Welcome

Imagine you are accused of something. You are presented with facts, figures and photos that confuse you. You are being asked questions that you don't understand, and people are using words you don't know.

Now imagine all of those things, in a court room of people where you are the defendant in a criminal trial or a parent in family care proceedings. That’s the reality for many vulnerable adults and children with communication difficulties who access our services.

Our intermediaries provide support to people with communication difficulties who are facing legal proceedings. We believe everyone should have fair access to justice and we want to reach as many vulnerable people as we can.

"Everyone should have fair access to justice."

Thank you for applying to join our Intermediary Development Programme. We offer a meaningful career, focused on values and continuous learning. Our programme set you on a career path that is fulfilling for you, and has a huge positive impact on the lives of the people we support. We are an expanding company with fantastic opportunities for progression.

Come and join us!

William Scrimshire, Managing Director

What we do

We are appointed by criminal and family courts to assist defendants with communication difficulties, both before and during their proceedings. We carry out detailed assessments to understand any provisions or adaptations that can be made to help someone participate in their proceedings. We help them to understand the ~case against them, what their options might be, and how to give their evidence. The people we support may have any kind of developmental or acquired communication difficulty, including learning disability, mental health conditions, Autism, ADHD, brain injury or the effects of a stroke. They can be any age from 10 years upwards. The majority of our clients are aged 18-30 years old. Our role is impartial and our duty is to the court. We are a Managed and Approved Provider for the HMCTS Appointed Intermediary Service.

Our values

Communicourt was founded in 2011 with just one purpose in mind; to ensure fairness and justice for some of the most vulnerable people in society.

We started out with just one intermediary providing communication support to defendants. Now we have more than 50 intermediaries working in courts across England and Wales.

We provide vulnerable people with an unbiased and fair service, at a critical point in their lives.

We ensure all of our colleagues are trained to the latest standards of communication support.

The role

Job title: Intermediary

Location: Anywhere in England, but with easy access to a major railway station

Responsible to: Team Leader/Senior Leadership Team

Hours: Full time (average 40 hours per week including travel), worked flexibly from 6am until 10pm according to the needs of the service. This will vary based on work assigned.

Salary: Starting salary of £21,981 - £27,178 per annum, based on skills and experience.

As a developing Intermediary, you will work through our Intermediary Training Programme, which is accredited by NCFE. Completion of this programme takes 6 to 9 months and the salary then rises to £27,178.

Main Duties:

• Promptly and effectively establish rapport with a service user.

• Carry out an assessment of the service user's communication abilities

• Describe those communication skills to lawyers and work with them to enable the service user to participate effectively in the trial process. This could include advice on the structure of questions and also any concepts that the person has difficulty understanding

• Facilitate communication between the service user and other parties

• Prepare a written report on the service user’s communication needs, including strategies which will assist at court

• Work effectively with colleagues and external practitioners within the framework of Communicourt’s policies and procedures

• Develop personal skills and the skills of others through individual supervision and effective teamwork

• Undertake other duties as may reasonably be requested

Who are we looking for?

Applicants should have:

Relevant qualifications: A relevant degree e.g. Speech and Language Therapy, Psychology, Psychiatric or Learning Disability Nursing or Social Work.

Excellent professional skills: Work effectively with professionals and service users. Demonstrate excellent professional skills and contribute to the development of the company reputation in the courts.

Excellent organisation skills: Ability to work independently and on your own initiative to carry out professional and admin tasks. Intermediaries make their own travel arrangements using public transport.

Excellent IT skills: Intermediaries are mobile workers and need to be able to complete IT tasks autonomously using well known and bespoke IT packages.

Excellent writing skills: Write communication reports for a range of professional audiences. Must be able to write clearly, coherently and accurately to ensure effective delivery of assessment findings to the courts. This may be within very limited timeframes.

Confidence speaking to different audiences: Intermediaries need to speak openly to a court room, discussing recommendations and be confident in their delivery in a formal environment.

Applicants should be:

Focussed, with a high level of confidentiality: Able to concentrate and use a laptop in distracting environments such as cafés, busy court environments and when travelling on trains. Have a confidential space available at home in order to undertake assessments, hearings or trials remotely.

Creative: Be creative thinkers who can devise effective ways and strategies to facilitate communication, sometimes quickly or on the spot.

Flexible: Work can be unpredictable. Intermediaries need to be willing and able to stay away from home, sometimes at short notice.

Strong: The content of the cases can be upsetting and emotionally demanding. Intermediaries need a high level of emotional resilience which is then supported through regular supervision.

Supportive: We have developed excellent links and support networks within and outside of Communicourt. We expect all team members to be supportive of colleagues and have a ‘can-do’ attitude to their work.

Resilient: The role can be demanding and require you to work longer hours or weeks. Although these hours are taken back at a later date, there may be several weeks in a row of working more than 40 hours. Applicants need a high level of stamina including early mornings and late finishes to cover the demands of the service.

What we offer:

Excellent opportunities for career progression within an expanding company

Opportunities for training and continuous professional development (CPD). Our training is externally accredited by the NCFE.

Regular CPD days with all time and expenses reimbursed

Regular clinical supervision

Additional external training opportunities e.g. Leadership Skills Development

Excellent support from a dedicated administration team

Occasional days working from home

Comprehensive IT package including laptop and work phone

Staff benefits package including healthcare services and retail discounts

Generous disturbance allowance to compensate for nights spent away

You will have no commuting costs, commuting time or parking fees

Payment for out of hours work/ preparation including travel time

Flexibility – if you move home, you from home can continue to work for Communicourt so long as you remain near a major railway station