The key purpose of the role

Administrative Officers are assigned to teams to carry out a variety of general administrative duties to progress cases through the court/tribunal system or provide support to other functions within HMCTS. As an Administrative Officer working in the NCES, your role will include general administrative duties and will require you to deal with the general public, defendants and outside organisations sometimes dealing with difficult customers and situations. You may also be required to work in a call centre type environment or directly in the handling of cash and certain related functions.

Continuous improvement tools and techniques are used in HMCTS and so there will be opportunities to exercise discretion and initiative and continually seek to improve, within a framework of systems and processes (SOPS). Problem solving is carried out by reference to lean techniques (e.g. problem-solving hubs) and comprehensive guidelines and instructions - complex or difficult issues are normally referred to or will involve a team leader or supervisor. In some positions, role holders will have regular contact with court / tribunal users, including members of the Judiciary and the legal profession. Administrative Officers work within a team with regular management support and are responsible for their own time, although there may be some opportunity to provide advice and carry out limited supervision of others.

Whilst the post holder will be allocated to a specific office base, there may be a need for flexibility to work on an ad hoc basis at other local HMCTS offices. Working as part of a flexible team, the postholder will be expected to undertake a range of the functions and responsibilities specified. It is not intended that each post will be responsible for the full range of duties.

Key responsibilities

Administration

•*Preparing papers and files for court.

•*Collection of financial impositions imposed by the court.

•*Enforcement of financial impositions using designated Fines Officer Powers.

•*General photocopying and filing.

•*Creating and updating records on in-house computer system and data input.

•*Post opening and dispatch.

•*Booking, preparing and organising meeting rooms, supporting training courses and other group activities.

•*Preparing meeting agenda, joining instructions, handouts etc.

Drafting

•*Standard letters and correspondence, minutes, notes, reports, submissions etc, according to guidelines and instructions.

Operations

•*Conducting Means Interviews with defendant mainly over the phone but face to face in some instances.

•*Assisting at Enforcement Courts and hearings, ensuring papers and materials are available and up to date.

•*Contacting relevant parties, scheduling, serving court documents, executing a range of warrants, collecting fines and fees etc.

•*Handling counter (face to face), written and telephone enquiries.

•*To work as a team to ensure TIB (Team Information Board) meetings are relevant, timely and productive.

•*To work as a team to problem solve, to assess the impact of new SOPS, to contribute to small projects.

Processing Casework

•*Including standard documentation and information, court orders, claims, fines, fees, maintenance and fixed penalty tickets.

•*Resulting courts accurately, interpreting accurately the information required on a court file.

•*To work to workload targets in terms of throughput and accuracy.