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
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:
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Preparing papers and files for court, tribunals, hearings and meetings including processing and handling sensitive information and accurately resulting outcomes.
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Creating and updating records digitally, interpreting information required on a court file accurately.
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Communicating with the public, the judiciary, other court and tribunal users and representatives of other agencies and organisations
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Supporting the smooth running of court proceedings, preparing court /hearing rooms and ensuring court runs efficiently.
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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
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Strong customer service skills with the ability to work in a service-led customer-facing environment.
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Good digital and administrative skills; with excellent attention to detail.
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Effective communication and organisational skills. Able to communicate confidently in person, over the telephone, digitally and in written communications.
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Resilient and empathetic to be able to deal with sensitive information and situations.
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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. 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 MoJs Flexible Working policy.
Your working hours and/or days may be variable due to the requirement to work Saturdays and Bank Holidays. Your working pattern will be confirmed by your line manager and on the occasions you are required to work Saturdays and Bank Holidays you will be allocated a day off in lieu based on business needs. There is no requirement to work Sundays
This is a business-critical role requiring full time hours but would also consider job share.
Non-contractual hybrid working is currently available. Arrangements will be determined by the business and may not be available in every team. Hybrid working will only available when it has been established that delivering the service from home can be done effectively. We cannot facilitate requests for a particular work from home / working in the office schedule.
Location
You will be based in Stockport Magistrates Court The Courthouse Edward Street, Stockport, SK1 3NF.
For this post, occasional travel to Tameside Magistrates Court, Manchester Magistrates, Bolton Magistrates, and Wigan Magistrates will be required for cover when needed.
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 experience in: Customer service, administration, IT systems and applying attention to detail in your work
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.
