Operational Support OfficerMinistry of Justice

Proud to serve. Proud to keep justice going.

Our Operational Support Officers within National Services provide excellent telephone and administrative support to court users.

About us

HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is responsible for the administration of criminal, civil and family Courts and Tribunals in England and Wales. Enforcement is a key function within our National Services Team working alongside the criminal courts to ensure convicted parties comply with fines and other financial penalties imposed by the courts. We are also responsible for compliance of Confiscation Orders imposed by the Crown Courts and the payment of Fixed Penalty tickets issued by police forces.

We’re looking for individuals who are committed to public service and making a difference in people’s lives to deliver justice. If you are interested in developing a career with a real purpose, please apply.

Your role

Working as part of a team, you will contribute to the overall operational, performance and service standard targets across your area of work. Working as part of a team, you will contribute to the overall operational, performance and service standard targets across your area of work. You will progress cases through the court/tribunal system and provide customer service and administrative support to functions within HMCTS. You will have regular contact with court / tribunal users, which could include members of the judiciary and the legal profession.

You will be adaptable, able to multi-task and effectively carry out a variety of duties, which will include:

Data entry of paper and digital work, telephony, customer complaints and correspondence.

Communicating effectively with the public, other court and tribunal users and representatives of other agencies and organisations.

Delivering a high standard of customer service, responding to enquiries with empathy and understanding, particularly in situations where individuals may be under stress or facing challenging circumstances.

Using email and webchat and undertaking general administrative work.

Interpreting information to accurately update digital records.

Your knowledge, skills and experience

Strong customer service skills with the ability to work in a service-led environment.

Good digital and administrative skills; with excellent attention to detail.

Effective communication and organisational skills. Able to communicate confidently in person, over the telephone, digitally and in written communications.

Resilient and empathetic to be able to deal with sensitive information and situations.

A team player; able to work collaboratively and flexibly to deliver HMCTS objectives.

Please refer to the role profile attachment for more information.

Further details

The office is open Monday – Friday from 8:30am to 5pm.

Standard full time working hours are 37 hours per week (Monday to Friday). HMCTS welcomes part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns, where they meet the demands of the role and business needs and are agreed prior to appointment. All applications for part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns will be considered in accordance with the MoJ’s Flexible Working policy. Due to business needs the minimum number of hours per week required is 30hrs. The business cannot accommodate Thursdays and Fridays as non-working days.

Non-contractual hybrid working is currently available. Hybrid working arrangements will be determined by the business and are only relevant to particular teams, only available when it has been established that delivering the service from home can be done effectively. We cannot facilitate requests for a particular work from home/working in the office schedule.

Location

You will be based in Worthing Magistrates Court. The address is Worthing Magistrates, Worthing, BN11 1JE

Skilled Worker Visa

This role is not eligible for new Skilled Worker visas in accordance with the current immigration rules.

From 22 July 2025, the Government introduced changes to the Skilled Worker visa route. The department cannot consider sponsoring you for this role unless you have held a Skilled Worker visa prior to the 22 July 2025 changes. If you have held a Skilled Worker visa continuously, please raise this during your vetting checks and eligibility will be assessed in accordance with the immigration rules and transitional provisions in place.

If you are applying for this role and you have not held a Skilled Worker visa prior to the 22 July 2025 changes, you will need to consider your options for obtaining and/or maintaining your right to work in the UK in light of these changes. Successful applicants must ensure they have and maintain the legal right to live and work in the Civil Service and in the United Kingdom.

The Department will continue to comply with UK Immigration Rules applied in the UK and Civil Service. You can read more about Skilled Worker visas and the eligibility criteria here.

Occasional travel to other courts

For this post, occasional travel to another HMCTS site may be required for cover when needed.