• Details

Reference number

401352

Salary

£98,000 - £125,000

SCS2 pay band range up to circa £125,000. Existing Civil Servants will be appointed in line with the Civil Service pay rules. For level transfers, salary will remain the same.

A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

GBP

Job grade

SCS Pay Band 2

Contract type

Permanent

Business area

CPS - HQ People Function

Type of role

Human Resources
Senior leadership

Working pattern

Full-time

Number of jobs available

1

Contents

• Location
• About the job
• Benefits
• Things you need to know
• Apply and further information

Location

Birmingham, Cardiff, Liverpool, London, Wakefield, York

About the job

Job summary

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the Government Department responsible for prosecuting criminal cases investigated by the police in England and Wales. As the principal prosecuting authority in England and Wales, the CPS sits at the heart of the Criminal Justice System, working in close partnership with the police, courts, the Judiciary and other partners to deliver justice.

Led by the Director of Public Prosecutions, the CPS is a large, complex, geographically dispersed organisation, with a clear sense of purpose, and a broad mandate of great national importance. This includes advising the police on cases for possible prosecution, reviewing cases submitted by the police, determining any charge in all but minor cases, preparing cases for court, and presenting cases at court.

This position can be based in any CPS area, with the People Function team located in London, Liverpool, York, Birmingham, Cardiff, and Wakefield. Regular travel to these locations, particularly London, will be required. ( Link to CPS Offices )

As Chief People Officer, you will be instrumental in harnessing the power of the CPS’ diverse, committed, and highly motivated workforce. You will be accountable for the design and delivery of efficient and effective People services, leading a team of professional experts, and formulating the people strategy for an organisation of over 7,000 employees across England and Wales. You will need to be an outstanding leader and HR practitioner, with extensive experience of the design and delivery of efficient, effective People Services. You will be accustomed to operating at a senior level, acting as a corporate leader and contributing to broader strategic direction setting.

Person specification

Essential Criteria:

• Relevant professional qualification – Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), or willing to obtain this.
• Provides authentic, inclusive, inspiring and visible leadership of the function and wider organisation, with the ability to lead and develop a diverse multidisciplinary staff through continual improvement and transformational change
• Ability to lead, maintain and develop strong partnership-based employee relations
• Experience of workforce planning strategy within a diverse and geographically dispersed organisation
• Experience of leading and driving change at senior/Board level to deliver improved business performance across a medium/large, complex organisation
• Experience of working at senior/Board level with a proven track record of contribution to the strategic direction setting within an organisation of equivalent scale and complexity

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £98,000, Crown Prosecution Service contributes £28,390 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 (CPS) and have a future that matters: Find Your Purpose

We want to ensure all our employees can thrive at work and home and offer a range of support to achieve a balance. This includes where possible, flexibility of working hours, flexibility to support caring responsibilities and a flexible approach to deployment, which means that where you work (i.e. a court, an office, or a remote setting such as your home) will be based on the kind of work you are undertaking.

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.

CPS commits to offer its employees the following experience

• Impactful, purposeful work – making a difference to your local communities
• The ability to learn and grow, with access to the right opportunities and resources
• To care about your wellbeing
• To feel valued, trusted and included

We also offer the following range of benefits:

• Civil Service Pension
• Access to employee savings
• Cycle2Work scheme
• 30 days leave
• 1 extra privilege day entitlement to mark the King’s 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

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This recruitment process is being supported by Veredus on behalf of the CPS.

When ready to apply, please apply no later than 23:59 on Monday 19 May 2025.

For further information on how to apply, please see the following link above and below, to Veredus application page.

If you would like to discuss the role confidentially before applying, or require more information about the recruitment process, please contact our recruitment advisors at Veredus: james.griffin2@veredus.co.uk or laura.Spurgin@veredus.co.uk

Use of Artificial Intelligence

The use of AI within applications is not prohibited as technological assistance can be considered broadly equivalent to a number of pre-existing tools. However, the application must be factually accurate, and you must declare how you have used AI in preparation for your application.

Checks

The appointment will be subject to satisfactory completion of checks on health, security and other matters.

If successful you must hold, or be willing to obtain, security clearance to SC level before taking up post.

More information about the vetting process can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/security-vetting-and-clearance

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

This role has a minimum assignment duration of 3 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise.

As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check .

See our vetting charter .

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard 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)
• 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

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code 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 .

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.

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Laura Spurgin
• Email : laura.Spurgin@veredus.co.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : SCS.RelationshipsTeam@cps.gov.uk