The Presenting Officer role is a very demanding position which requires the post holder to have the ability to remain positive and focused in a challenging, dynamic, and fast changing environment.
Although Presenting Officers have access to expert advice, they operate alone when representing the Secretary of State at the tribunal and need to be comfortable and capable doing so.
Applicants must be able to think quickly and proactively in a complex legal environment to deliver effective representation of the Secretary of State’s position. The post holder must be articulate under pressure and able to deliver as an effective advocate within the Tribunal environment.
This is a challenging position but one that allows for personal flexibility and decision-making in preparing and presenting cases in the First-tier Immigration Tribunal and undertaking the review of complex immigration decisions and responses to legal representations.
The role is mentally demanding and due to its adversarial nature, requires the post holder to be resilient in the face of frequent and often robust challenge from both legal representatives and Immigration Judges.
The role requires extended periods of concentration, and an ability to maintain focus over long periods of time when preparing cases, presenting in opposition to legal representatives and when undertaking target-driven review work.
The extent to which the job holder’s time will be split between court and review work will be determined by operational requirements and so will vary over time. Job holders will therefore need to be flexible and open to undertaking all elements of the role as required and have the capacity and resilience to frequently present at the immigration tribunal on 60% of their contracted working days.
Post holders must also be able to balance and deal with a challenging schedule of case preparation, frequent attendance at the immigration Tribunal, and complex immigration review work which forms the main elements of the role. Post holders also need a high degree of personal resilience to quickly move forward from any significant challenge at the Tribunal, to be able to focus on preparing and presenting newly allocated cases.
Additionally, post holders must be able to pick up, prepare and present often complex cases at short notice, and in very limited time, due to list changes or to meet the listing demands of the court. Post holders must therefore be able to analyse information very quickly, identify key points and present a coherent argument under significant time pressure.
Presenting Officers develop strong and effective communication skills, the ability to make decisions and review information quickly and deal with complex legal arguments. These skills will assist in your development and experience.
Training
Training for successful candidates includes a revised, comprehensive foundation programme that provides a solid base of knowledge across multiple areas of immigration law and how to operate effectively in the Tribunal. Mentoring is followed by consolidation training and other continued learning as required to ensure that Presenting Officers develop strong communication and analytical skills. Foundation and mentoring are typically completed over 12 weeks and provide a supported environment to increase knowledge and skills in review, preparation, and presentation of Immigration Appeals.
Successful candidates will need to be available in person for the training period. The training team can offer some flex around start and finish times and in some cases in training dates, however this is limited. Candidates will therefore be expected to prioritise attendance on the training programme over other commitments. Where this is likely to pose a difficulty, candidates should raise this with the vacancy holder in advance of their application.
Successful candidates will need to apply themselves effectively once in the role, demonstrating the ability to take on a large volume of information and learning, including complex immigration law, court procedures and conduct, and safeguarding measures during induction training. They will need to demonstrate continued development and progress during their mentoring phase and consolidation training and their progress throughout these phases will be formally assessed to ensure the required level of competence is met.
Travel
Successful candidates will join a busy team of presenting staff engaged in presenting cases at the local Tribunal Hearing Centre. Note in some locations, the hearing centre is located away from the Presenting Officer Unit so the post holder may need to travel slightly further to the hearing centre than to their unit from their home address. There will also be an occasional need to travel and present at other Tribunal Hearing Centres to meet operational demands, however some of these hearings will be presented via video link.
Key Responsibilities
Presenting cases before the Immigration Tribunal on 60% of available working days adhering to professional standards and ensuring conduct is appropriate to a public Tribunal.
Developing and maintaining an effective knowledge of Immigration law and processes.
Reviewing and preparing cases and reviewing decisions and further legal representation in a manner that assesses their potential to be sustained and then identify key evidence to allow for effective supported argument.
Working flexibly around any court listing changes or operational requirements, including preparing and presenting cases at short notice to meet operational demands.