Witness Care Officer (Chelmsford) Scale 5

Location of Role: Chelmsford

Advert Closing Date: 27/10/2026

Starting Salary: £30,333.00 (pro-rata for part-time vacancies)

Part/Full Time: Full Time

Contract Type: Permanent

Working Pattern: Mon-Fri

Weekend/Evening Working: No

An opportunity has arisen for a Witness Care Officer within the Witness Care Unit, Crime and Public Protection Command.

The Witness Care Unit is the single point of contact for victims and witnesses throughout the criminal justice process. As part of a supportive team, you will guide victims, their families and witnesses through each stage of their case. You will provide updates, answer questions and ensure people receive the support they need.

You will manage a varied caseload and work closely with police officers, courts and partner agencies. Your responsibilities will include warning witnesses to attend court, carrying out needs assessments, communicating court outcomes and ensuring compliance with the Victims' Code.

This is a busy but rewarding role where no two days are the same. We are looking for someone who is organised, resilient and passionate about delivering excellent service. You will play an important part in supporting victims and helping to achieve successful prosecutions.

At shortlisting we will be looking for evidence of:

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build positive working relationships with colleagues and partner agencies.
• Excellent organisational, planning and prioritisation skills, managing competing demands, meeting deadlines and delivery a high-quality customer service.
• A proactive, adaptable and positive approach, demonstrating the ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Confidence using computer systems and applications.

It would also be desirable but not essential to have knowledge of the criminal justice system.

Your contracted work location will be Chelmsford Police Station but as this is a home-based agile working role, you will work predominately (80% or more) at home only working in the office when required to do so.

For further information or an informal discussion about the role, please contact Lisa Mangnall on lisa.mangnall@essex.police.uk or Teams 42072704.

For the full job description please click here.

Your application for this role will be shortlisted on the content you provide within the “reason for application” question, within the application form itself. CV’s, covering letters or attachments are not included in the shortlist. Within your “reason for application” answer, please refer to any experience, skills, and abilities you feel you have that will make you suitable for this role, based on the role criteria stated in the job advert or job description. Please provide as much detail as possible as insufficient content may mean you do not meet the shortlisting criteria, however please note this question is limited to 9000 characters and this system will count spaces and blank lines as characters. This count may differ from the Microsoft Word word count function therefore you may wish to use a different online character counter to check the characters used.

Depending on your current vetting level and security clearances, you may be required to complete additional vetting information during the recruitment process.

Kent Police and Essex Police welcomes applications regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, sex, or employment status.

Please let us know if you require extra support at any stage of the application process, or for further information regarding this position, please email us at recruitment.business.services@ecis.police.uk stating ‘Application Support and Adjustments’ in the title of your email. Alternatively, you can call us on 01245 452833. Where appropriate we will make adjustments to the selection process, working arrangements and/or the working environment provided it is reasonable in all the circumstances to do so.

If you’re not from the UK, you must be a resident in the UK and have lived here continuously for the last three years. You must also be free from restrictions with indefinite leave to remain. If you’re from the UK you must have lived here continuously for the last three years. This doesn’t apply to those serving abroad in the British Armed Forces.

As a Disability Confident Leader we:

• Have subjected our Disability Confident self-assessment to external challenge and validation.
• Are taking an active leadership role in encouraging and helping other employers on their journey to becoming Disability Confident.

Diversity, Equality and Inclusion are central to the values of our organisation. At Essex Police we value and embrace the unique experiences, identities and abilities that each of us bring to our roles. We strive to empower everyone to bring their authentic self openly and safely to work.

Through the dedicated commitment of our support networks, DE&I team and wider HR departments, we are on a journey to embed our DE&I commitments, ensuring Essex Police is an employer of choice; where everyone feels included.

Essex Police and Kent Police are an equal opportunities employer. Communications may be recorded for monitoring purposes.