Job Title: Accredited Police Station Representative Contract Type: Permanent Grade: HEO Salary range: £32,827 - £35,678 Location: PDS Offices Directorate/Team: Public Defender Service The Public Defender Service The Public Defender Service (PDS) is a department of the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) that operates alongside private providers delivering a full range of quality, value for money services within the criminal defence market. Informed by its participation in the market, PDS contributes credible and expert advice to the government on service and policy development affecting the sector and acts as a test-bed for innovation and quality improvements. PDS operations provide a critical safeguard against market failure across England and Wales, thereby ensuring the LAA fulfils its statutory responsibility to ensure continuous access to justice. Job Summary Provision of advice, assistance and representation to individuals subject to investigation or prosecution of a criminal offence. Key Responsibilities: Provide a high volume of advice, assistance and representation to individuals subject to the investigation or prosecution of a criminal offence. Providing correct, appropriate and timely advice to clients by telephone and face-to-face (at the police station, courts and office) and following up in writing as appropriate. Preparation of Crown Court cases - from allocation through to trial or sentence and briefing of appropriate counsel. Provide expert input, as and when required, to various projects within the Agency and wider Government'. Participation in office out of hours rota. Essential Criteria: Accredited Police Station Representative, fully qualified to represent clients in England and Wales with excellent practical knowledge of criminal law, evidence and procedure. Ability and willingness to work flexibly including during unsociable hours as part of the office 24/7 rota Effective communication skills and personal presence that enables rapport-building with criminal defence clients, a broad range of external stakeholders and with own team members and colleagues, with the ability to challenge police and other prosecution authorities in a manner that is effective, professional and in the best interests of the client. Experience in preparing a range of cases to trial in the Crown Court. Personal resilience with a genuine commitment to personal care, to maintain mental and physical wellbeing of self and team members in a working environment that may present emotional and other challenges. Commitment to the wider aims of the PDS to become an exemplar of best practice in criminal litigation and advocacy and its remit to act as a test-bed for innovation, increased efficiencies and quality improvements for the benefit of the wider criminal defence community. Enthusiasm to engage with new technologies to enhance quality and create efficiencies based on sound IT skills (particularly Microsoft Office), and the willingness to self-create the majority of own documentation. Possession of a full driving licence and access to a motor vehicle, together with flexibility and preparedness to travel to cover cases across England and Wales if required. Assessment Approach Application and Assessment Process The following behaviours will be assessed at the sift stage and must be demonstrated at level 3 - HEO/SEO. Communicating and Influencing Communicate in a straightforward, honest and engaging manner, choosing appropriate styles to maximise understanding and impact. Ensure communication has a clear purpose and takes into account people's individual needs. Share information as appropriate and check understanding. Show positivity and enthusiasm towards work, encouraging others to do the same. Ensure that important messages are communicated with colleagues and stakeholders respectfully, taking into consideration the diversity of interests. Working Together Encourage joined up teamwork within own team and across other groups. Establish professional relationships with a range of stakeholders. Collaborate with these to share information, resources and support. Invest time to develop a common focus and genuine positive team spirits where colleagues feel values and respect one another. Consider the wellbeing of individuals within the team, including consideration of your own needs. Actively seek and consider input of people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives. Delivering at Pace Follow relevant policies, procedures and legislation to complete your work. Have a positive and focussed attitude to achieving outcomes, despite any setbacks. Regularly check performance against objectives, making suggestions for improvement or taking corrective action where necessary. Ensure that colleagues are supported where tasks are challenging. Interviews If you are successful at the application stage, you will be invited to an interview, via MS Teams. As well as the above behaviours, strengths applicable to the role will also be assessed at interview. If you would like more information on this opportunity, please contact pds.businessteamjustice.gov.uk The job holder must be able to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence in English or (when specified in Wales) Welsh. Mandatory Eligibility Requirements Qualifications Police Station Accreditation (PSQ/PSRAS) Additional Information Working Arrangements & Further Information The MoJ offers Hybrid Working arrangements where business need allows. This is an informal, non-contractual form of flexible working that blends working from your base location, different MoJ sites and / or from home (please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas). All employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in an office, subject to local estate capacity. Some roles will not be suitable for Hybrid Working. Similarly, Hybrid Working will not suit everyone's circumstances. Arrangements will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate(s) and subject to regular review. For nationally advertised roles, the successful candidate(s) will be appointed to a MoJ office location, which may include their nearest Justice Collaboration Centre or Justice Satellite Office. This will be discussed and agreed on the completion of pre-employment checks. Some of MoJ's terms and conditions of service are changing as part of Civil Service reform. The changes will apply to staff joining MoJ who are new to the Civil Service. Staff joining MoJ from other civil service employers will transfer onto the