Senior Legal Adviser

Senior Legal Adviser (Fixed Term)

Location:
Bristol or London

12 month fixed term contract

Salary: £68,720 - £72,004 + £7,500 allowance plus London weighting £3,566 (where relevant)

Generous Civil Service defined benefit pension

Note: we are open to queries regarding secondment for this fixed term position. For more information, please contact: recruitmentt

Use your regulatory and public expertise in an organisation that’s shaping policy and regulation

Make a real difference to the lives of students by bringing your regulatory and public law expertise to the Office for Students (OfS).

As the independent regulator of higher education in England, we ensure the best experience and the best value – for students, for taxpayers, for the economy and for the public good. This is a unique opportunity to lead on the provision of complex public law advice across our diverse and rapidly evolving organisation.

You’ll lead on provision of legal advice for a broad range of legal matters relevant to the functions of the OfS. Key responsibilities include supporting the Legal Senior Leadership Team in tasks relating to the operation of the legal function within the OfS and leadership of specific initiatives.

In addition, you will broaden your knowledge of the sector by providing legal advice and support for a broad range of regulatory matters relevant to the functions of the OfS.

Expect to work collaboratively with internal legal and policy colleagues, as well as external legal support, owning these key relationships and advising at the most senior level in the organisation.

You will lead and manage junior colleagues in the provision of legal complex legal advice in a range of areas, including the OfS’s enforcement and information gathering powers; public law principles, statutory duties and considerations; equalities legislation;
Human rights law and consumer protection law.

This role would suit a qualified solicitor or barrister with strong public law and/or regulatory experience. Excellent written and spoken communication and presentation skills are essential.

While your legal career to date may have been in a different sector, you will have significant directly transferable experience in an equivalent public law or regulatory context. We offer a supportive environment that enables you to get up to speed, but you will need experience in at least two of the following areas:

• Public law matters
• Consumer protection law
• Human rights law
• The interpretation of regulatory rules such as licence conditions or equivalent
• The interpretation and application of sector specific legislation which relates to a regulatory body
• Investigation and enforcement in a regulatory context

For the purposes of recruitment to the role, we are measuring the following core competencies:

Level 3:
Managing and influencing complex team or project relationships

• I empower colleagues to make effective decisions.
• I recognise my own biases and assumptions and manage them to make better decisions.
• I actively weigh up information from a range of sources, identifying advantages, disadvantages, risks and impacts to make decisions that take account of the wider organisational, political and regulatory context.
• I encourage innovative suggestions and challenge from others, to support informed decision making.
• I use sound judgment in drawing on legal advice and public consultation approaches, wherever necessary and appropriate.

Level 3:
Managing and influencing complex team or project relationships

• I ensure the delivery of timely, quality outcomes, through providing the right resources for tasks, reviewing and adjusting performance expectations and rewarding success.
• I maintain my own level of performance in challenging circumstances and support others to do the same.
• I adjust priorities and focus swiftly, as the OfS’s internal and external context changes, considering how my work impacts other teams across the organisation.
• I translate strategic priorities into clear outcome-focused objectives for managers and teams.
• I quickly re-prioritise and formulate plans accordingly as the environment changes.