Senior Crown Prosecutor

This is a great opportunity to join the CPS Proceeds of Crime Division within Casework Directorate, CPS.

Senior Crown Prosecutors are highly trained lawyers with excellent people skills and a passion for delivering justice. This role is largely office-based.

You represent the Crown Prosecution Service on the frontline, collaborating closely with colleagues and other agencies, including the police, counsel and judiciary. You play a vital role in maintaining public confidence in our work.

You will work in partnership with investigators to build robust criminal or civil asset recovery cases – restraint, confiscation, enforcement of confiscation orders, civil recovery.

You will be making high-quality legal decisions, working proactively with stakeholders and operating as a strong centre of excellence in asset recovery.

The Crown Prosecution Service is based in England and Wales. If you’re applying for this role and live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you must let us know when accepting this offer as you need permission to work from your home address if hybrid working is part of your role. There’s no guarantee that we will grant this approval.

You must be aged 16 or over at the point of starting in this role. The expected start date is approximately 8–12 weeks after the application closing date. You are expected to commence employment as soon as possible following the expiry of your notice period. Requests for significantly later start dates may not be accommodated.

Your roles and responsibilities

• You conduct discussions with law enforcement authorities (LEAs) on the evidential requirements for restraint, confiscation and enforcement applications. You review cases where applications will be made to the Magistrates, Crown and High courts, decide whether it is appropriate to make the application and to decide on the terms of the application and whether to apply for compensation or costs. CPS POCD makes applications that includes restraint, receivership, confiscation, reconsideration of confiscation orders or civil recovery orders.
• You will have an asset recovery caseload.
• You are responsible for your own caseload – advising police, financial investigators, reviewing case files, conducting proceedings and providing legal advice on cases to be presented in the Magistrates', Crown and High Courts.
• You analyse, review, prepare and present a wide range of asset recovery cases, and will be expected to have up-to-date knowledge of asset recovery law.
• You have a high volume of casework in respect of advice and review, which will include some of the more challenging, serious and sensitive cases.
• You undertake advocacy in relation to Magistrates Court and Crown Court applications when appropriate
• You explain our decisions clearly to stakeholders including magistrates, counsel, victims, witnesses and the police.
• You work effectively as part of a multiskilled team.

A copy of the full job description is attached.

Legally qualified: You must be a qualified solicitor or barrister able to obtain a valid Practising Certificate for England and Wales

If you’re a CILEx lawyer, you must be a Fellow of CILEx and a CILEx Advocate/Litigator holding all three advocacy certificates providing you with a ‘general qualification’ within the meaning of s71(3)(c) Courts and Legal Services Act 1990. You must have a right of audience in relation to any class of proceedings in any part of the Senior Courts, or all proceedings in County Court or magistrates' courts, to meet the requirements for a Crown Prosecutor as specified by section 1 Prosecution of Offences Act 1985. If you don’t meet this definition, you’re not eligible to apply for this vacancy. If you’re unsure whether you have qualified through CILEx, contact us to establish your eligibility for this role.

Solicitors - You must hold a qualifying law degree or equivalent, have passed the Common Professional Examination or Graduate Diploma in Law and/or the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE), have completed two years of qualifying work experience and be admitted to the roll of solicitors by the Solicitors Regulation Authority or have full exemption from the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Barristers - You must hold a qualifying law degree (or Common Professional Examination or Graduate Diploma in Law), have completed the Bar Training/Practice Course (also known as the Bar Professional Training Course), been formally called to the Bar and successfully completed pupillage, or have full exemption from the Bar Standards Board.

We don’t accept equivalent qualifications. If you’re unsure about your eligibility contact Rachel.Seagraves@cps.gov.uk.

You must be a fully qualified solicitor or barrister at the point of application. If successful, we must receive your practising certificate as soon as possible. We won’t be able to progress pre-employment checks until we’ve received your practising certificate has been received, and a deadline for this may be set in line with business need. If you’re able to meet these requirements by this date, you’re eligible to apply.

If there are any restrictions or special arrangements about your practising certificate, let us know by email as soon as possible.

If we find you don’t have any of these academic and professional qualifications, we will withdraw your offer of employment or terminate your contract

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.

Recruitment process

The recruitment process consists of an online application, assessment and interview.

Personal statement

We ask you to complete a personal statement of no more than 1,250 words. You need to address the core behaviours for this role, which are:

• Making effective decisions - Lead Behaviour
• Communicating and influencing
• Delivering at pace

In addition, you need to demonstrate the Crown Prosecution Service or Civil Service values.

