Crown Court Clerk (Ref: 23917)

Please refer to Job Description

Positions available at:

Stevenage Magistrates' Court, SG1 1XH

Luton Crown Court, LU1 2AA

St Albans Crown Court, AL1 3JW

Proud to Serve. Proud to keep justice going.

Our Crown Court Clerks are essential to ensure Crown Court hearings run smoothly. They have the self-assurance to speak in court, communicate confidently with the Judge and all participants and the skill to produce accurate and timely Court documents. Our Crown Court Clerk training programme provides a structured yet flexible approach to building the skills required to perform this vital role.

About us

HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is responsible for the administration of criminal, civil and family Courts and Tribunals in England and Wales. Our roles support our service users and colleagues within HMCTS, where people and businesses access potentially life-changing justice. 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.

About you

This is a unique position at the heart of justice. It requires high emotional resilience, along with the ability to understand and be sensitive to many, sometime difficult, issues and take a non-judgemental approach to our service users.

You’re an active listener, confident communicator; able to speak publicly in court, with the self-assurance to confidently liaise with the Judge, the defence, prosecution, media, members of the public and more, regarding complex and sensitive matters in a calm and professional manner.

A real team player, working with the clerking team, you’ll ensure the smooth running of all the Crown Courts sitting daily, able to intervene in Court when required and maximise judicial sitting time. With experience in producing exact and time critical documentation, your ability to focus will be key in taking verdicts, conducting arraignments, producing Court orders and recording hearing outcomes accurately and efficiently.

You recognise the importance of the team’s overall wellbeing and meet objectives by setting clear direction and measuring through team and individual meetings.

Resilient, keen to learn and able to multi-task, you’re familiar with working within process and have the IT skills to adapt to new systems and technologies as we’re constantly investing in digital solutions to improve the way we deliver the justice people deserve in today’s world.

Your skills and experience

• Able to speak publicly and within a court room environment.
• Ability to motivate and support your team to deliver excellent customer service and achieve effective performance.
• Excellent communication, organisational and prioritisation skills.
• Ability to complete documents accurately and to deadlines.
• IT proficient with the ability to learn and adapt to different technologies and software packages.

This role gives you the opportunity to make a difference in delivery Justice and gives you the benefits developing your career in the Civil Service.

Please refer to the job description attachment for more information.

We also have more information on our website about the role Crown court clerks - HM Courts & Tribunals service

Further details:

New recruits to the Civil Service joining MoJ are expected to join at the band minimum.

These operational roles are customer facing, requiring successful applicants to be office based to provide HMCTS services to the public.

St Albans Position: 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. Applications for part-time working would be considered however due to the nature of the role the minimum of 3 days is required, one of which must be a Friday.

Stevenage and Luton Position: Standard full time working hours are 37 hours per week (Monday to Friday). This is a business-critical role requiring full-time hours.

Occasional travel to other courts

Whilst you will be assigned to a designated office base, there may be a requirement to work at other local HMCTS courts or sites on either an ad hoc or regular basis to meet business needs. Where applicable, travel time and expenses will be reimbursed in line with HMCTS policies.

For the role at Stevenage, you may occasionally be required to provide cover in Luton and therefore should be willing to travel to courts within a reasonable commuting distance. Please also note that your initial training period will be based at Luton Crown Court.

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.

Fixed term appointments (FTA) on promotion

MoJ employees may apply for FTA opportunities in MoJ that are advertised at a higher grade than their current substantive grade. Where an employee accepts an FTA on promotion, this promotion will be temporary, and the employee will revert to their substantive grade upon return to their home business area, as per the loan policy for OGD loans. Before applying, employees must seek approval from their line managers to ensure they can be released for the duration of the FTA and can return to their substantive role at the end. If there is no role available at the end of the FTA, the employee will be subject to redeployment and potentially redundancy procedures.

Loans/Detached Duty

The terms of the loan or detached duty will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant (candidate). This includes grade on return. Prior agreement to be released on a loan or detached duty basis should be obtained before commencing the application process.

Base Location and Reserve list information

Base locations and reserve lists for this campaign will be managed in accordance with location preference/s, as indicated in your application. We will appoint in merit list order for each location outlined in the vacancy and hold a separate locational reserve list for each of these locations. After appointments have been made using this locational appointment process, any remaining candidates who met the benchmark for the role will remain on a locational reserve list in accordance with their preferences for 12 months.

Please only indicate preferences where you are prepared to work. If you are subsequently offered a role from the reserve list for a location preference indicated in your application and decline it, you will be removed from the reserve list for the vacancy, across all locational preferences.

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.