Ministry of Justice UK
Senior Communications Manager (Ref: 19630)
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Senior Communications Manager (Ref: 19630)
Judicial Communications Officer – Magistrates & Judiciary Recruitment
Location: Royal Courts of Justice, WC2A 2LL
About the Job
This role is for an experienced communications professional within the Judicial Communications team, supporting judges, magistrates, and wider judicial stakeholders.
A unique position that:
- Focuses on strategic, high-profile internal and external communications related to magistrate recruitment, retention, and judicial developments.
- Manages content for judiciary.uk and a dedicated magistrates recruitment website.
- Works alongside HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS), the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), the judicial press office, and external partners.
- Requires creativity, campaign thinking, and a strong Digital & Filmed Content focus.
About the Judiciary Office
The Judicial Office (JO) supports the Lady Chief Justice (LCJ) and the Senior President of Tribunals (responsible for Scotland and Northern Ireland).
- Established in 2006, working under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 for independence, impartiality, and justice.
- Collaborates closely with government (MoJ, HMCTS) and the legal sector.
Background: Magistrates Uplift Programme
- Magistrates process ≈95% of criminal cases, making recruitment core to court efficiency.
- High-profile initiative to increase magistrates by 50% to 21,000 by 2028 to overcome backlogs.
- Supported by MoJ, HMCTS, senior judiciary, and Magistrates Association among others.
Key Responsibilities
Core Role & Reporting
Working directly under the Head of Judicial Communications and with a Communications Officer, the role involves:
- Leading internal and external communications for:
- Magistrates recruitment & retention including Sir Brian Leveson-led changes.
- Courts & Tribunals Bill implementation (and subsequent reforms across jurisdictions).
- Articulating judicial strategy through multichannel campaigns (digital, offline) and innovative content (film, escrita).
- Coordinating communications across all judicial jurisdictions.
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Specific Tasks
- Campaigns and Change Management:
- Provide expert strategic advice to senior leaders.
- Plan, execute, and assess awareness-building/culture-altering campaigns.
- Content Leadership:
- Write edit and film engaging materials for public/private-facing channels.
- Ensure judiciary.uk and Magistrates recruitment portal content remains timely and audience-specific.
- Collaboration & Coordination
- Work with judicial press office, MoJ/HMCTS/court teams on unified messaging.
- Commission external agencies (designers, media) as needed.
- Analytical & Strategic Analysis
- Track, report on success metrics, and iterate strategies from evaluation.
- Management & Teamwork
- Supervise a Communications Officer.
- Contribute flexibly to wider team projects.
Possible additional duties:*
- Involvement in Social Media out-of-hours rota (additional fee).
Required: Skills & Qualifications
Must possess all of these:
- Campaign experience – from initial design through audience influence/metrics.
- Digital-savvy creative – digital platform/native content experience.
- Strategic over communicative – constancy aligning campaign ideas and analysis.
- Media-savvy – competent as speaker and writer with sharp verbal/written communication.
- Audience-centric rigour – analyse data/grievances to hone strategies.
- Filmmaking/editing expertise – able to lead filmic content from concept to product.
- Fastidious organisation – attention to detail, agile with planning deadlines.
- Cross-disciplinary collaboration – acquaint with multi-project management.
Desirable additions:
- Prior justice system experience – magistrates/judicial communications.
- Communications behaviour change/supporting reforms.
- Line management experience.
Assessment Behaviours (Selection Criteria)
During assessment, we’ll examine for three key attributes:
- Communicating & Influencing – swaying opinion amongst stakeholders.
- Seeing the Big Picture – high-level strategy, coordination across complex systems.
- Delivering at Pace – urgency tact with technical accuracy.
- Making Effective Decisions – prioritisation, calculation under uncertainty.
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Person Specification
For a comprehensive summary of required skills, qualified candidates should refer to the job description text.
Compensation and Benefits
- Annual Salary: £49,325**.
- Pension Contribution: MoJ supplements Civil Service Bespoke Scheme pension contributions: £14,289.
- Flexible Working: Deep support for managing workload/wellbeing.
- Professional Growth: Access to learning & development programmes.
- Leave: Annual + Public Holiday entitlement.
- Vetting Required: Appointees must complete counter-terrorist security checks.
Security Procedures
- Security Clearance: Counter-terrorist checks.
- Criminal Record Check: Criminal background clearance mandatory.
Eligability
Open to:
- UK/EU nationals with UK residency rights.
- Commonwealth citizens eligible for UK work permits.
- No restrictions apply across minimal Graceful Stay visa tiers (see guidance).
Supportive Workplace
The Civil Service values:
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Diversity & Inclusion. Actively supports disabled veterans, and candidates with convictions.
-
Veteran/pathways under Civil Service Employment Support. Details [here](https://jointarai.gov.uk/능력 강화 프로그램 embarked/의무 뭐 할거야).
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Complaint Process: Training apply justice in accordance with independent review (see recruitment principles); unclear breach alleging to Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@sscl.gov.sscl.com submitted under Civil Service Code.
› Contact: SSCL Internal Recruitment, 0345 241 5359 › Email: moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk.
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