You also need to demonstrate the following experience required for this role:

• have experience of drafting legal documents
• have experience of conducting legal and factual research and analysis
• have experience of dealing with incomplete and conflicting evidence
• have experience of managing contested casework/litigation with multiple parties
• have confidence in dealing with numerical data
• have in depth knowledge and understanding of the principles of criminal law

The panel has the right to assess the lead behaviour ‘Making effective decisions’ first. If the standard on this behaviour isn’t met, the other behaviours won’t be considered and your application won’t progress. The panel also has the right to raise the minimum standard pass mark. The panel may also refer to the lead behaviour at the interview stage to determine merit order.

CV

You’re not required to upload your CV. However, when submitting your application there is a ‘CV section’. You are required to provide information about your employment and/or academic history for the past three years skills, and qualification details. The CV section will be used as supporting evidence, it won’t be assessed.

It’s your responsibility to provide the specified information in the requested format to ensure that you're considered for the post.

If you're unable to cover three years through employment or academic history, you must provide a character reference for clearance purposes.

Interview and Assessment

The interview and assessment are expected to take place during the week beginning Monday 12th October at Petty France, London.

A member of our recruitment team will be in touch with guidance. If you have any queries about this, contact Rachel.Seagraves@cps.gov.uk

You should keep this week free or notify us if you're not available. We'll make every effort to accommodate your date preferences but we can't guarantee it.

We ask you to complete an assessment as part of the recruitment process for this role. We will provide details immediately before your interview.

We use behaviours to help us understand your experience, to see if you're a good fit for the role. You are assessed against Grade 7 level in the Civil Service success profiles behaviours framework. We are assessing four behaviours at interview and assessment stage:

• Making effective decisions – interview and assessment
• Communicating and influencing – interview and assessment
• Delivering at pace – interview and assessment
• Seeing the bigger picture – interview

Ability: Legal Intellect - assessed at legal assessment

We want to understand your legal abilities and your aptitude for criminal law. We’re looking for the following six things.

• Knowledge and understanding of the key concepts and principles of criminal law and asset recovery law.
• Reliable legal judgement
• Able to think strategically and creatively, see legal issues in their wider context and advise accordingly.
• Sound analysis, using secure legal research to produce timely and fit-for-purpose briefings
• Fluent oral and written advocacy
• Demonstrable knowledge and an understanding of the work of the Crown Prosecution Service and our role in the wider criminal justice system.

Essential Experience detailed in the person specification- assessed at assessment

Strengths

Strengths are tested at interview stage - the strengths tested are not shared before the interview.

Other

This is a full-time post. We do consider requests for flexible, part-time working and job share, always considering the operational needs of the department.

Please note that the CPS is unable to offer visa sponsorship. If you require visa sponsorship to work in the UK, you will not meet the eligibility criteria for this role.

Clearance

If successful, you are required to secure a Disclosure and Barring Service check and Security Check clearance, for which you must have a current valid UK address.

If successfully appointed, we ask you to complete a character enquiry form, and nationality and immigration questionnaire and national security vetting form.

If you're a Crown Prosecution Service member of staff, you won’t need to do a Disclosure and Barring Service check as you already hold this clearance.

The job you’re applying for is covered by Article 3(a) of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975, consequently Section 4(2) of that Act doesn’t apply. You’re required to disclose all previous convictions and cautions including spent convictions. Failing to make a full declaration will result in withdrawing your offer of employment if our checks reveal convictions that haven’t been disclosed.

To be cleared to Security Check clearance level, you have to be able to meet the residency requirement in the Cabinet Office guidance. For the Crown Prosecution Service, this is three years within the last five years.

Reserve list

If you're recommended by the selection panel but not appointed to the current vacancy, you’re put on a reserve list for 12 months. You may be offered another Senior Crown Prosecutor post in the CPS if a vacancy comes up during this period. We may also approach candidates on the waiting list to fill other roles that require similar knowledge and experience.

Civil Service Commission

If you’re dissatisfied with the recruitment process and wish to make a complaint, please contact Strategic.Resourcing@cps.gov.uk with your concerns.

If you remain dissatisfied and wish to make a further complaint, please click on the following link to the Civil Service Commission complaints page Recruitment Complaints - Civil Service Commission

Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles can be found at https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/recruitment/

Details of the Civil Service Nationality Rules are located at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules

Candidates are subject to UK immigration requirements. For the most up-to-date information on the requirements of working in the UK, please go to the UK Visas and Immigration website at https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas

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