Operational Business Manager

Job summary

Operational Business Manager is a leadership role, responsible for driving performance and setting strategic direction of business units in accordance with Area and National strategic and business aims, objectives, plans and priorities.

Working in close partnership within the Senior Management Team, you ensure high-quality operational delivery, champion best practice and continuous improvement across all aspects of the prosecution process.

You provide clear vision and direction, translating Area plans into actionable targets and programmes, and play an active role in both local and national projects.

As a leader, you foster a culture of engagement, integrity, and excellence, supporting the professional development of your team and ensuring compliance with all relevant policies and standards.

Key to your success will be your ability to manage resources effectively, implement change initiatives, review and analyse performance data and maintain robust systems and processes in order to deliver against key performance indicators.

You also act as a liaison with internal and external stakeholders, including the police, courts, and community partners, representing the organisation and promoting collaborative working relationships.

This role requires a strategic thinker with strong leadership, communication, and decision-making skills, committed to upholding the values of independence, fairness, honesty, and respect.

Job description

Your roles and responsibilities:

• Strategic Leadership: Create a clear vision for business operations, translating Area plans into unit programmes with regular reviews. Actively participate in Area and National projects, influencing the development of best practices locally and across the organisation.
• Performance Management: Oversee aspects of operational management, including performance and casework systems, audits, and implementation of change initiatives. Set and appraise objectives for direct reports, fostering a culture of engagement, support, and continuous development.
• Quality Assurance: Coordinate continuous improvement in operational delivery, ensuring the implementation and compliance of SOPs. Manage resources efficiently, including staff, estates, and budgets, to support business plans.
• Decision Making: Serve as the focal point for business function issues, delegating or escalating as appropriate. Translate initiatives into operational objectives, employ effective project management, and proactively identify future business needs.
• Collaboration: Build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders, both internal (e.g., Senior Management, HR, Unit Heads) and external (e.g., police, courts, community partners), to facilitate smooth operations and enhance organisational performance.
• Digital Working: Promote efficiency through digital solutions, seeking opportunities to improve working practices and systems.

Person specification

To be eligible to apply, you need to:

• be 16 years old or over
• have line management experience or experience leading people/teams
• digital skills including experience working with Excel and Power BI

It is desirable that you have the below experience but this is not required to apply:

• understanding of the prosecution process
• managing projects or change
• driving performance improvement

Behaviours

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

• Leadership
• Making Effective Decisions
• Delivering at Pace
• Changing and Improving

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £45,600, Crown Prosecution Service contributes £13,210 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Join the Crown Prosecution Service and find your purpose.

The Crown Prosecution Service is passionate about ensuring that we're a top performing organisation and a great place to work. We're a committed equal opportunities employer, creating a culture where you can bring your whole self to work, and individuality is truly appreciated.

This culture of inclusion is underpinned by our staff networks covering disability, faith and belief, LGBTQI+, race, social mobility alongside our mental health first aiders programme and wellbeing sessions.

The Crown Prosecution Service commits to offer its employees the following experience.

• You can do impactful, purposeful work that’s making a difference to your local communities.
• You are able to learn and grow, with access to the right opportunities and resources.
• We care about your wellbeing.
• We want you to feel valued, trusted and included.

We also offer the following range of benefits:

• Civil Service contributory pension of up to 28.9%
• 25 days’ leave, increasing to 30 days after 5 years
• £350 each year to spend on personal development
• lawyer training programme for all new prosecutors
• an extra privilege day to mark the King's birthday
• competitive maternity, paternity and parental leave
• flexible working including flexitime, and a family friendly approach to work
• Cycle2Work scheme, employee savings.

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 Jacob.Hart@cps.gov.uk

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. We offer a hybrid working policy. You must 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.

The Crown Prosecution Service also has a range of development programmes to support all aspiring, new and experienced managers with developing the skills, behaviours and knowledge to build their confidence and capability. Our Manager Induction Programme is mandatory for all newly appointed managers. This is a fantastic opportunity to support all our new Crown Prosecution Service managers with the tools required to perform effectively in their roles.

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.

The recruitment process consists of an online application, interview and assessment expected to take place on 27th or 28th April 2026at our CPS St Albans office.

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

You should keep these dates 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.

Assessment

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

Behaviours

You are also asked to complete a statement of no more than 250 words for each behaviour setting out how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience match the specified behaviours and requirements.

1. Leadership (Lead Behaviour)
2. Making Effective Decisions
3. Delivering at Pace
4. Changing and improving

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 SEO/B3 in the Civil Service success profiles behaviours framework. We are assessing 4 behaviours at interview stage.

1. Leadership (Lead Behaviour) - Application & Interview
2. Making Effective Decisions Application, Assessment & Interview
3. Delivering at Pace - Application & Interview
4. Changing & Improving - Application & Interview

Essential Experience/Technical Skills

1 - Line Management Experience - assessed at interview

2 - Experience leading people/teams - assessed at interview

3 - Digital skills including experience working with Microsoft suite of applications - requirement for role

Desirable experience -

Experience working with Power BI is desirable for this role

Online tests

Before submitting your application, you’re invited to complete an online Civil Service verbal reasoning test. You must successfully complete the test to progress to the next stage. Please complete the online test as soon as possible – we recommend within 24-48 hours. The closing date for the test is Wednesday 08th April 2026 at 5pm. It Is essential to complete this test prior to this date, otherwise your application will not be considered.

We send you an invitation to take the test and provide full instructions about how to complete it. The test can’t be taken on mobile phones or tablets.

For more guidance about the online Civil Service tests, please see the GOV.UK website: Civil Service online tests - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

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. 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.

Accuracy

You must ensure that your application, including your personal statement and behaviour examples, are truthful and factually accurate. Plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own.

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.

Clearance

If successful, you are required to secure a Disclosure and Barring Service check, 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

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.

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 Business Manager post in CPS Thames & Chiltern 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.

Feedback

We only provide feedback if you attend an interview or assessment.

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. We won't employ anyone included on the database unless they can demonstrate exceptional circumstances.

The Strategic Resourcing team in the Crown Prosecution Service will, on behalf of the vacancy holder, inform applicants when they are refused employment because of their inclusion 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, please click on the following link to the Civil Service Commission complaints page https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/recruitment/civilservicerecruitmentcomplaints/

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.

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 : Ben Savage
• Email : Ben.Savage@cps.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : Ben.Savage@cps.gov.uk

Online test instructions

Please note you need to complete your online test by 08th April at 5pm. You will be unable to submit your application if you haven't completed your test by this date.

Attachments

NEW CPS Personal Statement Guidance 2023 Opens in new window (docx, 269kB)Operational Business Manager Opens in new window (doc, 70kB)CPS Terms and Conditions 2025 Opens in new window (docx, 255kB)