Registered Intermediary - Lincolnshire

RIs are used in criminal proceedings to enable victims and witnesses to give their best evidence during police investigative interviews and during cross examination in court.
A victim or witness might need the assistance of an RI because of their age, learning or physical disability or mental ill health or a combination of these, all of which might affect their ability to communicate with others. The work can be challenging but immensely rewarding, and an RI can often be the difference between a witness being able to give their evidence or not.
The MoJ is looking to recruit RIs to the Witness Intermediary Scheme (WIS) to provide communication assistance throughout England and Wales.
RI recruitment campaigns are run according to demand which is informed by gap analysis to determine business needs. To be eligible, candidates must be able to demonstrate experience in the mental health areas listed. Not meeting this requirement could result in your application being withdrawn.

Person specification
Nationality requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
+ UK nationals
+ nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
+ nationals of the Republic of Ireland
+ nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with (or eligible for) status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
+ relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
+ relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
+ certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals
Further information on nationality requirements, As part of the application process you will be asked to answer several competency questions and complete a statement of suitability. Please refer to the application form attached.
Key dates:
Sifting of applications concludes 18th October 2024
Interviews – successful candidates will be invited to attend a remote interview via MS Teams or Zoom during weeks commencing 4th and 11th November 2024
RI Training:
Should you be successful at the interview stage, you will be required to undertake a RI training course. The training will provide you with an understanding of the RI role and the Criminal Justice System.
Training will last for a total of ten working days. You will also need to pass four assessments to complete the course. These include report writing and undertaking two timed assessments that focus on key skills for the police and court phases of the RI role. The training is about ensuring that you can effectively transfer your existing skills to the role of a RI.
Venue: Remotely via Zoom
Training Dates:
Stage 1: 6th – 10th January
Stage 2: 3rd – 7th February
+ Training will be online via Zoom aside from the Monday of Stage 2 when trainees will visit a court
+ Training days usually start at 09.00 and finish around 16:00 - some variation should be expected as the training team encourage group discussion and trainee questions throughout the day
+ Attendance on all 10 training days is mandatory – we are unable to record the training
+ You will be required to commit personal time to work on the curriculum and assessments before and during the training
+ The training is unpaid therefore you will be required to make the necessary arrangements relating to individual work commitments, i.e. annual leave
+ Practice as a Registered Intermediary is subject to passing the training course and four assessments
+ Practice as a Registered Intermediary is subject to the satisfactory completion of pre-employment checks and receipt of references
If you are not able to attend the training course you will be offered further opportunity to attend a course. If you are unable to attend the third offered course you will need to reapply for the RI role in any future recruitment campaign that calls for the experience you can demonstrate., Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
If you are invited to interview you will be required to provide proof of your identity, nationality and right to work in the UK, together with a range of other forms of identification.
Successful applicants will be required to provide proof of personal indemnity insurance and data controller registration. Information will be provided about how to do this.
You will be required to meet a minimum of 24 days RI work per year, with a minimum of 12 days face to face casework. In addition to this, you will be required to complete at least 8 hours of Continuous Professional Development activities per year.
If you are successful at interview, you will be required to provide details of two referees.
Reasonable adjustment:
If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.
If you require a change to be made so that you can submit your application, you should:
• Contact the Recruitment and Training Co-ordinator (RI.co-ord@nca.gov.uk) as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
• Complete the relevant section in the application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

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

Nationality requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
+ UK nationals
+ nationals of the Republic of Ireland
+ nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
+ 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)
+ 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)
+ individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
+ 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)

The Ministry of Justice is seeking candidates to become Registered Intermediaries (RIs). The candidates will be able to use their knowledge of language and communication essential to their existing role or profession and will already have experience working with children, and/or adults with learning disabilities and/or mental ill health.
To apply you must be able to demonstrate experience in one or more of the following areas:
+ Typically developing children and/or children with learning disabilities
+ Adults with learning disabilities
+ Adults with complex mental health disabilities (Bipolar Affective Disorder, Personality Disorder and/or Schizophrenia)
Not meeting the above criteria will result in your application being withdrawn., + You will be required to assess understanding and use of language, communication skills and emotional state and then facilitate communication between adults with mental health concerns and criminal justice professionals. You will be required to make recommendations both verbally and in written reports to advise police and other criminal justice professionals during a trial.
• You will need professional experience of the compensatory measures employed to cope effectively with the emotional and behavioural characteristics expected.
• You will be required to show that you are able to identify difficulties through focused, rigorous, assessment of the communication needs which would have an impact on a person giving evidence.
• You will need to have a range of professional, evidence-based strategies and approaches to do this effectively and be able to explain the approaches you have taken and why. As well as assessing communication ability, you will need to have the confidence, professionalism, credibility and written and oral skills to effectively communicate your assessments to others.
• You will be required to advise police and those in a court room about detailed, specific strategies which might include adaptations to procedure and language which will allow the vulnerable person to give their best evidence. It will not be sufficient to only show that you have good communication skills and are able to modify communication to assist vulnerable witnesses. You will need to be impartial at all times.
• You will not need to use standardised psychometric testing but background knowledge of those assessments may be helpful. You must be able to draw upon an appropriate framework for the assessment of communication skills.
Things you need to know
Security
Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check.
People working with government assets must complete basic personnel security standard checks.