Head of Office, Darlington (Ref: 12440)

Job summary

Please refer to Job Description

Job description

Job Title: Head of Office

Contract Type: Permanent

Grade: 7

Salary range: £58,511 - £65,329

Location: PDS Offices

Directorate/Team: Public Defender Service

Working Pattern: The post is supported by the MOJ flexible working policy and includes colleagues who work flexibly, remotely, part time or as part of a job share etc.

Closing date for applications : 12/01/2026

The Public Defender Service

The Public Defender Service (PDS) is a department of the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) that operates alongside private providers delivering a full range of quality, value for money services within the criminal defence market.

Informed by its participation in the market, PDS contributes credible and expert advice to the government on service and policy development affecting the sector and acts as a test-bed for innovation and quality improvements.

PDS operations provide a critical safeguard against market failure across England and Wales, thereby ensuring the LAA fulfils its statutory responsibility to ensure continuous access to justice.

Job Summary

Key Responsibilities:

The role holder is responsible for the leadership and management of performance of the PDS in the office(s) for which they are accountable, including:

• managing key business processes;

• managing the performance of the team, including using management information to improve service delivery;

• legal supervision of direct reports and the wider team;

• management of resources to ensure an efficient, cost-effective service;

• ensuring delivery of a quality cost-effective service;

• business development activities;

• health and safety and business continuity for the team;

• implementing the strategic PDS direction as set out by the Senior Management Team.

The Office Head will also maintain a legal caseload including:

• provision of advice, assistance and representation to individuals subject to investigation or prosecution of a criminal offence;

• equal participation on the office out of hours rota.

The Office Head will also:

• use their legal expertise and experience to contribute to the development of policy and practice that will improve the quality and efficiency of the criminal defence market in England and Wales;

• provide input as and when required to various projects within the LAA and wider Government.

Essential Criteria:

• Leadership experience and willingness to develop management competence by attending management training courses and working with management coach.

• Communication skills and personal presence that enable rapport-building with all stakeholders, line reports and teams.

• Financial and operational management skills including budget preparation, budget and performance profiling, execution, monitoring and review.

• Solicitor, Barrister or CILEX with 5-7 years PQE, fully qualified to practice as a Solicitor in England and Wales with excellent practical knowledge of criminal law, evidence and procedure.

• Excellent advocacy skills and experience in preparing a range of cases to trial in both the Magistrates and Crown Courts.

• Excellent practical knowledge of current Criminal law, evidence and procedure.

• Ability to supervise the legal work and legal service delivery by applying the components of the PDS quality assurance framework.

• Personal resilience with a commitment to personal care, to maintain mental and physical wellbeing of self and line reports in a working environment that may present emotional and other challenges.

• Commitment to the wider aims of the PDS to become an exemplar of best practice in criminal litigation and advocacy and its remit to act as a test-bed for innovation, increased efficiencies and quality improvements for the benefit of the wider criminal defence community.

• Sound IT hardware and Microsoft Office software skills, particularly in Word and Excel, and the ability and willingness to operate in a self-sufficient, efficient manner in the creation of high quality documentation and other business information and the flexibility to work unsociable hours.

• Possession of a full driving licence and access to a motor vehicle, together with flexibility and preparedness to travel to cover cases across England and Wales if required.

Assessment approach

Application and Assessment Process

The following behaviours will be assessed at the sift stage and must be demonstrated at level 4 – grade 7.

Managing a Quality Service

Demonstrate positive customer service by understanding the complexity and diversity of customer needs and expectations. Deliver a high quality, efficient and cost effective service by considering a broad range of methods for delivery. Ensure full consideration of new technologies, accessibility and costings. Make clear, practical and manageable plans for service delivery. Ensure adherence to legal, regulatory and security requirements in service delivery. Proactively manage risks and identify solutions. Establish how the business area compares to industry best practice. Create regular opportunities for colleagues, stakeholders, delivery partners and customers to help improve the quality of service.

Leadership

Promote diversity, inclusion and equality of opportunity, respecting difference and external experience. Welcome and respond to views and challenges from others, despite any conflicting pressures to ignore or give in to them. Stand by, promote or defend own and team’s actions and decisions where needed. Seek out shared interests beyond own area of responsibility, understanding the extent of the impact actions have on the organisation. Inspire and motivate teams to be fully engaged in their work and dedicated to their role.

Delivering at Pace

Ensure everyone clearly understands and owns their roles, responsibilities and business priorities. Give honest, motivating and enthusiastic messages about priorities, objectives and expectations to get the best out of people. Comply with legal, regulatory and security requirements in service delivery. Set out clear processes and standards for managing performance at all levels. Ensure delivery of timely quality outcomes, through providing the right resources to do the job, reviewing and adjusting performance expectations and rewarding success. Maintain own levels of performance in challenging circumstances and encourage others to do the same.

Interview / assessment Process

If you are successful at the application stage, you will be invited to an interview, via MS Teams.

As well as the above behaviours, experience applicable to the role will also be assessed at interview. A presentation, to be set on the day, is also required.

Our commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

We are committed to diversity and inclusion and we positively promote flexible working, including job shares.

We will consider all applications on merit regardless of age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic background, religion, ethnicity, preferred working pattern and except for exceptional circumstances your working location.

As a Disability Confident organisation, we will offer a guaranteed interview to candidates with a disability who meet the essential criteria for this role. Under the Equality Act 2010 a disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities which has lasted, or is expected to last, at least 12 months.

If you are responding to a role within the Legal Aid Agency and would like to be considered under the guaranteed interview, please ensure that you attach the Disability Confident Scheme Form when you return your application. You can use the same form to let the recruiting manager know of any reasonable adjustments you may require during the sift or later selection processes.

If you would like more information on this opportunity, please contact pds.businessteam@justice.gov.uk

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Licences

Driving Licence

Memberships

You must be a Solicitor, Barrister or CILEX qualified to practice as a Duty Solicitor in England and Wales.

Behaviours

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

• Leadership
• Delivering at Pace
• Managing a Quality Service

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £58,511, Legal Aid Agency contributes £16,950 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Access to learning and development
• A working environment that supports a range of flexible working options to enhance your work life balance
• A working culture which encourages inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
• Annual Leave
• Public Holidays
• Season Ticket Advance

For more information about the recruitment process, benefits and allowances and answers to general queries, please click the below link which will direct you to our Candidate Information Page.

Link: https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

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 and Experience.https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

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.

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 : SSCL Recruitment Enquiries Team
• Email : moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk
• Telephone : 0345 241 5359

Recruitment team

• Email : moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel a department has breached the requirement of the Recruitment Principles and would like to raise this, please contact SSCL (Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com) in the first instance. If the role has been advertised externally (outside of the Civil Service) and you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages: http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/civil-service-recruitm…

https://jobs.justice.gov.uk/careers/JobDetail/12440?entityId=12440