Contents Location About the job Benefits Things you need to know Apply and further information Location This post can only be based in England or Wales and is home based. About the job Job summary Crown Prosecution Service Direct (CPS Direct) is our out-of-hours service. We work through the night, at weekends and bank holidays to provide charging advice to the police on cases where the suspect can't be released on bail. As a senior crown prosecutor for CPS Direct, youre home-based within England or Wales. You occasionally travel for in-person meetings, with costs met in line with our travel and subsistence policy. You work a range of out-of-hours shifts, averaging 37 hours a week (full time). Our rota operates 5pm-11am on weekdays covering 24 hours on weekends and bank holidays. Shift details are always shared at least one calendar month in advance. In this role, you provide the police with pre-charge decisions and case management advice. You make charging decisions in accordance with the Full Code Test other than where the Threshold Test applies. You are responsible for keeping up to date with developments in criminal law and practice. We hold regular reviews to ensure youre appropriately supported with your out-of-hours work. And you receive premium payments for working out-of-hours. Shift times Premium rate Weekday: 7pm-11pm 20% Weekday: 11pm-7am 30% Saturday: 7am-11pm 50% Saturday: 12am-7am and 11pm-12am 70% Sunday: 7am-11pm 50% Sunday: 12am-7am and 11pm-12am 70% Bank holiday: 7am-11pm 50% Bank holiday: 12am-7am and 11pm-12am 70% This post is home based and can only be based in England or Wales. If you are outside England and Wales, you will be expected relocate at your own expense. If you are If you're successful, we ask for your home address and postcode to determine if your salary is national or London based. If youre applying internally as a senior crown prosecutor level transfer, you will be released to the post subject to business need on a timeline decided by HQ Operations. We hold a series of information sessions through Microsoft Teams. These are live online chats where you can ask us any queries about your application, the process or the role. Please email CPSDirect.Communicationscps.gov.uk for an invitation to these sessions. Wednesday 8th January at 5.30-6.30pm Wednesday 15th January at 5.30-6.30pm Wednesday 22 January at 5.30-6.30pm Job description As a senior crown prosecutor for CPS Direct, you provide the police with pre-charge decisions and case management advice. You advise in all levels of casework that require pre-charge advice following the Directors Guidance on Charging. After a thorough induction and buddying programme, you work independently, using your own initiative. You need to be self-motivated, able to quickly form effective working relationships with the police officers who you provide with independent and accurate advice. You are also responsible for keeping up to date with developments in criminal law and practice a commitment to self-development is key. You use IT to prepare and promptly dispatch charging advice to the police and other CPS areas. You must be able to use IT confidently we provide full training with all internal systems. 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). Person specification You must be a qualified practising lawyer with criminal law experience, holding 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. You must demonstrate your commitment to public service, making a difference to the communities we serve and our CPS values. Youre focused on personal development and career progression. After completing training, you need to: Demonstrate youre able to provide immediate phone or digital charging advice to police officers, in accordance with the Directors Guidance and CPS policy. Identify cases at an early stage that fall outside the Directors Guidance and advise accordingly. Be proactive in identifying and rectifying evidential deficiencies to strengthen cases. Bring cases to an early conclusion that cant be strengthened by further investigation. Make charging decisions in accordance with the Full Code Test, other than where the Threshold Test applies. Provide guidance to the police about file content, timescales, evidence, witness care, compensation, confiscation, policy and other matters that help build a case. Give advice to the police on witness support, in particular special measures, complying with the Victims Code and other ancillary orders. Record information provided by the police, detailing decisions and advice given to provide a clear audit trail evidencing the reasoning for decisions. Provide police and CPS colleagues with high-quality typed MG3 forms that are clear, concise and fit to serve as the formal CPS review of the evidence for the life of the case, in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors Qualifications Legally qualified: You must be a qualified practising solicitor or barrister and hold a valid Practising Certificate for England and Wales. Academic: You must have a law degree, Common Professional Examination and/or Graduate Diploma in Law. Professional: You must have completed a Legal Practice Course 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 If you have qualified through CILEx, you must hold a general qualification within the meaning of s.71 (3) (c) Courts and Legal Services Act 1990. Please contact us to establish your eligibility for this role if you are CILEx qualified. We don't accept equivalent qualifications. If you apply and are found not to have any of these qualifications, your offer of employment will be withdrawn, or your contract terminated. If youre unsure about your eligibility, contact Strategic.Resourcingcps.gov.uk Memberships The successful applicant 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, 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 Managing a Quality Service Communicating and Influencing Working Together Delivering at Pace We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form: Making Effective Decisions Managing a Quality Service Communicating and Influencing Working Together Technical skills We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process: Law Degree or Common Professional Examination. Legal Practice Course or Bar Vocational Course and Have completed the relevant pupillage. Qualified Barrister or Solicitor. Benefits Alongside your salary of £54,080, Crown Prosecution Service contributes £15,666 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 have a future that matters. The CPS 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. 