Operational Support Officers

Ministry of Justice; Walsall; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 30,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Job-sharing options

Job summary

The Ministry of Justice is seeking Operational Support Officers to provide excellent customer service and administrative support to court and tribunal users, judiciary and management. You will progress cases, prepare papers, update records digitally and communicate with the public.

The role is office-based and in court, with standard full-time hours of 37 per week and flexible patterns including part-time and job-sharing.

Qualifications

• Strong customer service skills in a public-facing environment.
• Excellent digital and administrative abilities with keen attention to detail.
• Effective communication in person, over the phone and in writing.

Responsibilities

• Progress cases through court/tribunal system and support court users.
• Prepare papers and files for court hearings and manage sensitive information.
• Create and update digital records and communicate with judiciary and public.
• Support smooth running of court proceedings and prepare hearing rooms.
• Be part of a team delivering HMCTS objectives with flexibility.

Skills

Customer service

Administrative support

Attention to detail

Communication

Team player

Resilience

Empathy

Job description

Our Operational Support Officers play a critical role, providing excellent customer service and administrative support to court and tribunal users, judiciary and management., 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., 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. 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
• Applications for part-time working will be considered however due to the nature of the role the minimum hours would be 30 hours per week over 4 days. Fixed term appointments (FTA) on promotion MoJ employees may apply for FTA opportunities in MoJ that are advertised at a higher grade than their current substantive grade. Where an employee accepts an FTA on promotion, this promotion will be temporary, and the employee will revert to their substantive grade upon return to their home business area, as per the loan policy for OGD loans. Before applying, employees must seek approval from their line managers to ensure they can be released for the duration of the FTA and can return to their substantive role at the end. If there is no role available at the end of the FTA, the employee will be subject to redeployment and potentially redundancy procedures. Loans/Detached Duty The terms of the loan or detached duty will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant (candidate). This includes grade on return. Prior agreement to be released on a loan or detached duty basis should be obtained before commencing the application process. 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.
• 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.
  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. If you are interested in developing a career with a real purpose