22745 - Operational Support Officer


Company:	Ministry of Justice
Salary:	from £25,582 a year
Hours:	Full-time
Location:	St Albans, AL1 3JW
Working pattern:	On-site
Job type:	Permanent
Posting date:	28 Sept 2026
Closing date:	12 Oct 2026

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Summary

Positions available at:

Luton Crown Court, LU1 2AA

Luton and South Bedfordshire Magistrates' Court, LU1 5BL

Stevenage Magistrates' Court, SG1 1XH

St Albans Magistrates' Court, AL1 3LB

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. If you are interested in developing a career with a real purpose, please apply.

Your role

As these roles cover a variety of duties, some positions are primarily based within the courtroom, supporting the smooth running of court proceedings, with administrative responsibilities also forming part of the role. Other positions are more administrative in nature and office-based. If you have a preference for either a courtroom-based role or a more administrative position, please let the interview panel know during your interview, and this will be taken into consideration where possible. 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.

Court Specific Duties

Duties undertaken within the Court may include, but are not limited to, the following:

Speak publicly and manage courtroom proceedings.

Court usher duties which include preparation and management of a courtroom by communication with court users (members of the public).

Ensuring court video link technology is prepared and working correctly.

Communication with stakeholders and professionals including Police, Probation Service and Solicitors.

Administration work including pre and post court functions.

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.

Saturday working (applies to Magistrates Courts only)

If you select a magistrates court as one of your location preferences and are allocated there, you may be required to work a 5 days over 6 working days shift pattern, which can occasionally include Saturdays. Your working pattern will be confirmed by your line manager. Where you are required to work on a Saturday, you will receive a day off in lieu in line with business needs. Please note that there is no requirement to work on Sundays. While Saturday working may be required, this is expected to be occasional and based on operational requirements.

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. Occasional travel across Bedford, Luton, Stevenage, St Albans and Hatfield may be required.

Base Location and Reserve list information

Base locations and reserve lists for this campaign will be managed in accordance with location preference/s, as indicated in your application. We will appoint in merit list order for each location outlined in the vacancy and hold a separate locational reserve list for each of these locations. After appointments have been made using this locational appointment process, any remaining candidates who met the benchmark for the role will remain on a locational reserve list in accordance with their preferences for 12 months.

Please only indicate preferences where you are prepared to work. If you are subsequently offered a role from the reserve list for a location preference indicated in your application and decline it, you will be removed from the reserve list for the vacancy, across all locational preferences.

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