Registrar and Chief Clerk

The Valuation Tribunal Service is responsible for the administration of – and providing support to – the Valuation Tribunal for England. This includes providing a range of legal, training, digital and administrative support. Both organisations are independent and sponsored by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government.

We have an important practical and constitutional role to:

• provide a high quality and consistent service to those appealing local tax decisions; and
• support the Valuation Tribunal for England’s independence and provide the administrative backbone to its work.

The Valuation Tribunal for England is a volunteer-led tribunal which considers appeals relating to local taxes (council tax and non-domestic, or business, rates). Currently, around 200 volunteer members hear around 6000 appeals every year.

It is an interesting and exciting time to be joining the Valuation Tribunal Service. Government proposals on local taxes, for example the High Value Council Tax Surcharge, will change the scope of cases and issues that the Valuation Tribunal for England hears, and with that the scope of our work. The Registrar and Chief Clerk will have an important role in implementation of these changes.

Reporting directly to the Chief Executive, the Registrar and Chief Clerk is the most senior clerk and legal adviser within the Valuation Tribunal Service.

They are responsible for providing legal advice and guidance on the most complex cases the organisation sees, direct to the most senior members of the Valuation Tribunal for England, including the President, the Vice-Presidents, and chairs. They work closely with the President and Vice-Presidents to maintain oversight of the Valuation Tribunal for England’s decision-making.

The Registrar and Chief Clerk plays a leading role in identifying changing legislation, developments and caselaw that may affect how the Valuation Tribunal for England considers cases and communicating the impact of that to clerks and volunteer Tribunal members through written updates, guidance, and training to maintain high-quality advice and decision-making.

They also play an important role in supporting the Chief Executive in carrying out their functions, and in supporting both the Chief Executive and Valuation Tribunal President to achieve alignment across the two organisations. This includes supporting the strategic vision and aims of both organisations, providing information to the sponsor Department, and providing advice on stakeholder, Tribunal member and staff engagement. It also involves bringing to their attention anything that might affect the wider running of the Valuation Tribunal Service or Valuation Tribunal for England.

MAIN ROLE PURPOSE:

• Gain the trust of and assist the Valuation Tribunal for England’s President in the exercise of any powers given under statute and regulations and to act as a pathway on appeals, including complex cases and their case management.
• Provide accurate legal advice and interpretation regarding rating and council tax law to ensure that any decisions taken and advice/guidance given does not breach governing regulations and legislation.
• Maintain an awareness of developments in the rating and valuation field which affect the Valuation Tribunal for England and Valuation Tribunal Service and to keep the President and Chief Executive appraised, including providing advice on any necessary action.
• Maintain an oversight of the decision-making, and work with the President, Vice-Presidents and staff to consistently achieve high quality, including developing relevant training and support for volunteer members and clerks.
• Support the Chief Executive in carrying out their functions and promptly bring to their attention any areas of concern to operational effectiveness, reputation or resources.
• Support and champion the strategic aims and vision of the Valuation Tribunal Service. Play a leadership role in positive communications, relationships and engagement between the Valuation Tribunal Service and Valuation Tribunal for England.
• As Registrar and Chief Clerk with line management responsibility for the Deputy Registrar, play an important leadership role in role-modelling and training for all clerks. Have a strong relationship with the senior operational and performance leads and clerk line managers, identifying themes for action which support high-quality performance and clerk personal and career development.

Key Responsibilities and Duties:

Leadership and management:

• Supervise and manage the work of the Deputy Registrar delegating such responsibilities that are appropriate from time to time, in particular ensuring that appeals, and reviews are processed in a timely manner.
• Conduct performance appraisal of the Deputy Registrar, including establishing, setting and monitoring meaningful performance standards.
• Work collaboratively with operational and performance leads, line managers and clerks to support the overall aims for the organisation.
• Contribute positively to the overall culture of the Valuation Tribunal Service and Valuation Tribunal for England, promoting and role-modelling positive relationships and engagement with volunteer Tribunal members and staff.

Legal advice and associated action:

• Provide advice to both the President and Chief Executive on all aspects of legislation, case law, tribunal practice and procedure relevant to the hearing of appeals.
• Support and assist operational leaders in identifying matters of rating law and procedure pertaining to the work of the organisations.
• As the Registrar and Chief Clerk provide advice to staff and volunteer Tribunal members on matters of law and procedure pertaining to their role at a hearing and on case management.
• Contribute to the development, implementation and review of tribunal processes, including identifying challenges and devising appropriate solutions to improve operational efficiency. This includes the proactive adoption of new technology where appropriate.
• Responsible for maintaining an accurate record of stayed appeals for publication.

Promoting performance and high-quality decision-making

• Clerk complex case and other hearings as required and draft reasons for decisions.
• Develop and maintain a strong relationship with senior operational and performance leads and clerk line managers. Contribute to clerk induction and development, quality assurance of decision-writing, and identifying themes for action (e.g. training) which support high-quality performance and clerk personal and career development and enhances our ambition to be an exemplar tribunal.
• Responsible for managing and maintaining the ‘case law library’ on the intranet and to keep under review information available on the Members’ Pages so that it remains accurate and up to date.
• Lead the editorial team for “Valuation in Practice” and ensure other organisational publications are consistent with relevant legislation and caselaw.

Contributing to organisational effectiveness

• Play a leadership role in supporting the Chief Executive and Valuation Tribunal President to achieve alignment across the two organisations, with a focus on strategic aims and objectives, legal advice and operational delivery, and innovation.
• Provide advice on upcoming government and other policy initiatives and how they would affect the work of the Tribunal. Support the Chief Executive in providing technical information to the sponsor Department.
• Provide advice on stakeholder engagement and represent the Chief Executive and/or Valuation Tribunal for England at meetings with external bodies as requested, including at user group meetings, working across all teams to engage stakeholders and influence change as required.Work collaboratively with the leaders, managers and staff across the Valuation Tribunal Service to ensure services, systems and processes operate effectively and that a high quality ‘exemplar’ tribunal service is provided to stakeholder.
• Perform any other duties as required by the Chief Executive which are commensurate with the role.

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)

HOW TO APPLY:

Please provide a CV and covering letter (no more than two pages each and no smaller than size 11 font) showing how you meet the essential experience, skills, and qualifications for the role. Please also detail your existing salary and notice period and where you saw the job advertised. We also ask that you complete our diversity questionnaire (see separate document) which will be anonymised in any analysis and no individual will be identified.

We value authentic communication. Please do not use AI tools to generate your application materials or responses; we want to know about your genuine experience, your specific stories, and your unique perspective.

Please send this to hr.admin@valuationtribunal.gov.uk by 23:55 on Sunday 20th September 2026. Late applications will not be accepted.

ASSESSMENT PROCESS AND TIMETABLES:

We will shortlist applications by assessing your CV and covering letter against the essential experience, skills, and qualifications for the role. Applicants with a disability who meet the essential criteria will be offered an interview and at that point we will discuss with you any reasonable adjustments to assist you at the interview.

As part of the process we may require you to make a presentation or address a written scenario of our choice.

We currently expect interviews to take place week commencing 5th October 2026.

If you have any questions about the role or the process please contact, in the first instance, the HR team at hr.admin@valuationtribunal.gov.uk or visit our website: Valuation Tribunal Service

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