84855 - Administrative Officer

Proud to serve. Proud to keep justice going.

Our Admin Officers play a critical role, providing excellent administrative support and customer service to court users, judiciary and management. 

About us 

HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is responsible for the administration of criminal, civil and family Courts and Tribunals in England and Wales. Our roles support our court users and colleagues within HMCTS, where people and businesses access potentially life-changing justice. We’re looking for individuals who are committed to public service and making a difference in people’s lives to deliver justice. If you are interested in developing a career with a real purpose, please apply.

Your role

Working as part of a team, you will contribute to the overall operational, performance and service standard targets across your area of work. You will progress cases through the court/tribunal system and provide administrative support to functions within HMCTS. You will have regular contact with court / tribunal users, which could include members of the Judiciary and the legal profession.

We have two Administrative Officer positions available. If selected for interview candidates will have the option to indicate their preference at that stage.  However, roles will be allocated in merit order, so you may not end up being offered / placed in your preferred option. Please note, these roles do not support hybrid working.

Civil Court of Appeal:

Administrative Officers in this role are assigned to the general administrative duties to progress cases through the court system and to provide support to the Line Manager, Lawyers and Judiciary.

• To accurately assess and process/issue applications, referring to Masters or Jurisdiction Lawyer if necessary.
• Seal orders, uploading records to the in-house computer system and distribute to parties.
• Prepare papers and bundles for court hearings.
• Deal with standard letters, correspondence, and telephone enquiries.
• To deliver helpful, prompt, polite and ‘right first time’ service to our internal, external customers, Lawyers and Judiciary.

In Court Support:

Administrative Officers in this role are required to provide direct In-Court support for the King’s Bench and Administrative Court Hearings held within the RCJ. Also, to interact with the Judiciary, staff, professional user’s and our general customers, to provide excellent customer service.

• To assist directly with all In-Court Hearings, fully remote or Hybrid type cases.
• To process any and all Orders as a result of those Hearings at the end of each day.
• To update the case management system accurately and other data systems within the organisation.
• To monitor relevant inboxes and reply in a timely manner.

Required Skills and Experience: 

• IT proficient with Microsoft Office applications such as Outlook, Word, Excel and Teams and the ability to learn and adapt to different technologies and software packages.
• Friendly and approachable manner with excellent customer service skills.
• Ability to multitask, whilst working in a fast-paced environment.
• Good written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent organisational skills.
• The ability to make informed decisions using all relevant information and knowledge.

For a full outline of tasks please see the Job Description attached.

Further details: 

These operational roles are customer facing, requiring successful applicants to be office based to provide HMCTS services to the public. Standard full time working hours are 37 hours per week. HMCTS welcomes part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns, where they meet the demands of the role and business needs and are agreed prior to appointment. All applications for part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns will be considered in accordance with the MoJ’s Flexible Working policy.  

Applicants selected for appointment will be required to successfully complete pre-employment checks (vetting) to CTC Level.

Fixed term appointments (FTA) on promotion:

MoJ employees may apply for FTA opportunities in MoJ that are advertised at a higher grade than their current substantive grade. Where an employee accepts an FTA on promotion, this promotion will be temporary, and the employee will revert to their substantive grade upon return to their home business area, as per the loan policy for OGD loans. Before applying, employees must seek approval from their line managers to ensure they can be released for the duration of the FTA and can return to their substantive role at the end. If there is no role available at the end of the FTA, the employee will be subject to redeployment and potentially redundancy procedures.

Loans/Detached Duty:

The terms of the loan or detached duty will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant (candidate). This includes grade on return. Prior agreement to be released on a loan or detached duty basis should be obtained before commencing the application process.

HM Courts & Tribunals Service

Directorate: Royal Courts of Justice Group

Job Title: Administrative Officer

Number of Vacancies: 16

Locations: Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London, WC2A 2LL

Pay Span or equivalent grade: AO

Duration: 12 months Fixed Term Contract

Salary: London (within M25): £27,000

These positions are available for external applicants as well as existing civil servants on level transfer or promotion.

New recruits to the Civil Service joining MoJ are expected to join at the band minimum. For existing civil servants, where an employee accepts an FTC on promotion, this promotion will be temporary, and the employee will revert to their substantive grade upon return to their home business area. Secondments and loans will be considered on an individual basis.

Background:

Good administrative staff with excellent customer service skills are vital to the effective operation of the Courts, Tribunals and other offices within Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS). Most of the staff within HMCTS are employed in administrative roles. HMCTS embraces Lean principles and continuous improvement techniques to provide high standards of customer service.

Key Purpose:

We have two main roles available, which you will be asked your preference of if invited to interview.

Administrative Officers are assigned to teams to carry out a variety of general administrative duties to progress cases through the court/tribunal system or provide support to other functions within HMCTS. Continuous improvement tools and techniques are used in HMCTS and so there will be opportunities to exercise discretion and initiative and continually seek to improve, within a framework of systems and processes (SOPS). Problem solving is carried out by reference to lean techniques (e.g. problem-solving hubs) and comprehensive guidelines and instructions - complex or difficult issues are normally referred to or will involve a team leader or supervisor.

In some positions, role holders will have regular contact with court / tribunal users, including members of the Judiciary and the legal profession. Administrative Officers work within a team with regular management support and are responsible for their own time, although there may be some opportunity to provide advice and carry out limited supervision of others.

Working as part of a flexible team, the postholder will be expected to undertake a range of the functions and responsibilities specified.  It is not intended that each post will be responsible for the full range of duties.

