Court Associate

**Details**:
**Reference number**:

- 306651**Salary**:

- £27,223 - £28,613**Job grade**:

- Executive Officer- EO**Contract type**:

- Permanent**Type of role**:

- Operational Delivery**Working pattern**:

- Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time**Number of jobs available**:

- 1Contents

Location

About the job

**Benefits**:
Things you need to know

Location
- This position is based at Chatham Magistrates Chatham, ME4 4JZ, Chatham Medway County, ME4 4DW, Maidstone Combined Maidstone, ME16 8EQ and Maidstone Magistrates Maidstone, ME15 6LLAbout the job

**Job summary**:

- Please refer to Job Description**Job description**:
**Job Title**:Court Associate

**Location**:Role to be based in either Maidstone or Medway, with travel to Folkestone, Margate and Sevenoaks when required

**Grade**:EO

**Overview**

HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is an agency of the Ministry of Justice. We provide support for the legal system across England and Wales, along with non-devolved tribunals in Scotland and Northern Ireland, ensuring justice works for everyone.

Our Justice system defends our fundamental rights and freedoms. It is a cornerstone of our modern society. It protects some of the most vulnerable people in our communities, from families in crisis to claimants and commercial businesses. We have a responsibility to deliver a Justice system that is accessible to everyone and operates efficiently.

**The key purpose of the role is to**
- Act as a court associate in accordance with directions of the Head of Legal Operations, or their nominee, in court with a district judge and to keep a full and accurate record of proceedings.
- Undertake such administrative roles as appropriate to grade as directed by the line manager.

**Essential Skills & Criteria**:
**Key responsibilities**:
**Administration**
- To ensure all results are recorded and completed fully, accurately and promptly.
- To ensure that the court case files are kept properly and tidily.
- To take a note of the evidence given and any legal submissions.
- To make a full and accurate record of all adjudications made.
- To assist with District Judge (Magistrates’ Court) diary management

**Operations**
- To be aware of, and act on, any specific requirements such as video hearings
- To be in court no later than 20 minutes before the start of the court list.
- Thoroughly check case files in good time before the court session.
- In the absence of an usher, to call in witnesses and administer oaths and affirmations.
- To use HMCTS computer systems to access the diary, book trials, adjournments, move cases, result cases and produce all relevant documents including warrants and others, and validate court sessions.
- To meet with the district judge ten minutes before the start of the court and appraise them of the state of the day’s list and throughout the day, as necessary.
- To answer questions on the case (particularly being able to give a history of the case) in court and to the district judge as needed.
- Ensure the effective management and planning of the business within the courtroom.
- Take part in and deliver employee engagement activities to effect good working relationships with staff and to improve service delivery and staff morale/motivation.
- Comply with HMCTS values, policies and procedures (including diversity, attendance and discipline).
- To take part in any relevant training as required.
- To ensure that obligations under the Victim Code and the standards under the Witness Charter are complied with.
- Ensure all court users are treated fairly and with respect and understand how their own performance impacts on that of the court and the confidence of users.

**Team leadership**
- All EO grade staff are expected to deal with other ad hoc management roles including line management of Grade AO (Admin Officer) and AA (Admin Assistant) staff as needed.

**Processing and managing casework**
- Work with staff to ensuring that casework is appropriately managed, providing advice where process deviations have occurred.

**Calculations and analysis**
- Identify and implement solutions to local problems, referring more complex problems to a legal team manager

**Communicating with the public, the judiciary, other court users and representatives of other agencies and organisations**
- Maintain effective liaison with judiciary, user groups and representative organisations.
- Think beyond own area of responsibility, considering wider policy and organisational implications of issues.
- Implement local communication plans which meet the needs of the target audience.

**Representation**
- Represent the function you have been assigned to at an operational level

**Specialist roles**
- To have a working knowledge of functions undertaken within the Cluster, to support the development and review of policies and procedures.
- To provide specific functions as directed by line management in line with the SOP (Standard Operating Procedures) for providin