behalf with the public, members of the judiciary, other court users and representatives of other agencies and organisations in relation to core service delivery, specialist or project based activities at Region level.
• Thinking beyond own area of responsibility, considering wider policy and organisational implications of issues.

Team Leadership

• Working with members of the local senior management team to ensure that activities are completed to deadlines on behalf of the HoLO.
• Playing a leadership role with legal support staff within the region to co-ordinate activities and standardise processes.
• Line management as required of legal support staff.

Specialisms

• Ability to provide specialised executive planning and support.

Accountability

• Reporting to the HoLO.

Key responsibilities

• Delegation of the HoLO’s work when in meetings/out of the office to the correct person, in the fastest possible time, on a daily basis
• Ensure the HoLO is well-prepared for meetings and other relevant activity.
• Working with Deputy Justices’ Clerks and legal support teams within the region to provide leadership and co-ordination of activity.
• Line management as required of legal support team staff.

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.

Key Civil Service Competencies        

You will be required to provide evidence of the following key competencies at Level 3.

Effective Behaviour

People who are effective are likely to…

Seeing the Big Picture

• Be alert to emerging issues and trends which might impact or benefit own and team’s work.
• Develop an understanding of own area’s strategy and how this contributes to Departmental priorities.
• Ensure own area/team activities are aligned to Departmental priorities.
• Actively seek out and share experience to develop understanding and knowledge of own work and of team’s business area.
• Seek to understand how the services, activities and strategies in the area work together to create value for the customer/end user.

Making Effective Decisions

• Make decisions when they are needed, even if they prove difficult or unpopular.
• Identify a range of relevant and credible information sources and recognise the need to collect new data when necessary from internal and external sources.
• Recognise patterns and trends in a wide range of evidence/data and draw key conclusions.
• Explore different options outlining costs, benefits, risks and potential responses to each.
• Recognise scope of own authority for decision making and empower team members to make decisions.
• Invite challenge and where appropriate involve others in decision making to help build engagement and present robust recommendations.

Leading and communicating

• Take opportunities to regularly communicate and interact with staff, helping to clarify goals and activities and the links between these and Departmental strategy.
• Recognise, respect and reward the contribution and achievements of others.
• Communicate in a succinct, engaging manner and stand ground when needed.
• Communicate using appropriate styles, methods and timing, including digital channels, to maximise understanding and impact.
• Promote the work of the Department and play an active part in supporting the Civil Service values and culture.
• Convey enthusiasm and energy about their work and encourage others to do the same.

Collaborating and Partnering

• Establish relationships with a range of stakeholders to support delivery of business outcomes.
• Invest time to generate a common focus and genuine team spirit.
• Actively seek input from a diverse range of people.
• Readily share resources to support higher priority work, showing pragmatism and support for the shared goals of the organisation.
• Deal with conflict in a prompt, calm and constructive manner.
• Encourage collaborative team working within own team and across the Department.

Managing a Quality Service

• Make effective use of project management skills and techniques to deliver outcomes, including identifying risks and mitigating actions.
• 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.
• Establish mechanisms to seek out and respond to feedback from customers about service provided.
• Promote a culture that tackles fraud and deception, keeping others informed of outcomes.
• Develop proposals to improve the quality of service with involvement from a diverse range of staff, stakeholders or delivery partners.

Delivering at Pace

• Successfully manage, support and stretch self and team to deliver agreed goals and objectives.
• Show a positive approach in keeping their own and the team’s efforts focused on the goals that really matter.
• Take responsibility for delivering expected outcomes on time and to standard, giving credit to teams and individuals as appropriate.
• Plan ahead but reassess workloads and priorities if situations change or people are facing conflicting demands.
• Regularly monitor own and team’s work against milestones or targets and act promptly to keep work on track and maintain performance.
• Coach and support others to set and achieve challenging goals for themselves.

Operational Delivery in HMCTS

This role is part of the Operational Delivery Profession. Operational delivery professionals are the outward face of government, providing essential services to the public in a variety of roles. They work in many different departments and agencies across the breadth of the UK, delivering service to customers in

Face-to-face roles in HMCTS for example a court usher

Contact Centre roles in HMCTS for example call centre advisers

Processing roles in HMCTS for example Staff at the County Courts Money-Claims Centre and Courts and Tribunal Administration

Being part of the operational delivery profession means belonging to a cross-government community of people. This will offer you access to information on professional standards, skills development and qualifications to help you continue to improve your development and performance and expand your career options.

Closing date: 28th March  2018 at 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@sscl.gse.gov.uk Please quote the job reference 17158