Go Prosecute for Senior Crown Prosecutors

Job summary

Go Prosecute for senior crown prosecutors is a secondment at the Crown Prosecution Service to support solicitors and barristers who have left criminal law for a career break and wish to return.

This is a one-year secondment with the option to extend to two years. After the secondment, you can apply for a permanent legal role with us or perhaps consider criminal defence practice or the self-employed criminal Bar.

This is a valuable development opportunity for criminal lawyers to regain their confidence, enhance their prosecutorial skills, and strengthen their professional connection with the Crown Prosecution Service. As part of the scheme, you receive an intensive one-week training course, plus ongoing Crown Prosecution Service online training, how-to guidance and podcasts.

As a senior crown prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service, you work on some of the most complex and challenging cases – from fraud and firearms offences to public order and corporate manslaughter.

Depending on your experience and agreed working pattern, you could be based in a magistrates’ unit, Crown Court unit. Or you might work in a specialised unit such as our Serious Economic Organised Crime and International Directorate, or with CPS Direct, our out-of-hours service.

Senior crown prosecutors are highly trained, experienced lawyers with excellent people skills and a passion for delivering justice. This role is largely office-based. You’re responsible for reviewing evidence and making decisions on whether a case should be prosecuted – in line with our Code for Crown Prosecutors.

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

Find out what our senior crown prosecutors say about working at the Crown Prosecution Service by visiting cps.gov.uk/careers/prosecutor.

Job description

Your roles and responsibilities:

• You advise police and other investigators on casework and evidence requirements for a wide range of offences
• You review case files and charging decisions, providing legal advice on cases to be presented in both the magistrates and Crown Courts
• You undertake advocacy in relation to serious and sensitive cases in the magistrates’ courts including Youth Courts, not guilty anticipated plea court lists, and multi-day trials
• You explain our decisions clearly to stakeholders including magistrates, counsel, victims, witnesses and the police
• You work effectively as part of a multi-skilled team and maintain up-to-date knowledge of criminal offences

The prosecution teams:

Working in our Crown Court team, you have a personal caseload of serious casework. You give charging advice to the police on cases to be heard in the Crown Court, working with our paralegal officers and with counsel to prepare cases for court.

In our magistrates’ court team, you are an advocate dealing with the full range of courts including trial courts. You have a personal caseload, giving pre-charge advice to the police on magistrates’ court cases and you prepare cases for court. You may work on a specialist team such as a domestic abuse or youth team.

A more detailed job description document is attached to this advert.

Person specification

• You must have criminal law experience (essential)
• You must be a qualified lawyer
• You must demonstrate your commitment to public service, making a difference to the communities we serve and our Crown Prosecution Service values
• You’re focused on personal development and career progression

Qualifications

You must be a qualified Solicitor or Barrister in England and Wales

You must hold, or be able to obtain, a current practising certificate for England and Wales prior to appointment
You must be entitled to practise and meet all relevant professional regulatory requirements

or
CILEx: 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 s.71 (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 courts or magistrates' courts in order to meet the requirements for a Crown Prosecutor specified by section 1 Prosecution of Offences Act 1985. If you don’t hold this CILEx qualification, 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.

If you apply and are found not to possess any of the above, any offer of employment will be withdrawn, or contract terminated.

Equivalent qualifications won’t be accepted. If you’re unsure about your eligibility please contact advocacyrecruitment@cps.gov.uk.

You must be a fully qualified solicitor or barrister by Monday 27 July 2026. If successful, we must receive your practising certificate as soon as possible. We will not be able to progress pre-employment checks until the 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.

Should there be any restrictions or special arrangements regarding your Practising certificate, we would ask you to inform us at the earliest opportunity, via email.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• You must hold, or be able to obtain, a current practising certificate for England and Wales prior to appointmentYou must be entitled to practise and meet all relevant professional regulatory requirements
• You must be a qualified barrister or solicitor.
• You must demonstrate motivation.
• You must demonstrate sufficient legal intellect

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £54,080, Crown Prosecution Service contributes £15,666 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

We want to ensure our employees can thrive at work and home, and offer a range of support to achieve a balance. This includes flexibility of working hours, flexibility to support caring responsibilities and a flexible approach to deployment. Our hybrid working policy requires you to spend at least 40% of your contracted hours over a four-week period at court, in an office or another official workplace depending on business need and the kind of work you're doing.

