Operational Support Officer

Ministry of Justice; Preston; Hybrid; GBP 21,000 - 27,000; Full time

Job summary

Ministry of Justice is seeking an Operational Support Officer to provide essential customer service and administrative support to court and tribunal users, judiciary and management. The role is based at Preston Magistrates’ Court, with full-time hours (37 per week) and occasional weekend work in line with court requirements.

You will handle case preparation, record-keeping and communications across multiple channels, contributing to efficient court operations.

Qualifications

• Strong customer service skills in a public-facing environment.
• Good digital and administrative skills with high attention to detail.
• Effective communication and organisational abilities across in person, phone and written channels.
• Resilient and empathetic when handling sensitive information and situations.
• Team player capable of flexible, collaborative working to deliver HMCTS objectives.

Responsibilities

• Prepare papers and files for court, tribunals and meetings, including handling sensitive information.
• Create and update records digitally and interpret information for court files.
• Communicate with the public, judiciary, and other agencies to support proceedings.
• Support smooth court proceedings and prepare rooms for hearings and meetings.
• Be the first point of contact for court users when required.

Job description

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. We’re looking for individuals who are committed to public service and making a difference in people’s lives to deliver justice.

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:

• 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.

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 MoJ’s Flexible Working policy.

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 Preston Magistrates’ Court. The address is Preston Magistrates' Court, Lawson Street, Preston, PR1 2QT.

This is a business-critical role requiring full time (37) hours.

Saturday working

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.

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