Area Advocacy Clerking Manager

The B2 Area Advocacy Clerking Manager leads the Advocacy Clerking Team, with responsibility for training, workloads, managing the day-to-day business and performance, ensuring efficient and effective clerking processes and being the focal point for stakeholder engagement and management.
The B2 Area Advocacy Clerking Manager is responsible for line management of B1 Advocacy Clerking Manager/s within the Advocacy Clerking Unit. Managing and monitoring attendance, performance and wellbeing, taking a pro-active approach to promoting self-development in relation to staff.
Providing leadership in all aspects of the Crown Advocate Unit performance and management, including the implementation of major change initiatives.
Taking a pivotal role with internal and external stakeholders in order to drive through strategic change and improvements within the Unit and to meet the needs of the Business.
Fosters partnerships with key CJS stakeholders including the Bar, Chambers, and HMCTS to aid quality service.
The B2 Area Advocacy Clerking Manager ensures the instruction of advocates in accordance with CPS principles, including the Briefing Principles and the joint CPS and Bar Diversity and Inclusion Statement, contributing to fair and equitable briefing and high-quality advocacy that represent the communities that we serve.
Management of the CPS clerking digital systems and utilising available reports to inform engagement and continuous improvement.

Person specification
+ The role is the visible and proactive focal point for the Area’s Advocacy Clerking Team.
+ Stakeholder engagement and key regular liaison role with other core teams in the business, for briefing principles compliance, data recording, succession planning and business need.
+ Proactively building and maintaining good working relationships with Barristers Chambers, HMCTS and other Criminal Justice partners.
+ Communicating a clear vision and direction, with clear accountabilities and decision- making guidance. To be an active member of the Area senior management team, contributing to the development and delivery of Area Business and strategic plans ensuring that team issues are represented.
+ Proactively managing and ensuring deployment of Advocacy Clerking Managers is in line with CPS strategies, ensuring standards of performance, conduct, attendance are managed in line with Service’s HR procedures and policies. Taking an active and considered approach to promoting self-development of staff within the team, providing support either collectively or on an individual basis where there are particular areas of concern.
+ Leading the team through periods of change setting a clear vision of what the Area is trying to achieve and involves staff fully in delivery and change implementation.
+ Ensuring appropriate communication with the team takes place, including assisting with identifying and solving daily problems.

Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
+ Communicating and Influencing
+ Making Effective Decisions
+ Managing a Quality Service
+ Delivering at Pace, CPS is passionate about ensuring that we are a top performing organisation and a great place to work. We are committed to be an equal opportunities employer and creating a culture where everyone can bring their whole self to work and individuality is truly appreciated.
We want to ensure all our employees can thrive at work and home and offer a range of support to achieve a balance. This includes where possible, flexibility of working hours, flexibility to support caring responsibilities and a flexible approach to deployment, which means that where you work (i.e. a court, an office, or a remote setting such as your home) will be based on the kind of work you are undertaking.
This culture of inclusion is underpinned by our staff networks covering Disability, Faith and Belief, LGBTQI+, Race, Social Mobility alongside our Mental Health First Aiders Programme and Wellbeing Sessions.
CPS commits to offer its employees the following experience
+ Impactful, purposeful work – making a difference to your local communities
+ The ability to learn and grow, with access to the right opportunities and resources
+ To care about your wellbeing
+ To feel valued, trusted and included
We also offer the following range of benefits:
+ Civil Service Pension
+ Access to employee savings
+ Cycle2Work scheme
+ 25 days leave, rising to 30 days after 5 years’ service.
+ 1 extra privilege day entitlement to mark the King’s Birthday.
+ Competitive maternity, paternity and parental leave
+ Flexible working and a family friendly approach to work.
+ Childcare vouchers unless already registered with the Government Tax Free Childcare Scheme, The recruitment process will consist of an online application and interview which are expected to take place around the week of the 9th September 2024 at Colmore Gate, Birmingham, CPS West Midlands
A member of our recruitment team will be in touch with further guidance, if you have any queries about this please contact Sophie.Cosgrove@CPS.gov.uk
You should keep this date free and please notify us if you are not available. We will make every effort to accommodate you in your preference for dates; however we cannot guarantee that they will be met.
Personal Statement
You will be asked to complete a personal statement of no more than 1250 words setting out how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience, match the requirements as detailed in the Candidate Pack. You will also need to address the core behaviours for this role, detailed in the behaviours section of the candidate pack, which are;
+ Communicating and Influencing – Lead Behaviour
+ Making Effective Decisions
+ Managing a Quality Service
+ Delivering at Pace
Please note, the panel reserve the right to only assess the lead behaviour Communicating and Influencing at interview and raise the minimum standard pass mark.
You must also demonstrate the CPS or Civil Service values.
CV
You will not be required to upload your CV however, when submitting your application there is a ‘CV section.’
You will be required to provide information regarding your employment/academic history for the past 3 years.
Please note that it is the candidate’s responsibility to provide the specified application information in the requested format to ensure that they are considered for the post. If you are unable to cover 3 years through employment/ academic, a character reference will be required for clearance purposes.
Strengths
Please note, strengths will be tested at interview stage, the strengths being tested will not be shared in advance of the interview.
Use of AI
Candidates must ensure that their applications, including personal statements and behaviour examples, are truthful and factually accurate. Please note, that plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own.
Other
This is a full-time post. However, requests for flexible, part-time working and job share will be considered, considering at all times the operational needs of the Department.
We want to ensure our employees can thrive at work and home, and offer a range of support to achieve a balance. This includes flexibility of working hours, flexibility to support caring responsibilities and a flexible approach to deployment. We offer a hybrid working policy. From September 2024, you must spend at least 40% of your contracted hours over a four-week period at court, in an office or another official workplace depending on business need and the kind of work you're doing.
Clearance Required
The successful applicant will be required to secure DBS clearance.
If successfully appointed, you may be asked to complete the Character Enquiry Form and Nationality and Immigration Questionnaire.
(If you are an internal member of staff, you will not be required to undergo this DBS check as you will already hold this clearance)
The job you are applying for is covered by Article 3(a) of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975, consequently Section 4(2) of that Act does not apply.
For the reasons outlined above you are required to disclose all previous convictions and cautions, including spent convictions. Failure to make a full declaration will result in the withdrawal of an offer of employment if our checks reveal convictions that have not been disclosed.
Waiting List
Candidates who are recommended by the selection panel but not appointed to the current vacancy will be placed on a waiting list for 12 months and may be offered another post, should any further vacancies for a Area Advocacy Clerking Manager arise in their chosen location. CPS may also approach candidates on the waiting list to fill other roles requiring similar knowledge and experience, including in other locations.
Feedback
Feedback will not be provided until the vacancy is complete, please note that written feedback will not be provided for candidates who do not pass the application stage.
Fair Processing Notice (FPN)
From April 2018, the CPS will provide a Fair Processing Notice (FPN) to all new applicants after they have been successful at interview. These candidates will be informed that, as one aspect of pre-employment screening, their personal details – name, National Insurance Number and date of birth - will be checked against the Internal Fraud Database (IFD) and that anyone included on the IFD will be refused employment unless they can demonstrate exceptional circumstances., o UK nationals
o nationals of the Republic of Ireland
o nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
o nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
o nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
o individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
o Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

The Crown Prosecution Service is based in England and Wales. If you’re applying for this role and live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you must let us know when accepting this offer as you need permission to work from your home address if hybrid working is part of your role. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that this approval will be granted.
Please note that as part of this role you will be expected to undertake direct line management responsibilities.

Alongside your salary of £33,670, Crown Prosecution Service contributes £9,090 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.