Delivering justice is a complex pursuit with work that is sometimes emotionally challenging, which is why we offer a range of benefits including:

• a Civil Service contributory pension of up to 28.9%
• 25 days’ leave, increasing to 30 days after 5 years
• an extra privilege day to mark the King's birthday
• competitive maternity, paternity and parental leave
• flexible working and a family-friendly approach to work
• a Cycle2Work scheme, employee savings
• a range of learning and development activities, an individual learning account, and central and local development opportunities.

Pay at the Crown Prosecution Service varies depending on your location.

Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Carlisle,Exeter, Hull, Ipswich, Leeds, Leicester, Lincoln, Liverpool, Manchester, Middlesbrough, Mold, Newcastle, Northampton, Norwich, Nottingham, Preston, Sheffield, Stoke on Trent, Swansea, Swindon, Truro: £54,080 (starting pay), £61,650 (maximum pay)

Brighton, Canterbury, Chelmsford, Eastleigh, Guildford, Portsmouth, Reading: £59,660 (starting pay), £69,330 (maximum pay)

St Albans: £59,660 + £1,050 (starting pay), £69,330 (maximum pay)

London: £59,660 + £3,150 (starting pay), £69,330 (maximum pay)

You should expect to join on the starting pay unless you are joining on a level transfer from another government department.

Prosecutor training

If you are offered a role, you will start in a cohort on Monday 14 September 2026. You then begin your induction at the end of September 2026.

We know you will have differing levels of experience and you will receive the training that is required for the team that you are being allocated to – magistrates (either in an advocacy or review role) or the Crown Court team. Training includes an Introduction to Prosecuting and disclosure training for all new Go Prosecute Senior Crown Prosecutors.

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

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

Application

CV

Submit your CV through Civil Service Jobs by 11.55pm on Monday 29 June 2026. This should include:

• three years' employment and academic history
• skills and experience
• achievements
• qualifications

Your CV will not be marked. However it will be used for eligibility requirements and provides the panel with an insight into your work history and experience at assessment and interview. Please keep it to two A4 pages and don’t provide any personal details that could identify you such as your name, age or home address.

You need to provide the specified application information in the requested format to ensure you’re considered for the post.

If you can’t provide three years’ employment or academic history, you need a character reference for clearance purposes.

Personal data
In line with GDPR, don’t send us any information that can identify children, or any of your own sensitive personal data such as racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, data concerning health or sex life and sexual orientation, genetic or biometric data in your CV and application documentation.

Assessment and interview – between Monday 6 and Friday 24 July 2026

If you meet the eligibility criteria, you’re invited to a Microsoft Teams meeting where you complete a legal assessment followed by a short interview. You are assessed and interviewed by a panel of Crown Prosecution Service colleagues to assess your suitability.

Assessed at legal assessment and interview

Motivation - assessed at interview:

We want to understand why you’re interested in the law and why you want to work for the Crown Prosecution Service. We’re looking for you to address the following three things in your application and at interview.

1. A demonstrable interest in criminal prosecution and public service.
2. Demonstrable knowledge and understanding of the work of the Crown Prosecution Service and our role in the wider criminal justice system.
3. A strong focus on continuous learning and able to apply knowledge of criminal law gained from study and experience.

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.

• An in-depth knowledge and understanding of the key concepts and principles of criminal law.
• Reliable legal judgement and an appreciation of legal risk.
• 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 advice.
• Fluent oral and written advocacy skills.
• Demonstrable knowledge and an understanding of the work of the Crown Prosecution Service and our role in the wider criminal justice system.

Behaviours - we use behaviours to help us understand your experience, to help you do a great job in this role. Senior crown prosecutor candidates are assessed against level 4 in the Civil Service success profiles behaviours framework. We are assessing two behaviours.

