Proud to serve. Proud to keep justice going.
Our Operations Managers play a vital role in delivering justice. This is a high-profile leadership position. You will proactively lead service delivery, providing teams with clear direction, ensuring that business activities are well-coordinated to increase productivity and deliver high-quality services. We are seeking an experienced leader who will lead by example, champion change, and cultivate a culture of resilience and adaptability, empowering teams to thrive while building strong, collaborative relationships with all stakeholders.
About us
HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is responsible for the administration of criminal, civil and family Courts and Tribunals in England and Wales as well as the reserved unified tribunals across the United Kingdom. Our roles support our service users and colleagues within HMCTS, where people and businesses access potentially life-changing justice. We’re looking for individuals who are committed to public service and making a difference in people’s lives to deliver justice.
About your role
The role of a manager is at the heart of HMCTS operations, shaped by the Civil Service Line Management Standards. It’s rewarding, challenging, and essential to our success.
We’re looking for managers with the experience and desire to develop high performing teams, providing clear direction on performance and attendance and creating a culture of fair reward and recognition.
This role sits within HMCTS’ South East Region and is responsible for the strategic oversight of Kent Magistrates’ Courts across the region.
You will support your Deputy Head of Operations to meet operational needs and deliver performance objectives by translating national priorities into local plans.
The role provides visible leadership across operational areas, driving service delivery and team productivity. Your presence supports engagement, accountability, and alignment with organisational goals.
You will give clear direction and focus and align and co-ordinate activity to increase productivity and deliver a quality service across Kent.
You will model inclusive leadership. You will identify development needs and implement targeted growth plans to improve individual and business performance, ensuring teams are equipped with the necessary skills, knowledge, and capabilities to excel.
Championing change and embedding a culture of continuous improvement, you will proactively use workforce planning, providing clear direction and focus to build teams that are resilient and adaptable.
You’ll foster a collaborative culture and communicate, support, and deliver HMCTS and MoJ strategic objectives, translating them into actionable local plans to deliver measurable results.
Please refer to the role profile attachment to understand more about this key leadership position.
Essential knowledge, skills and experience
Proven experience in a challenging operations or management role with the ability and willingness to adapt and learn at pace.
Demonstrable people management and coaching skills, leading, developing and managing teams to drive performance in a service-focused environment to deliver measurable results.
A strong leader, with the ability to manage resource allocation, lead teams through change with the confidence to make informed and timely decisions and drive continuous improvement.
Ability to build relationships and manage key stakeholders at all levels, able to negotiate, persuade and influence.
Excellent communication skills with the ability to create a collaborative and inclusive culture.
Confidence to make independent decisions and resolve complex problems. This includes learning and using data driven tools to identify trends and challenges to generate solutions.
Ability to collaborate across the business to deliver local priorities and HMCTS and MOJ strategic objectives.
Lead criterion at application stage: Statement of Suitability. An initial sift based on the statement of suitability may be held if a large number of applications are received.
As a leader, our HMCTS Leadership Development offer is designed to help you build a confident, capable team and make a real difference to how we work and grow. From bite-sized learning and interactive workshops to deeper insights through our Accountability & Decision-Making framework, we’ll equip you to lead with impact, inspire and drive performance across the organisation.
New recruits to the Civil Service joining MoJ are expected to join at the band minimum.
These operational roles are customer facing, requiring successful applicants to be office based to provide HMCTS services to the public. Non-contractual hybrid working is currently available. Hybrid working arrangements will be determined by the business and will only be available when it has been established that delivering the service from home can be done effectively. We cannot facilitate requests for a particular work from home/working in the office schedule.
Standard full time working hours are 37 hours per week. This is a business-critical role requiring full-time hours.
Occasional travel to other courts
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 or regular basis at other local HMCTS sites/courts. Where applicable, associated travel cost/time will be applied in line with organisational policies. Regular travel across Kent will be required.
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Read more in Sevenoaks employer: Ministry of Justice
The Ministry of Justice is an exceptional employer, dedicated to transforming lives through education and vocational training. With a strong emphasis on supportive relationships and personal development, employees benefit from a collaborative work culture that prioritises safety and security while offering opportunities for professional growth and meaningful impact in the community. Working in this role not only allows you to make a difference but also provides a unique chance to contribute to the rehabilitation and resettlement of individuals in a dynamic environment.
