Location
Bristol, London
About the job
Job summary
About us:
The Office for Students (OfS) is the independent regulator of higher education in England – we regulate higher education on behalf of all students. Our mission is to ensure that every student, whatever their background, has a fulfilling experience of higher education that enriches their lives and careers.
About the role:
The aim of the ‘Senior Legal Adviser’ role is to lead on provision of legal advice and support for a broad range of legal matters relevant to the functions of the OfS and its internal corporate activities. Key responsibilities include: supporting the Head of Legal Services and Deputy Head of Legal Services in tasks relating to the operation of the legal function within the OfS and leadership of specific initiatives. This role requires significant engagement with internal stakeholders to ensure that all employees are appropriately trained, and external stakeholders to ensure the team is supported.
The key person attributes required to fulfil this role include: significant legal experience dealing with many legal practice areas; ability to analyse and advise on complex legal issues; sensitivity to politics, understanding the needs of, and willing to work collaboratively with external stakeholders; an ability to adopt a creative and innovative approach to legal issues; excellent verbal, written communication and presentation skills; and an ability to influence and negotiate.
Job description
Responsibilities:
Delivering and working in a team:
• In the areas for which the post holder is responsible, the outcomes and objectives in the OfS’s business plan are delivered efficiently and effectively
• The following are delivered: the OfS’s behaviours and values; flexible, agile and collaborative working, including with staff and teams in other directorates
Leads on providing advice and support on the following legal areas and topics:
• Legislation applying to the higher education sector including the Higher Education and Research Act 2017;
• The use of the OfS’s enforcement and information gathering powers;
• Managing the conduct of litigation activities, such as judicial review proceedings and statutory appeals;
• Legal topics relevant to decision making and supporting processes, such as public law principles, statutory duties and considerations, the delegation of functions and equalities legislation;
• Human rights law;
• Consumer protection law;
• The regulatory framework and registration conditions that apply to higher education providers
Supporting the Head of Legal Services and other senior lawyers in operating the legal function within the OfS:
• Commissioning external legal support (including Counsel);
• Fees are negotiated with external legal and other support service providers and Barristers’ clerks in order to ensure value for money;
• Lead on the production of internal guidance documents on key legal and regulatory issues to a high standard;
• Training for the legal team is organised in line with professional CPD requirements
External and internal stakeholder management:
• Working closely with the Head of Legal Services and Deputy Head of Legal Services in the team to deliver the objectives of the OfS;
• An understanding of senior leadership team objectives, concerns and aspirations is developed;
• Engages with internal and external stakeholders, including by building on proven experience of developing and maintaining productive relationships with key internal stakeholders, eg heads of teams, policy leads
Knowledge development:
• An expert knowledge and understanding of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 is developed;
• A thorough knowledge and understanding of the work and operations of the OfS is established
Person specification
It is essential to have knowledge in the following key skills:
At an expert level:
Significant legal experience dealing with many relevant legal practice areas, including at least four of the following:
• public law matters;
• working on litigation cases involving judicial review and/or regulatory appeals;
• UK consumer protection 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
At an advanced level:
• Sensitive to politics, understanding the needs of, and willingness to work collaboratively with external stakeholders
• Ability to adopt a creative and innovative approach to legal issues
• Excellent verbal, written communication and presentation skills
• Ability to influence and negotiate
Essential professional qualifications: Qualified Solicitor or Barrister (or similar qualification from a jurisdiction recognised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority)
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £66,556, Office for Students contributes £19,281 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
- Learning and development tailored to your role
- An environment with flexible working options
- A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
- A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
For more information and to apply please visit https://www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/index.cgi?SID=c2VhcmNocGFnZT0xJm93bmVyPTUwNzAwMDAmcGFnZWFjdGlvbj12aWV3dmFjYnlqb2JsaXN0JmpvYmxpc3Rfdmlld192YWM9MTk0NTEyNyZzZWFyY2hzb3J0PXNjb3JlJnVzZXJzZWFyY2hjb250ZXh0PTEyNDIxMjIwNCZwYWdlY2xhc3M9Sm9icyZvd25lcnR5cGU9ZmFpciZyZXFzaWc9MTc0MjM2Nzc5MC1jODMwMTY2MDUzZGU1Zjk3MmY5MTBhN2RjMDJjMTU3YWYyMWNiNjc1