Court Usher

**Court Usher - 70013**
**£19,932**
**Weston-super-Mare**:
**Location: Weston-Super-Mare County Court and Family Court, North Somerset Courthouse, The Hedges, St Georges, Weston-Super-Mare, BS22 7BB**:
**Grade: AA**:
**Duration: 12 Months Fixed-Term Contract**:
**Salary: National: £19,932**:
These positions are available for external applicants as well as existing civil servants on level transfer.

**Background**:
The Court Usher acts as an essential first point of contact for all the court users involved in hearings. There will be regular contact with the judiciary, assisting the administrative staff with the smooth flow of court work. You will meet members of the public and their legal representatives; prepare court / hearing rooms, and complete documentation, as well as ensuring the court runs smoothly and efficiently. You will also carry out some general clerical work as required to support the work of HMCTS.

Although many of the tasks are straightforward, regulated by well-established guidelines and/or detailed instructions, an Usher needs to be prepared to react quickly and professionally to situations, some of which may be unexpected. You will be comfortable in dealing sensitively and professionally with people from all walks of life; many of whom may be vulnerable and under stress. Advice and support is readily available and there is little discretion to depart from standard procedures, which may well require you to take a firm stance when those procedures are not understood or welcomed by a court user. Ushers work within a team with regular management support and are responsible for their own time.

Whilst initially you will be allocated to a specific court or office base, there will be a need for flexibility to work on an ad hoc basis at other courthouses and local HMCTS offices.

**Operational Delivery in HMCTS**:
This role is part of the Operational Delivery Profession. Operational delivery professionals are the outward face of government, providing essential services to the public in a variety of roles. They work in many different departments and agencies across the breadth of the UK, delivering service to customers in
- Face-to-face roles in HMCTS for example a court usher
- Contact Centre roles in HMCTS for example call centre advisers
- Processing roles in HMCTS for example Staff at the County Courts Money-Claims Centre

Being part of the operational delivery profession means belonging to a cross-government community of people. This will offer you access to information on professional standards, skills development and qualifications to help you continue to improve your development and performance and expand your career options.

**Key Responsibilities**:
**Administration**:

- Collecting and delivering files and bundles to the judiciary and clerks ensuring they have the necessary papers
- Providing support to colleagues & judiciary outside of court / hearing times
- General clerical work, including use of computers and Switchboard
- Filling out forms
- Operating recording equipment and maintaining records of recordings of hearings
- Sort and deliver lists of hearings for internal & external notice boards

**Correspondence**:

- Completing standard forms, etc where the information is clearly defined.
- Straightforward drafting such as acknowledgements / receipting, confirmations, court orders, warrants etc.

**Post Handling**:

- Opening, sorting, distributing and dispatching post as required
- Collecting and delivering post from appropriate offices

**Monitoring Stock**:

- Ensuring Court rooms are supplied against requirements for relevant forms and stationery
- Collecting and delivering stationary around the offices

**Data Entry and recording**:

- Resulting, checking accuracy and completeness against guidelines or a proforma, straightforward money handling e.g. issuing jury payments, spending petty cash under instruction.

**Operating equipment**:

- Office and court equipment e.g. computers, fax machines, scanners, photocopiers, switchboards, franking machines, messaging equipment, tape, and video recorders etc.

**Handling telephone calls**:

- Answering standard enquiries and passing messages to others.

**Arranging meetings**:

- Preparing rooms for hearings, tribunals, trials, meetings and clearing the court / hearing room down at the end of the day etc.
- Using electronic diaries

**Reception of parties to court**:

- Including members of the public, judiciary, juries, solicitors and barristers, the police, representatives of external Agencies etc.
- Providing information related to proceedings, escorting court users into and from the building, swearing oaths etc.
- Calling people into court / hearing rooms in priority order, discussing with Court Clerks and Legal Advisers and liaising with the Witness Service as necessary
- Answering face to face enquiries
- Keeping parties informed of changes e.g. of courtrooms and hearing times

**Other Duties**:
The post holder is required t