Number of vacancies: One
Location: Manchester
Salary: £141,332
Closing date: noon on 25 September 2014

The role

This is a high profile leadership role which involves the full duties of a Circuit Judge in addition to hearing the more demanding and specialist cases.  Duties include overseeing visiting Circuit Judges and Recorders, providing mentoring and advice when needed and liaising on local issues and delays.

The person

A high level of expertise in family law is required, as are leadership and management skills.

Candidates who are still in practice should ideally have sufficient relevant experience as practitioners in all of the major specialised areas of family law (and in particular private children and public children’s cases) and part-time judicial experience in contested substantive hearings over at least a two year period in private and public children’s law (having met the minimum sitting requirement).

Candidates who are already in full-time judicial posts should ideally have recent, regular judicial experience in contested substantive hearings over at least a two year period in private and public family law.

The Lord Chief Justice also expects that, unless already authorised to sit as a deputy High Court Judge under s9(1) of the Senior Courts Act 1981, candidates should have the capacity to meet the criteria for authorisation immediately after appointment.

Under statute, the post is open to solicitors and barristers in England and Wales with seven years’ post qualification experience (PQE).

Full details including a job description, notes on the jurisdiction, information pack and terms and conditions are now on our website.

TO NOTE: Depending on the number of applications received, there is a strong possibility that the sift will take place at an earlier date than previously advertised, with the selection days to take place on the original sift dates of 20-21 October 2014.  Please be prepared to be available on 20-21 October as well as 27-28 October for interview if you are shortlisted and please also indicate your availability for all four dates on your application form. We will notify all candidates of the final agreed selection days by email as soon as the exercise closes on 25 September.