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. 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 CPS commits to offer its employees the following experience. You can do impactful, purposeful work thats 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 offer the following benefits: Civil Service Pension Access to employee savings Cycle2Work scheme 25 days leave, rising to 30 days after 5 years service. 1 extra privilege day entitlement to mark the Kings Birthday. Competitive maternity, paternity and parental leave Flexible working and a family friendly approach to work. Childcare vouchers unless already registered with the Government Tax Free Childcare Scheme 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 priya.vickerscps.gov.uk Things you need to know Selection process details This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills. The recruitment process consists of an online application, interview and assessment. Its your responsibility to provide the right information in the right format to ensure youre considered for the post. If your application is successful, your interview and assessment are held on the same day via Microsoft Teams. CV Upload Your CV should include: Career history with key responsibilities Skills and relevant criminal law experience Achievements Qualifications You will need to attach your CV as one anonymised document to provide the panel with an insight into your work history and experience. It is your responsibility to provide the specified application information in the requested format to ensure that you are considered for the post. Behaviours You will also be asked to complete a statement of no more than 250 words per behaviour setting out how you consider your personal skills, qualities, experience, match the specified behaviours and requirements as detailed in the job description. In addition you will need to demonstrate the CPS or Civil Service Values. Making Effective Decisions (Lead Behaviour) Communicating & Influencing Working Together Managing a Quality Service In addition you will need to demonstrate the CPS or Civil Service Values. The panel has the right to assess the lead behaviour m aking effective decisions first. If the standard on this behaviour isnt met, the other behaviours wont be considered and your application wont progress. The panel also has the right to raise the minimum standard pass mark. Please note, the panel may also refer to the lead behaviour at the interview stage to determine merit order. Sifts of applications will be completed on a rolling weekly basis with all interviews commencing from Thursday 6th February 2025. We wont make any offers until all the interviews have concluded. Strengths Strengths will be tested at interview stage, the strengths being tested will not be shared in advance of the interview. Other This is a full-time post. However, requests for flexible, part-time working and job share are considered depending on the operational needs of the department. The minimum number of hours available would be 25.5 due to the shift and technical nature of these roles. Reserve list If youre recommended by the selection panel but not appointed to the current vacancy, youre placed on a reserve list for 12 months. You may be offered another post if any senior crown prosecutor vacancies come up in CPS Direct. Use of AI Candidates must ensure that their applications, including personal statements and behaviour examples, are truthful and factually accurate. Please note, that plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own. Fair Processing Notice (FPN) From April 2018, the CPS will provide a Fair Processing Notice (FPN) to all new applicants after they have been successful at interview. These candidates will be informed that, as one aspect of pre-employment screening, their personal details name, National Insurance Number and date of birth - will be checked against the Internal Fraud Database (IFD) and that anyone included on the IFD will be refused employment unless they can demonstrate exceptional circumstances. The Strategic Resourcing team in the CPS will, on behalf of the vacancy holder, inform applicants when they are refused employment because of their inclusion in the IFD. Clearance Required The successful applicant will be required to secure DBS clearance. If successfully appointed, you will be asked to complete the Character Enquiry Form and Nationality and Immigration Questionnaire. If you are an internal member of staff, you will not be required to undergo this DBS check as you will already hold this clearance. Civil Service Commission If youre dissatisfied with the recruitment process and wish to make a complaint, please contact strategic.resourcingcps.gov.uk with your concerns. If you're still not satisfied, you can make a further complaint through the Civil Service Commission complaints page. 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 the Civil 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 : Priya Vickers Email : priya.vickerscps.gov.uk Recruitment team Email : strategic.resourcingcps.gov.uk Attachments Candidate pack - Senior Crown Prosecutor Opens in new window (docx, 1960kB) NEW CPS Personal Statement Guidance 2023 Opens in new window (docx, 269kB) CPS Direct Additional Information SCP Opens in new window (docx, 108kB) NEW CPS Terms and Conditions 2024 Updated Opens in new window (docx, 253kB) Share this page Print Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn GMail