Application Support Officer - National Magistrates Recruitment Taskforce (Ref: 22186)

This position is based Nationally.

Background

Magistrates form a key part of the justice system and play a critical role in supporting the government to tackle priorities including addressing the backlog of cases in the criminal courts. The vast majority of criminal cases start in a magistrates’ court and around 95% will be completed there.

A new and exciting opportunity has arisen to join a newly formed cross-departmental team consisting of officials from HMCTS and Judicial Office. The National Magistrates Recruitment Taskforce has been established to deliver a fundamental transformation to the way magistrates are recruited across England and Wales. Working across HMCTS and the Judicial Office, the Taskforce is responsible for delivering a nationally consistent, accelerated recruitment pipeline to significantly increase magistrate capacity and support delivery of justice.

HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is responsible for the administration of courts and tribunals in England and Wales, supporting the delivery of justice by working with the judiciary, legal professionals and partner agencies. It governs and manages court buildings and hearing venues, provides administrative support for criminal, civil, family and tribunal cases, and ensures that people can access justice effectively, fairly and efficiently.

Job Description

Applications are invited for four Application Support Officer positions within the National Magistrates Recruitment Taskforce—a partnership between HMCTS and the Judicial Office focused on transforming the recruitment process for magistrates. The role is offered on an initial 12-month basis, with the option to extend to 24 months.

We are looking for committed, organised and delivery focused professionals with experience of working alongside magistrates and/or in judicial recruitment or operational environments to join our newly created cross‑departmental team as an Application Support Officer, supporting the delivery of magistrates recruitment campaigns.

The Taskforce’s ambition is to reduce recruitment timescales from around 12 months to just 12 weeks, supporting the recruitment of up to 7,000 additional magistrates by 2028/29 and enabling a 20% increase in sitting days.

As an Application Support Officer, you will play a key role in supporting delivery of the Taskforce’s ambition by providing essential administrative and processing support across multiple magistrates recruitment campaigns.

You will ensure applications are accurately processed, eligibility checks are completed, interviews are scheduled effectively, and candidate communications are issued promptly and in line with agreed standards. You will handle detailed and sensitive information with care, ensuring records and trackers are kept accurate and up to date.

Working under the direction of an EO Campaign Lead, you will support candidates through to appointment, maintain accurate tracking information, and flag issues or delays early to ensure campaigns continue to progress smoothly.

Main Activities/Responsibilities

The postholder will have the following responsibilities;

• Process applications and complete eligibility and completeness checks
• Maintain accurate campaign tracking data and audit trails
• Support interview scheduling and panel logistics
• Issue standard candidate communications and outcome notifications
• Update systems and records in line with agreed processes

Person Specification

Ideal candidates will have experience of working in an operational or administrative environment. Experience of supporting recruitment, customer service, or process-driven activities would be advantageous.

Candidates should be organised, accurate and reliable, with strong attention to detail and the ability to follow structured processes consistently. You should be confident handling detailed and sensitive information, working to deadlines in regulated environments, and escalating issues appropriately to support the smooth progression of recruitment campaigns.

Standard full time working hours are 37 hours per week. 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. Applications for part-time working would be considered however due to the nature of the role the minimum of 30 hours over 5 days is required.

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 increased the salary threshold and skills level for Skilled Worker visas. This role does not meet the eligibility criteria for sponsorship in accordance with the current immigration rules if you looking to apply for a Skilled Worker Visa for the first time.

The Department cannot consider sponsoring you for this role unless you have held a Skilled Worker visa continuously since before 22 July 2025. 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 do not meet the new eligibility criteria for sponsorship (or the transitional provisions), 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.

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)

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.