Level 2 Crown Advocate - April 2024
Crown Prosecution Service
Apply before 11:55 pm on Wednesday 8th May 2024
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About the job
Job summary
As a level 2 crown advocate, you play a vital role in delivering justice for victims and witnesses of crime. You prosecute a wide range of cases in the Crown Court, and may even have the opportunity to be led in complex cases.
You’re an integral part of the prosecution team - working alongside lawyers, paralegal officers and the police.
We have vacancies in locations across England. CPS Mersey Cheshire and CPS North West will only be recruiting for waiting list. Numbers are subject to change depending on business needs.
You are asked to give your location preference on the application form. We consider your preferred location choice at a later stage in the process and will try to accommodate wherever possible. We can’t guarantee you will be offered a role in your preferred location.
Although you’re based in one office, you may need to travel across the geographical area to attend Court.
For more information on how to apply, please see the candidate pack attached.
Job description
The primary responsibility and function of this role is trial advocacy in the Crown Court, including advocacy in effective trials and non-contested hearings. You must have Higher Rights of Audience to fulfil this role.
Subject to you satisfying the “general qualification” provision within the meaning of section 71 of the Courts and Legal Services 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
For full details, please see the attached candidate pack, job description and AS2025 Crown Advocate framework.
Qualifications
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 have 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.
You must be qualified to practise in the Crown Court as a qualified barrister under Bar Standards Board Regulations – or solicitor with Higher Rights (Criminal Advocacy) under the Solicitors Regulation Authority Higher Rights of Audience Regulations 2011.
Memberships
If you apply and are found not to possess any of the above any offer of employment will be withdrawn, or contract terminated.
Equivalent qualifications are not accepted.
If you are unsure about your eligibility please contact NationalCrownAdvocateRecruitment@cps.gov.uk.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Communicating and Influencing
- Delivering at Pace
- Working Together
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- You must have a law degree or Common Professional Examination.
- You must have completed a Legal Practice Course or Bar Vocational Course and have the relevant pupillage
- Qualified to practise in the Crown Court as a qualified barrister under Bar Standards Board Regulations - or solicitor with Higher Rights (Criminal Advocacy) under the Solicitors Regulation Authority Higher Rights of Audience Regulations 2011.
- You 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.
Benefits
Delivering justice is a complex pursuit with work that is sometimes emotionally challenging, which is why we offer a range of benefits including:
- Civil Service contributory pension of up to 27%
- 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
- Cycle2Work scheme, employee savings.
Working for the Crown Prosecution Service you also have access to a range of learning and development activities, an individual learning account, and central and local development opportunities.
Working as an employed advocate, you don’t need to pay for clerking fees or business rent. We cover your costs for your wig and gown as well as your practising certificate and supporting legal literature.
This is a full-time post. However, requests for flexible, part-time working and job share are considered, taking into account at all times the operational needs of the Department.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours, Ability, Experience and Technical skills.
We are using an application, assessment and interview to evidence the required levels of:
- qualifications
- legal intellect
- motivation
- advocacy
- communicating and influencing
- delivering at pace
- working together.
Please see attached candidate pack for details on how to apply and what to include in your application. Please note, you should use specific examples to address the criteria.
Information sessions
We will hold an online information session – this is a live Q&A where you can ask us questions about your application, the process or the role. You can register here:
Wednesday 24th April at 1pm-1.45pm - https://meetandengage.com/alutqf1wo
Other
Customer-facing roles in the CPS require your ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English and/or Welsh where required. Where this is an essential requirement, this is tested as part of the selection process.
If you are recommended by the selection panel but not appointed to the current vacancy, you are placed on a waiting list for 12 months and may be offered another post if there are any further vacancies for Crown Advocate in this Area during this period.
Here at the CPS we offer hybrid working, which can enable CPS employees to work a proportion of their role remotely. Eligibility and the degree of home working will vary depending on the requirements of the role. Further details can be discussed at offer stage.
We would encourage candidates to consider if the commute from home to the office is a feasible distance to travel before making an application. Please note that if you are successful, hybrid working will be discussed prior to taking up the post.
If you’re dissatisfied with the recruitment process and wish to make a complaint, please contact Strategic.Resourcing@cps.gov.uk with your concerns.
If you’re still not satisfied, you can make a further complaint through the Civil Service Commission complaints page:
http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/civil-service-recruitment/complaints/
Civil Service Commission recruitment principles can be found here - http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/civil-service-recruitment/
Details of the Civil Service nationality rules are located at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules
Candidates are subject to UK immigration requirements. For the most up-to-date information on the requirements of working in the UK, please go to the UK Visas and Immigration website: https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Nationality requirements
Working for the Civil Service
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).
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : National Crown Advocate Recruitment
- Email : NationalCrownAdvocateRecruitment@cps.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : nationallawyerrecruitment@cps.gov.uk