new MoJ terms if they are already on 'modernised' terms in their current post or onto 'unmodernised' MoJ terms if they are on 'unmodernised' terms at their current post. Details will be available if an offer is made. MoJ candidates who are on a specialist grade, will be able to retain their grade on lateral transfer. All candidates who are currently in receipt of Mark Time / Pay Protection should ensure they are familiar with the new policy on permanent and temporary promotion which can be found on the employee intranet. Flexible working hours The Ministry of Justice offers a flexible working system in many offices. Standard full time working hours are 37 hours per week. MoJ welcomes part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns, where they meet the demands of the role and business needs. All applications for part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns will be considered in accordance with the MoJ's Flexible Working policy. Benefits The MoJ offers a range of benefits: Annual Leave Annual leave is 25 days on appointment and will increase to 30 days after five years' service. There is also a scheme to allow qualifying staff to buy or sell up to three days leave each year. Additional paid time off for public holidays and 1 privilege day. Leave for part-time and job share posts will be calculated on a pro-rata basis. Pension The Civil Service offers a choice of pension schemes, giving you the flexibility to choose the pension that suits you best. Training The Ministry of Justice is committed to staff development and offers an extensive range of training and development opportunities. Networks The opportunity to join employee-run networks that have been established to provide advice and support and to enable the views of employees from minority groups to be expressed direct to senior management. There are currently networks for employees of minority ethnic origin, employees with disabilities, employees with caring responsibilities, women employees, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees. Support A range of 'Family Friendly' policies such as opportunities to work reduced hours or job share. Access to flexible benefits such as voluntary benefits, retail vouchers and discounts on a range of goods and services. For moves to or from another employer or moves across the Civil Service this can have implications on your eligibility to carry on claiming childcare vouchers. You may however be eligible for alternative government childcare support schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. More information can be found on GOV.UK or Childcare Choices. You can determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/. Paid paternity, adoption and maternity leave. Free annual sight tests for employees who use computer screens. Working for the Civil Service The Civil Service Code 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. Should you feel that the recruitment process has breached the recruitment principles you are able to raise a formal complaint in the following order To Shared Service Connected Ltd (0845 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiriesgov.sscl.com); To Ministry of Justice Resourcing team (resourcing-management-officejustice.gov.uk); To the Civil Service Commission (details available here) The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As a Disability Confident employer, MoJ are committed to providing everyone with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, talent and abilities, by making adjustments throughout all elements of the recruitment process and in the workplace. MoJ are able to offer an interview to disabled candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns. For more information on applying for a role as a candidate with a disability or long-term condition, please see our Disability Confident Scheme Frequently Asked Questions webpage. You will be able to request reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process within the application form. If you need additional help completing the application form, please contact the SSCL Recruitment Enquiries Team. We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and a sense of belonging. To find out more about how we do this visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity. Interview dates To be confirmed Closing Date: 20/05/2024, 23:55 hours. Contact information If you require any assistance please call 0345 241 5359 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or email Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiriesgov.sscl.com Please quote the job reference - 86776. To apply for roles in MOJ you will need to confirm your employment history for at least 3 years prior to the date of application so that pre-employment checks (BPSS) can be undertaken. If you have spent significant time abroad (a total of 6 months in the past 3 years) you would be required to give a reasonable account of the reasons why. For some roles you will be required to successfully complete National Security Vetting at Counter Terrorism (CTC), Security Clearance (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV) level as a condition of appointment. To meet CTC/SC/DV requirements you will normally need to have been resident in the UK for at least 3/5/10 years prior to the date of application (The level of checks that are required are stated in the advert). If you do not meet the above requirements, you may still be considered if, for example: You've been serving overseas with HM Forces or in some other official capacity as a representative of HM Government You were studying abroad You were living overseas with parents In such cases you will need to be able to provide referee cover for the period(s) of residence overseas. The duration of overseas residence and the country of abode will also be taken into account. Success Profiles Success Profiles will enable a fairer and more inclusive method of recruitment by enabling us to assess the range of experiences, abilities, strengths, behaviours and technical/professional skills required for different roles. This flexible approach to recruitment focuses more on finding the right candidate for the specific role. To find out more about Success Profiles to support your application please click here for further guidance. if you feel that your application has not been treated in line with the Civil Service Recruitment Principles, please contact SSCL (Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiriesgov.sscl.com) in the first instance