Please note that due to the customer facing and in court nature of these roles are not suitable for hybrid working.

Essential Skills & Criteria:

• Strong customer focus and service skills
• Experience of working in an administrative role in a customer focussed environment
• Proficient with IT and Microsoft Software packages
• Excellent communication and organisational skills

Key Responsibilities:

Administration

• Preparing papers and files for court, tribunals, hearings and meetings
• Producing court/tribunal documents
• General photocopying and filing
• Creating and updating records on in-house computer system and data input
• Post opening and dispatch
• Booking, preparing and organising meeting rooms, supporting training courses and other group activities
• Preparing meeting agenda, joining instructions, handouts etc

Drafting

• Standard letters and correspondence, minutes, notes, reports, submissions etc, according to guidelines and instructions

Operations

• Clerking civil and family courts, tribunals and hearings, ensuring papers & materials are available / up to date
• Assisting court users, supporting listing and rota management, checking files
• Contacting relevant parties, scheduling, serving court documents, executing a range of warrants, collecting

  fines and fees etc, including the use of chip and pin

• Handling counter (face to face), written and telephone enquiries
• To work as a team to ensure TIB (Team Information Board) meetings are relevant, timely and productive
• To work as a team to problem solve, to assess the impact of new SOPS, to contribute to small projects
• To undertake ad hoc roles within the band such as Jury Bailiff Officer, L+D Co-ordinator, H+S roles

Processing Casework

• Including standard documentation and information, court orders, claims, fines and fees, legal aid
• Resulting courts accurately, interpreting accurately the information required on a court file
• To work to workload targets in terms of throughput and accuracy

Checking and Verifying

• Documents, records, accounts, claims and returns for approval, results, statistics, plans etc. against criteria, regulations or procedures
• Ensuring compliance and administration documentation meet quality standards
• Role holders may be required to cross check and validate work completed by colleagues

Collecting and Assembling Information

• For returns, results, accounts, statements, warrants, statistical analysis, reports etc
• Work may require interpretation of source materials, preparation of bundles, chasing
• Modify and adjust information and make decisions to allow work to be completed
• Collect / assemble information to prepare for and run the daily TIB meeting, as required

Undertaking Calculations

• Produce basic statistical analysis reports and where required, process financial information
• Checking the work of others, updating records, assessing the value of goods and/or property, reconciling accounts, preparing invoices, information gathering and running straightforward reports
• Spending limited sums of money on behalf of an office or unit

Communicating with the Public, the Judiciary, other Court and Tribunal Users and Representatives of other Agencies and Organisations

• Communicate and work with the Judiciary, Magistracy, the Cluster Managers, Court staff, and other internal /external stakeholders, suppliers and customers to collect information, check facts, communicate or enforce judicial decisions. Give advice on the completion of forms or court procedures etc and provide excellent customer service
• To deliver a helpful, prompt, polite and “right first time” service to our internal and external customers

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.

Security Level:

This role requires vetting to Counter-Terrorism Check (CTC) level. For this you will need to confirm your employment and residence 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. 

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 and a local police check carried out.

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.

Location:

Whilst the post holder will be allocated to a specific office base, there may be a need for flexibility to work on an ad-hoc or regular basis at other local HMCTS sites / courts. Where applicable, associated travel cost / time will be applied in line with organisational policies. 

Application Process:

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

• An up-to-date CV showing your skills and experience
• A 250-word suitability statement providing evidence of your personal skills, experience, strengths and behaviours relevant to the role, as outlined in the Essential Skills & Criteria and Key Responsibilities above.

In the event we receive a large volume of applications, we will sift using the suitability statement as the lead assessment criteria.

If selected for interview, you will be tested against the following Success Profile Behaviours (Level 1):

• Communicating & Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace

Interviews will also test three Strengths.

Interviews for this campaign will be conducted in person at a central London location.

Further information on Success Profile Behaviours and Strengths, as well as the required standards for this post (Level 1), can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles        

If we receive applications from more suitable candidates than we have vacancies for at this time, we may hold suitable applicants on a reserve list for 12 months, and future vacancies requiring the same skills and experience could be offered to candidates on the reserve list without a new competition.

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

The MoJ is proud to be Level 3 Disability Confident. Disability Confident is the approach through which we offer guaranteed interviews for all people with disabilities meeting the minimum criteria for the advertised role as set out in the job description.

Terms & Conditions:

Fixed Term Appointment

This appointment will be made on a 12-month fixed term contract basis.

Fixed Term Contracts (FTC) on Promotion:

MoJ employees may apply for FTC opportunities in MoJ that are advertised at a higher grade than their current substantive grade. Where an employee accepts an FTC on promotion, this promotion will be temporary, and the employee will revert to their substantive grade upon return to their home business area, as per the loan policy for OGD loans. Before applying, employees must seek approval from their line managers to ensure they can be released for the duration of the FTC and can return to their substantive role at the end. If there is no role available at the end of the FTC, the employee will be subject to redeployment and potentially redundancy procedures.  Loans are also available for OGD candidates

Working Hours / Pattern:

This role is not suitable for hybrid working.

Standard full time working hours are 37 hours per week. HMCTS welcomes part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns, where they meet the demands of the role and are agreed prior to appointment. All applications for part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns will be treated fairly and, on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the MoJ’s Flexible Working and Equality policies.

Excess Fares and Relocation Allowances

This job is not eligible for relocation allowances, but excess fares may be considered in accordance with MoJ’s excess fares allowance policy