Overview of the Judicial Office

The Judicial Office (JO) reports to, and is accountable, to the Lady Chief Justice (LCJ). It was established in 2006 to provide support to the LCJ and to the wider judiciary in upholding the rule of law and in delivering justice impartially, speedily and efficiently, following the Constitutional Reform Act 2005.

In addition, we support, and are accountable to, the Senior President of Tribunals, whose responsibilities extend to Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The JO is an interesting and unique place to work. Everything we do is in support of upholding the independence and impartiality of the judiciary. We work closely with HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS), the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and others across Government as well as with the legal professions.

We are an Arm’s Length Body sponsored by the Ministry of Justice. This creates an interesting and complex environment in which to work where we agree our priorities with the senior judiciary and receive our funding to deliver them from the Ministry of Justice. The Judicial Office has been through a period of significant growth resulting from an expansion of our remit and responsibilities.

See JO staff talk about working here: https://design102.wistia.com/medias/uhgtmbtnlv

Overview of the JCIO

The Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO) is part of the Judicial Office. We support the Lord Chancellor and Lady Chief Justice in their joint responsibility for judicial discipline.

We deal with complaints about the personal conduct of judicial office-holders. Our role is to assess complaints to determine whether they are within our remit and, if so, to take the appropriate action. This involves rejecting the significant number of complaints that fall outside of our remit and dismissing those that, after making enquires or listening to audio recordings, must be dismissed for various reasons. For complaints that involve substantiated allegations of misconduct, we present the information we have gathered to the senior judges, lay people and officials who have statutory roles within the conduct process, to assist them to make decisions and provide advice on individual complaints. Our work is governed by The Judicial Conduct Rules 2023. This and other information related to the JCIO’s work can be found at: https://www.complaints.judicialconduct.gov.uk/

We would like to recruit two caseworkers to join our hardworking and committed team, based at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. In addition to assessing complaints and managing an ongoing caseload, you will also have the opportunity to become involved in a range of projects across the team and the wider Judicial Office.

You will need to be an effective communicator, orally and in writing. You will be able to relay information in a professional manner, so it is easily understood. You should have an eye for detail and be able to apply a set of rules to assess whether a complaint contains an allegation of potential misconduct and determine the next appropriate step in the process. You will be able to work well independently but also with others. In return, you will be assisted to learn and develop within a supportive and friendly team.

Location

Royal Courts of Justice, London

The Role

The caseworker role is interesting and varied. Key responsibilities will include:

• Assessing new complaints in accordance with the rules and regulations which govern how complaints are handled; efficiently rejecting a significant number of routine complaints which fall outside the JCIO’s remit; making enquiries to obtain and assess relevant information; deciding at various stages whether complaints should be dismissed or progressed to further investigation; where applicable, managing the investigation process to completion.

• Drafting correspondence to complainants and the subjects of complaints.

• Keeping the parties to complaints informed of progress and responding to any enquiries received.

• Responding to telephone calls to the JCIO office from parties to complaints and the public.

• Supporting senior judges and lay people who carry out statutory roles in the complaints-handling process.

• Drafting submissions to the Lady Chief Justice and Lord Chancellor to advise them on individual disciplinary cases.

• Ensuring accurate information is maintained on the JCIO digital case management system.

• Assisting with queries from the Judicial Appointments and Conduct Ombudsman’s office.

Key Requirements

Essential

• Analytical and drafting skills: You can analyse and summarise information swiftly. You have a keen eye for detail and strong drafting skills.

• Self-reliant and highly organised: You can use your own initiative to manage a fast-moving caseload. You can reprioritise and take on new work at short notice.

• Effective oral communication and problem-solving skills: You can calmly and professionally handle telephone calls from people who may display challenging behaviour. 

• Ability to understand and apply procedural rules: You have the ability to become familiar with, interpret and follow the procedural rules which govern how the JCIO considers complaints. 

• Commitment to continuous improvement and customer service: You can take the initiative to find better ways of doing things and you appreciate/role model the value of good customer service.

• Commitment to diversity and inclusion: You are a role model for these important principles in everything that you do.

Desirable

• Knowledge of the judiciary and the disciplinary system

• Experience of drafting correspondence and submissions

• Experience of managing a caseload

We will assess you against these behaviour during the selection and interview process:

Making Effective Decisions

• Examine complex information and obtain further information to make reasoned decisions.

• Speak with the relevant people in order to obtain the most accurate information and seek advice when unsure of how to proceed.

• Explain clearly, verbally and in writing, how a decision has been reached.

• Provide advice and feedback to support others to make accurate decisions.

Managing a quality service

• Explain clearly to customers what can be done.

• Work within a team to set priorities, create clear plans and manage all work to meet the needs of the customer and the business.

• Keep internal teams, customers and delivery partners fully informed of plans and possibilities.

Communicating and Influencing

• Communicate clearly and concisely both orally and in writing.

• Handle challenging conversations with confidence and sensitivity.

• Listen to and value different ideas, views, and ways of working.

Delivering at pace

• Take responsibility for delivering expected outcomes on time and to standard.

• Regularly monitor own work against milestones or targets and act promptly to keep work on track to maintain performance.

• Plan ahead, but reassess workloads and priorities if situations change or people are facing conflicting demands.

Should we receive a large number of applications we will conduct an initial sift on the lead behaviour of Making Effective Decisions.

Candidates who are invited to interview will also be asked to answer a number of strength questions.

Interviews will be held in person at the JCIO office in the Royal Courts of Justice.

As the ability to draft correspondence and advice to a high standard is crucial in this role, candidates who are invited to interview will be required to complete a drafting skills exercise before their interview.

Working arrangements

The JCIO follows the Judicial Office hybrid working approach, which requires a presence in the office at least 60% of working hours. While working from home on some days is not mandatory, most team members choose to mix home and office working each week. To meet the needs of the team, we expect everyone to be flexible about which days are worked from home/office each week. This role is not suitable for fulltime homeworking.

If you have any questions about the role, please contact:

Laura Honey - laura.honey@judicialconduct.gov.uk