HM Courts and Tribunals Service has launched a recruitment campaign to find a new chief executive and is offering a salary of £150,000 a year to the successful candidate.
Nick Goodwin has led HMCTS, which is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice, since March 2022, however he is due to move to an unspecified new role within the wider department.
According to the MoJ’s 2024-25 annual report and accounts, Goodwin had a salary bracketed at £145,000-£150,000 last year and earned a bonus described as £0-£5,000 plus pension-related benefits of £85,000.
HMCTS’s £150,000 salary offer for Goodwin’s successor applies to candidates for the SCS3 role who are not currently civil servants. Internal candidates could potentially earn more or less, depending on their present grade and pay rate. The SCS3 pay band ranges from £130,000-£209,000 this year.
An MoJ spokesperson said: “Nick Goodwin has accepted a new position within the Ministry of Justice, and we thank him for his hard work and dedication while leading HMCTS. Nick will remain in post until his successor is appointed.”
According to the job advertisement, HMCTS has around 16,000 staff working at more than 350 locations across the UK.
HMCTS says the organisation’s next chief executive will be responsible for advising lord chancellor David Lammy, lady chief justice Sue Carr and senior president of tribunals James Dingemans, as well as for the delivery of key priorities for the justice system.
Leading the implementation of court reform following Sir Brian Leveson’s independent review is framed as a major area of work.
The advertisement says the successful candidate will need “excellent senior leadership skills, as a chief executive or in a similar senior leadership post, with the ability to inspire staff, build engagement and capability to deliver results”.
It adds that experience of leadership “at scale” in a nationally dispersed operational service delivery environment is also vital, as are communication and influencing skills and an understanding of the “Westminster and government context”.
Writing in the applicant pack for the HMCTS chief executive role, MoJ permanent secretary Jo Farrar described the job as “unique” and said an “exceptional candidate” is required.
“This is a pivotal time for MoJ as we deliver ambitious reforms across criminal justice – including major reforms to the criminal courts – and continue to drive modernisation and digitisation across the whole of the justice system,” she said. “As CEO you will play an important part in implementation and supporting ministers and the judiciary in shaping these reforms.”
HMCTS said the chief executive could be based in Birmingham, Cardiff, Darlington, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Manchester, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Sheffield, or York. It cautioned that frequent travel to London would be required for a chief exec who chose to be based outside of the capital.
The job is open to applications until 25:55 on 15 February.