Proud to serve. Proud to keep justice going.
Our Operational Support Officers play a critical role, providing excellent customer service and administrative support to court and tribunal 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. Were looking for individuals who are committed to public service and making a difference in peoples lives to deliver justice. If you are interested in developing a career with a real purpose, please apply.
Your role
The role is primarily based within the courtroom, supporting the smooth running of court proceedings. Administrative duties will also be incorporated into the post.
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 customer service and 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.
You will be adaptable, able to multi-task and effectively carry out a variety of duties, both office-based and in a court, which will include:
- Preparing papers and files for court, tribunals, hearings and meetings including processing and handling sensitive information and accurately resulting outcomes.
- Creating and updating records digitally, interpreting information required on a court file accurately.
- Communicating with the public, the judiciary, other court and tribunal users and representatives of other agencies and organisations
- Supporting the smooth running of court proceedings, preparing court /hearing rooms and ensuring court runs efficiently.
- When required, you will be an essential first point of contact for all the court users; meeting members of the public, which may include vulnerable witnesses, and their legal representatives.
Your knowledge, skills and experience
- Strong customer service skills with the ability to work in a service-led customer-facing environment.
- Good digital and administrative skills; with excellent attention to detail.
- Effective communication and organisational skills. Able to communicate confidently in person, over the telephone, digitally and in written communications.
- Resilient and empathetic to be able to deal with sensitive information and situations.
- A team player; able to work collaboratively and flexibly to deliver HMCTS objectives.
Please refer to the role profile attachment for more information.
Lead criterion at application stage: Statement of Suitability. An initial sift based on the statement of suitability may be held if a large number of applications are received.
Further details:
These operational roles are customer facing, requiring successful applicants to be court based to provide HMCTS services to the public.
Standard full time working hours are 37 hours per week (Monday to Friday). This is a business-critical role requiring full time hours.
Occasional travel to other courts
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. While you will have a designated base location, the role may require travel to other courts within a reasonable commutable distance. Occasional travel may be required to Staines Magistrates' Court TW18 1XH and Crawley Magistrates' Court RH10 8BF.
Saturday working
If you select a magistrates court as one of your location preferences and are allocated there, you will be required to work the following shift pattern, to include Saturdays as follows: 5 days over a 6 day working pattern.
Your working pattern will be confirmed by your line manager, and whenever you are required to work on a Saturday, you will receive a day off in lieu based on business needs. Please note that there is no requirement to work on Sundays.
Skilled Worker Visa
This role is not eligible for new Skilled Worker visas in accordance with the current immigration rules.
From 22 July 2025, the Government introduced changes to the Skilled Worker visa route. The department cannot consider sponsoring you for this role unless you have held a Skilled Worker visa prior to the 22 July 2025 changes. If you have held a Skilled Worker visa continuously, please raise this during your vetting checks and eligibility will be assessed in accordance with the immigration rules and transitional provisions in place.
If you are applying for this role and you have not held a Skilled Worker visa prior to the 22 July 2025 changes, you will need to consider your options for obtaining and/or maintaining your right to work in the UK in light of these changes. Successful applicants must ensure they have and maintain the legal right to live and work in the Civil Service and in the United Kingdom.
The Department will continue to comply with UK Immigration Rules applied in the UK and Civil Service. You can read more about Skilled Worker visas and the eligibility criteria here.
Technical Skills
Using your CV as a reference, please provide a summary of the key responsibilities from your previous experience that is most relevant to the Operational Support Officer position. Begin with your most recent experience and work backwards. For each position, include the job title, duration of employment, and a concise overview of your main duties. (Maximum 250 words).
This section is intended to help us understand where and how you gained your experience.
Please avoid repeating content from your Statement of Suitability. That section should focus on what you can do, supported by specific examples. This question, by contrast, is about what youve done and the context in which your experience was gained.
