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Job summary

What are we offering?

The Extradition Unit provides a key resource across law enforcement and the Criminal Justice System as well liaising with stakeholders across government and internationally. As a Senior Crown Prosecutor (SCP) within Extradition, you will help deliver justice internationally. Your work will be challenging and varied in nature and will involve a variety of tasks.

What does the role entail?

You will prepare and present cases at Westminster Magistrates Court pursuant to the Extradition Act 2003, in relation to requests from Part 1 and Part 2 requesting countries. This includes conducting final extradition hearings on behalf of requesting judicial authorities in relation to Part 1 requests. In addition, you will analyse, review, and prepare cases relating to Part 1 requests, including responding to applications for permission to appeal, and developing an up-to-date knowledge of UK extradition law. You will have a high volume casework portfolio of Part 1 extradition cases. You may also assist Specialist Prosecutors on more complex cases.

Subject to you satisfying the “general qualification” provision within the meaning of section 71 of the Courts and Service Act 1990, the post is designated by the Director of Public Prosecutions as a Crown Prosecutor under the terms of section 1 (3) of the prosecution of Offences Act (1985).

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

Job description

Your roles and responsibilities include:

• Demonstrating high levels of advocacy and communication with stakeholders in relation to all cases for which they are accountable so as to maintain public and international confidence in the extradition process.
• Demonstrating a high level of oral and written communication skills in all matters relating to the conduct of extradition cases, in particular the ability to distil and explain complexities to foreign jurisdictions.
• Drafting responses for complaints and parliamentary correspondence.
• Dealing effectively and persuasively with a wide range of people, both within and outside the Service, as part of a multi-skilled team and on an individual basis in order to ensure effective and successful conduct of cases.
• Analysing and reviewing export extradition requests in accordance with the Extradition Act 2003; determining whether any bars to extradition apply; responding to defence challenges to extradition and advising requesting States upon the conduct of extradition proceedings and draft requests for further information.
• Reviewing files from CPS Areas in import extradition cases to determine their suitability for extradition.
• Preparing instructions for counsel.
• Analysing, reviewing, preparing and conducting proceedings in less complex export extradition requests in Westminster Magistrates’ Court and the High Court; assisting Specialist Prosecutors on more complex cases: and reviewing non - Part 1 import cases to determine their suitability for extradition.
• Undertaking advocacy in Westminster Magistrates’ Court for at least two days a week in relation to all export extradition cases.

A copy of the full job description is attached.

Person specification

To be eligible to apply, you need to:

• Be a qualified practising solicitor or barrister holding a valid Practising Certificate for England and Wales.
• Have a law degree, Common Professional Examination and/or Graduate Diploma in Law.
• Have completed a Legal Practice Course, Solicitors Qualifying Exam or Bar Professional Training Course and the relevant pupillage and training contract – or have received full exemption from the relevant professional regulatory body, either the Solicitors Regulation Authority or the Bar Standards Board.

or

• 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 Calum.Chisholm@cps.gov.uk

The eligibility criteria must be met by 14/07/2026. If you’re able to obtain a valid Practising Certificate and will be fully qualified 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.

Qualifications

Legally qualified: You must be a qualified solicitor or barrister able to obtain a valid Practising Certificate for England and Wales by 14/07/2026

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 Calum.Chisholm@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

Memberships

You must have a valid practising certificate for England and Wales or be eligible to obtain a valid practising certificate issued from either the Solicitors Regulation Authority or the Bar Standards Board.
If CILEx qualified, you must hold a ‘general qualification’ within the meaning of s.71 (3) (c) Courts and Legal Services Act 1990.

Behaviours

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

• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £61,750, Crown Prosecution Service contributes £17,888 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

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 Calum.Chisholm@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. There is an expectation that you 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.

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, Strengths and Experience.

Recruitment Process

The recruitment process consists of an online application, interview and assessment. These are expected to take place on at 102 Petty France, London, SW1H 9AJ. The assessment will take place on the 18th August 2026 and the interview will take place on the 1st September 2026.

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

Please note, you must successfully pass the assessment in order to be invited to interview.

A member of our recruitment team will be in touch with guidance. If you have any queries about this, contact Calum.Chisholm@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.

Information Session

We will hold information sessions where you can ask us any queries about your application, the process, or the role. This will take place on Microsoft Teams on 21st July 2027. You must register for the session before 3pm on 20th July 2026 by emailing extradition@cps.gov.uk.

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:

1. Making Effective Decisions
2. Communicating and Influencing
3. Delivering at Pace

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

• Post qualification experience
• Law Degree or Common Professional Examination.
• Legal Practice Course or Bar Vocational Course and have completed the relevant pupillage

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.

Interview/Assessment

We use behaviours to help us understand your experience, to see if you're a good fit for the role. You are assessed against SCP in the Civil Service success profiles behaviours framework. We are assessing 4 behaviours at interview / assessment stage:

1. Making effective decisions (assessment and interview)
2. Communicating and influencing (assessment and interview)
3. Delivering at pace (interview only)
4. Working together (interview only)

Essential Experience/Technical Skills - assessed at interview and assessment

CV

Please upload an up-to-date CV which should include:

• three years’ employment and/or academic history
• skills and experience
• achievements
• qualifications.

You need to attach your CV as an anonymised document of no more than two A4 pages, to provide the panel with an insight into your work history and experience. We ask that you do not provide personal details which could identify you like name, age, home address.

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

If you’re unable to cover three years through employment and/or academic history, you need to provide a character reference for clearance purposes. The reference will be required at onboarding if you’re offered the role.

The CV section will be used as supporting evidence, it won’t be assessed

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. Therefore, 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 securea Security Check clearance, for which you must have a current valid UK address.

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.

If successfully appointed, we ask you to complete a character enquiry form, 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.

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.

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 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.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.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

Job contact :

• Name : Calum Chisholm
• Email : Calum.Chisholm@cps.gov.uk

Recruitment team

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

Attachments

CPS Terms and Conditions Opens in new window (docx, 255kB)SCP - Extradition Opens in new window (doc, 84kB)NEW CPS Personal Statement Guidance 2023 Opens in new window (docx, 269kB)