1. Making effective decisions (lead behaviour) - assessment and interview
2. Communicating and influencing- assessment

Please be aware - you are responsible for booking your own interview and assessment slot through Civil Service Jobs. Once you’ve selected your preferred time slot, we send you a Microsoft Teams link.

These dates may be subject to change and it’s not always possible to offer alternative dates.

Diversity at the Crown Prosecution Service is about inclusion, embracing differences and ensuring our workforce truly reflects the communities we serve. We want you to feel that you belong and can thrive, whatever your background, identity or culture. As a Disability Confident employer, we're happy to support requests for reasonable adjustments and improve your recruitment experience. If you'd like any reasonable adjustments made to our recruitment process, let us know within your application or contact advocacyrecruitment@cps.gov.uk

Crown Prosecution Service values

https://www.cps.gov.uk/about-cps

Making offers - from Monday 27 July
You can choose three office location preferences from the list provided. If you’re successful, we aim to offer one of your choices in the first instance. Whilst every effort is made to accommodate your location preferences, the Crown Prosecution Service is a national organisation with differences in operational recovery, vacancy levels and caseloads around the country – which means you may be offered a role in another Crown Prosecution Service area outside your stated preference.

If you’re invited to interview, you are assessed and interviewed by an appropriate panel and offers are made in merit order.

Please note that the lead behaviour at interview stage is making effective decisions. We may use this to determine merit order where candidates have the same overall score.

Pre-employment checks

You will be required to provide evidence of your professional qualification and current practising status as part of pre-employment checks. This will include verification of your practising certificate, relevant qualification route, confirmation of your good standing with your regulator.

Other

This is a full-time post. However, requests for flexible, part-time working and job share are considered – bearing in mind the operational needs of the business. This role is a mixture of home working, office working and travelling to courts. How this is split depends upon the business needs.

You must consider if the commute from your home to the office is a feasible distance to travel before making an application. If you are successful, this is discussed before you take up the post.

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. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee of granting this approval.

The job you are 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 does not apply. For the reasons outlined you are required to disclose all previous convictions and cautions, including spent convictions. Failure to make a full declaration results in the withdrawal of an offer of employment if our checks reveal convictions that have not been disclosed.

Reserve list
If all the posts are filled for your preferred locations, you’re put on a reserve list. You may be approached about an opportunity at a location outside your initial preference. Offers are always made in merit order.

There may be instances where you’re offered the opportunity to work on our central prosecution team – to complete work remotely for business areas around England and Wales. If offered, this is for a minimum 12-month period with the possibility of an extension up to 24 months. Once completed, you return on a permanent basis to your Crown Prosecution Service area.

The reserve list expires 12 months after the interviews take place and positions for your first preference can’t be guaranteed.

Timeline
Dates advertised are subject to change and it may not be possible to accommodate alternative requests for interviews and assessment.

Meet and engage sessions
We’re holding an online question and answer session whilst the vacancy is live. This is your chance to ask any questions about the role or the recruitment process. You can register for this now.

• Wednesday 17 June 1pm- 1.45pm: Meet and Engage
• Thursday 25 June 1pm - 1.45pm: Meet and Engage

Fraud check
The Crown Prosecution Service provides a Fair Processing Notice to all new applicants after they’ve been successful at interview. These candidates are informed that, as one aspect of pre-employment screening, their personal details – name, National Insurance number and date of birth – are checked against the Internal Fraud Database. Anyone included on the database is refused employment unless they can demonstrate exceptional circumstances.

The Crown Prosecution Service, on behalf of the vacancy holder, informs applicants when they are refused employment because they’re included in the Internal Fraud Database.

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, you can do that through the Civil Service Commission complaints page.

Here are our Civil Service Commission recruitment principles.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.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

Job contact :

• Name : Advocacy Recruitment Team
• Email : advocacyrecruitment@cps.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : strategic.resourcing@cps.gov.uk

Attachments

New CPS Terms and Conditions Opens in new window (pdf, 1856kB)Senior Crown Prosecutor - Job Description Opens in new window (pdf, 31kB)