Senior Crown Prosecutor - Reading, Eastleigh, Portsmouth

The Crown Prosecution Service, the independent body in England and Wales that prosecutes criminal cases investigated by the police, deciding charges, preparing cases, and presenting them in court while supporting victims.

As a senior crown prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service, you work on some of the most complex and challenging cases - from fraud and firearms offences to public order and corporate manslaughter. Senior crown prosecutors are highly trained, experienced lawyers with excellent people skills and a passion for delivering justice. This role is largely office and/or court based. You're responsible for reviewing evidence and making decisions on whether a case should be prosecuted in line with our Code for Crown Prosecutors. You're based in one of three units – magistrates' court, Crown Court or rape and serious sexual offences – depending on your experience level. You represent the Crown Prosecution Service on the frontline, collaborating closely with colleagues and other criminal justice agencies, including the police and judiciary. You play a vital role in maintaining public confidence in our work. You benefit from a structured induction four‑month training plan and opportunities to shadow colleagues across the organisation. Once you gain further experience, you have options to progress into legal manager and crown advocate roles.

Your roles and responsibilities:

• To advise police and other investigators on casework and evidence requirements for a wide range of offences.
• To review case files and charging decisions, providing legal advice and making the final decision, based on evidence, on whether prosecutions should proceed in the magistrates' and Crown Court.
• To undertake advocacy in serious and sensitive cases in magistrates' courts, including Youth Courts, not guilty anticipated plea court lists, and multi‑day trials.
• To explain our decisions clearly to stakeholders including magistrates, counsel, victims, witnesses and the police.
• To work effectively as part of a multi‑skilled team and maintain up‑to‑date knowledge of criminal offences.

The prosecution teams:

Each Crown Prosecution Service area has a Crown Court, magistrates' court, and a rape and serious sexual offences (RASSO) team. As a senior crown prosecutor, you are expected to be able to work in any of these teams, although experience and personal preference are taken into account. In the Crown Court team you handle a personal caseload of serious casework, giving charging advice to the police and preparing cases for court. In the magistrates' court team you advocate across the full range of courts, giving pre‑charge advice and preparing cases for trial, and may work on specialist domestic abuse or youth teams. In the RASSO team you deal with rape and serious sexual offences, giving charging and early indicative advice to the police and preparing cases for court.

Profile Person specification:

• You must be a qualified lawyer with criminal law experience.
• You must demonstrate your commitment to public service, making a difference to the communities we serve and our Crown Prosecution Service values.
• You're focused on personal development and career progression.

Qualifications:

• Legally qualified: You must be a qualified solicitor or barrister and obtain a valid Practising Certificate for England and Wales by 29 June 2026.
• 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, Solicitors Qualifying Exam or Bar Professional Training Course and the relevant pupillage and training contract – or have received full exemption from the relevant regulatory body (Solicitors Regulation Authority or Bar Standards Board).
• Or: You must be a Fellow of CILEx and a CILEx Advocate/Litigator holding all three advocacy certificates. You must have a right of audience in any class of proceedings in the Senior Courts, or all proceedings in county courts or magistrates' courts, to meet the Crown Prosecutor requirements. If you do not hold this CILEx qualification, you are not eligible to apply.

Fraud check:

The Crown Prosecution Service provides a Fair Processing Notice to all new applicants after they are successful at interview. Candidates are informed that, as part of pre‑employment screening, their personal details—name, National Insurance number and date of birth—are checked against the Internal Fraud Database. Anyone included on the database is refused employment unless demonstrated exceptional circumstances. The Service informs applicants when they are refused employment because they are included in the database.

Security:

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check and complete baseline personnel security standard checks for those working with government assets.

Nationality requirements:

• UK nationals
• Nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• Commonwealth nationals with the right to work in the UK
• EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein nationals and settled or pre‑settled family members under the EUSS
• Individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain 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

Job Offer: £61,750 – starting pay

Other benefits:

• A Civil Service contributory pension of up to 28.9%
• 25 days' leave, increasing to 30 days after 5 years
• An extra privilege day to mark the King's birthday
• Competitive maternity, paternity and parental leave
• Flexible working and a family‑friendly approach to work
• A Cycle2Work scheme, employee savings
• A range of learning and development activities, an individual learning account, and central and local development opportunities