Job role: Service Manager (Tribunals)

Grade: G7

Directorate: Development

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 service users and colleagues, where people and businesses access potentially life-changing justice. We’re looking for individuals who are committed to public service and want to make a difference in people’s lives in delivering justice. If you’re interested in developing a career with a real purpose, please apply.

The Development Directorate is responsible for service strategy and development, operational policy and modernisation of courts and tribunals. The Tribunals Team in the Development Directorate supports the business of the Tribunals. It is responsible for service management of existing services; the design of new digital services; maintenance of operational policies for the jurisdiction and providing operational support to Tribunal and National Services staff on these, the implementation of change arising from government policy, legislation, or judicial initiatives; and for improving performance.

About the role

This role working alongside existing Service Managers will include leading and implementing large scale policy change across the entire end-to-end customer, judicial, and staff journeys. The postholder will be accountable to a G6 Senior Service Manager.

The post holder is responsible for the creation and delivery of well thought through plans to deliver on our objectives, ensuring that our live service operates efficiently, making effective use of the resources available to the Tribunal at all times and ensuring continuous improvement is at the heart of what we do. Collaboration with, and buy in from, key stakeholders will be critical to delivery and an ability to quickly build effective and productive working relationships with a variety of people with differing interests will be critical to success.

The Service Manager will be required to identify and monitor dependencies and risks to delivery, ensuring plans remain on track and are well executed. There is a high level of internal and external engagement required and the ability to work collectively to achieve results is essential.

You must be an experienced leader who has the confidence to engage with a diverse range of staff, users, and stakeholders.

Your role as the Service Manager (Tribunals) encompasses several key aspects (but not limited to):

• build relationships within HMCTS, the Judiciary, wider MOJ and within other government departments, leading on allocated area of responsibility, and providing high quality written and oral advice to senior leaders and ministers.

• ensure comprehensive delivery plans are agreed and executed. Putting in place processes to manage performance against plans and to manage delivery risks and issues.

• formulate clear deliverable strategies for service improvement. Gaining input and buy in from key stakeholders to deliver effective change.

• ensure appropriate funding agreements are in place to ensure that HMCTS can deliver against expectation (property, staff, IT, and Judicial cost).

• set up and maintain appropriate governance structures within HMCTS to maintain necessary oversight, to ensure collaboration and agreement and to provide a ‘challenge’ function.

Key interactions will be with:

• Judiciary - at all levels including leadership judiciary. 

• HMCTS operational colleagues - tribunal staff and leadership. 

• HMCTS finance, governance, digital, commercial, data/analysis/insight, change, and performance functions. 

• MOJ policy and finance teams, and Government legal advisers. 

• The Tribunal Procedure Rules Committee and Online Procedure Rules Committee. 

• External stakeholders - parties, representative bodies, representatives of the legal professions. 

Other duties

You will be required to work in a flexible way and undertake any other duties reasonably requested by line management which are in line with the grade and level of responsibility of this post. 

Your role as the Service Manager encompasses several key aspects (but not limited to):

Person Specification

The Ideal candidate should be able to demonstrate the below:

Essential

• experience leading multi- disciplinary teams in a fast moving policy or operational environment, including demonstrable actions taken to build an inclusive team culture..

• proven ability to build and maintain effective working relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, working collaboratively and persuasively across organisational boundaries, with evidence of successful engagement outcomes.

• ability to communicate complex issues clearly and provide well-evidenced written and verbal advice and briefings to senior stakeholders, whilst adapting communication style to influence a wide range of audiences, including the judiciary.

• demonstrable experience in strategic thinking and sound decision making, including translating policy into operational delivery while balancing diverse stakeholder needs.

• Ability to apply project management skills in a fluid environment with changing priorities, demonstrating resilience and the capacity to work at pace in demanding situations.

• experience of delivering performance improvement and leading complex change at pace within a project and/or operational environment including the ability to analyse a range of performance management information to identify issues, risks and opportunities for improvement.

Desirable

• Experience of designing change for operational transformation

• Previous experience and in-depth understanding of HMCTS digital transformation initiatives.

• Experience or operational knowledge of digital and offline service design.

• Previous experience and in-depth understanding of Tribunals.

How to apply

To apply for this role, please submit a CV and statement of suitability of no more than 1000 words setting out evidence and examples of how you meet the person specification of the role (as listed above). Please ensure you cover both ‘what’ you do but also ‘how’ you do it. (i.e., the effective skills, knowledge & experience needed to undertake the role)    

Interview

If successful at sift you will be invited to a Civil Service Success Profiles interview which will include assessment of the following behaviours (Grade G7).

• Seeing the Bigger Picture 

• Working Together 

• Communicating and Influencing 

• Delivering at Pace 

Further details

Travel to HMCTS sites outside of base location may be required, as per business needs. In line with the department’s policies, travel and subsistence and, where appropriate, overnight accommodation will be available in line with organisational policies.

This is a full-time role where part time and flexible working requests will be reviewed and considered on a case-by-case basis. Applicants should discuss this matter with the hiring manager prior to making an application.

The minimum office attendance expectation is that everyone attends the workplace for at least 60% of their working time, unless they have an agreed adjustment or exception.

About our benefits

We reward our people for their hard work and commitment. We have a number of family friendly and flexible working polices that will help you achieve a healthy work-life balance. In addition, we offer a range of employee benefits which include generous annual leave, a highly competitive contributory pension scheme, childcare benefits, season ticket and bicycle loans.

Proud to Serve. Proud to keep justice going.