Chief Executive Officer, HM Courts and Tribunals Service

Ministry of Justice

Hybrid

Expires: Expiring in less than 4 weeks

Management

Full time

£174,000 per year

Job summary

The HM Courts and Tribunal Service is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice operating on the basis of a partnership between the Lord Chancellor, the Lady Chief Justice and the Senior President of Tribunals.

HMCTS operates in a unique constitutional environment; with all staff having a joint responsibility to the Lord Chancellor and the Lady Chief Justice and Senior President of Tribunals for the effective, efficient and speedy operation of the courts and tribunals. A transparent and constructive relationship between the Chief Executive Officer and all three principals is essential to preserve and protect the independence of the judiciary. The HMCTS Framework Document sets out how the constitutional balance between the judiciary and executive is reflected in the governance, financing and operation of HMCTS.

For more information please see the attached candidate pack.

Job description

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is responsible for the delivery of day-to-day operations, administration of the agency's objectives and for the leadership of its staff. As CEO you will support and advise the Lord Chancellor, Lady Chief Justice and the Senior President of Tribunals in delivery of key priorities for the justice system, in a manner consistent with the independence of the Judiciary and the HMCTS Framework document.

You will be responsible for leading, with the judiciary, the implementation of criminal court reform following Sir Brian Leveson’s independent review and working with Executive Committee colleagues across MoJ on ambitious transformation, ensuring HMCTS and MoJ are modern, digital organisations fit for the future. This will require a sustained focus on operational performance, ensuring that services remain accessible, efficient and responsive to the needs of all users.

For more information please see the attached candidate pack.

Person specification

To help you succeed in this role, you will be able to demonstrate the following essential criteria:

Excellent senior leadership skills, as a Chief Executive or in a similar senior leadership post, with the ability to inspire staff, build engagement and capability to deliver results.

You should have experience of leadership at scale in a complex nationally dispersed operational service delivery environment where you had a significant degree of autonomy and accountability;

Strong inter-personal skills and a proven ability to work effectively across organisational boundaries to achieve shared outcomes, with the skills to navigate complex stakeholder and political landscapes;

The communication and influencing skills needed to build strong and effective partnerships with senior external stakeholders including Ministers or their equivalents in organisations of significant scale and complexity, combined with an understanding of the Westminster and Government context;

Experience of leading and delivering significant organisational change within complex, multi‑stakeholder environments, introducing innovative business models, systems and approaches, and driving greater commerciality and sustainability, including the use of digital innovation to transform operational service delivery.

Experience of financial accountability, managing significant budgets, and collaborating with professional functions as part of a wider system. Capability to engage with and make decisions based on complex data.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £174,000, Ministry of Justice contributes £50,407 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Learning and development tailored to your role
An environment with flexible working options
A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

We expect the process for this role to be as follows:

The closing date for applications is 23:55 on Tuesday 30th June 2026
A longlist of applications will be conducted by Gatenby Sanderson during week commencing 6th July 2026
Gatenby Sanderson will then conduct longlist interviews in week commencing 13th July
A shortlist of the applications will then take place week commencing 20th July
Shortlisted candidates may then:
- Meet with key stakeholders, potentially including a senior Minister and the Lady Chief Justice week commencing 20th July
- Take part in assessments, including a Stakeholder Engagement Exercise and Psychometrics
Inputs from all of those steps will then form the basis of a panel interview, chaired by Elizabeth Hambley from the Civil Service Commission, at the beginning of September

Other panel members at the interview will include but may not be limited to: Jo Farrar, Permanent Secretary MoJ, Richard Broadbent, Chair HMCTS, Sarah Healey, Permanent Secretary MHCLG and a judicial representative nominated by the Lady Chief Justice.

To apply, please submit your application including the following information, online at www.gatenbysanderson.comno later than 9am on Tuesday 30th June 2026:

Your CV, no more than two A4 sized pages with educational and professional qualifications and full employment history, including an explanation of any gaps in your employment history, and details where possible of budgets and numbers of people;
A short covering statement of no more than two A4 sized pages (1000 words) explaining why this appointment interests you and how you can evidence your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the criteria in the ‘Person Specification’ section in this pack;
A diversity monitoring form. All applicants are invited to complete this information to assist the Civil Service with monitoring its recruitment process. All data is reported in an anonymous and aggregate format and will not be seen by anyone assessing your application;
A declaration of interest form.

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

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

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)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Salary range

£174,000 per year