Assistant Land Registrar - Coventry & Leicester

Job summary

It is an exciting time for HM Land Registry as we continue a major transformation programme. HM Land Registry's ambition is to become the world’s leading land registry for speed, simplicity and an open approach to data.

We are now looking for 4 lawyers to join our Land Registration Lawyers team in Coventry and Leicester (2 at each location) to play a vital role in the delivery of first-class legal services to support HM Land Registry’s ambition.

Appointments will be made based on merit, taking into account our priorities and posts available.

Job description

Working as part of a national team of lawyers in the Service Delivery Group function, you will work collaboratively with colleagues based in in your local office and across 14 offices throughout England and Wales.

You will manage a varied caseload of complex and sensitive cases and help to deliver HM Land Registry’s business objectives.

You will support HM Land Registry’s purpose to protect land ownership and provide services and data that underpin an efficient and informed property market by providing legal and technical advice.

You will make key decisions, giving direction in the most complex cases on matters such as land ownership, rights, interests affecting land, indemnity, complaints and disputed applications.

You will provide clear and visible leadership across the Organisation, actively promoting HM Land Registry's ambition, mission and values and role-modelling its culture.

All our roles are office based; however, we currently also offer some opportunities for home working. The current expectation for office attendance is that all team members spend a minimum of 60% of their time in the office.

These roles are based only in our Coventry and Leicester offices. Training and 60% attendance will be required at your chosen office and there is no provision to undertake this role at other HM Land Registry sites. Relocation packages are not available for this role.

The initial training period for this role generally takes around 9 months followed by a further period of consolidation.

Working as part of a national team of lawyers, you may be required to travel to other HM Land Registry offices as required from time to time, subject to business need.

Person specification

To take up a post, you must be qualified to practise as a Solicitor or Barrister in England and Wales or be a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives by the date of your application.

Due to the breadth of the role, unfortunately, we cannot accept applications from Licensed Conveyancers who are not also qualified Solicitors, Barristers or Fellows of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives.

We are looking for applicants with proven legal professional and/or Land Registration skills who can exercise sound judgement to reach effective decisions quickly and manage risk.

We offer flexible working hours, the minimum number of hours if not full-time are 30 hours/4 days per week.

Land Registration Lawyers are corporate leaders within HM Land Registry with particular focus on coaching in local offices in addition to handling a varied and busy workload. The successful candidates will require strong communication and interpersonal skills and will play a vital part in delivering the first-class legal services HM Land Registry needs as we transform into a digital organisation.

See what it's like to work here in the attached Lawyer Prospectus.

For more information, please see the attached Candidate Pack.

Qualifications

Qualified at time of application to practise as a Solicitor/Barrister or FCILEx in England and Wales.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Delivering at Pace
• Developing Self and Others
• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £64,881, HM Land Registry contributes £18,796 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

#WeAreHMLR

At HM Land Registry our vision is a world leading property market as part of a thriving economy and a sustainable future. We are unique in terms of the economic and social impacts of our work, our ability to make a positive difference to the lives of our customers, our sense of mission, and our great people. They are the foundation of all we have achieved and all we aspire to in the future. We want our people to feel proud to work for HM Land Registry and able to fulfil their full potential.

We have a strong and positive culture, a commitment to inclusivity, an emphasis on continuous learning and development, and flexible ways of working. We offer competitive pay and annual leave, attractive pension options and a wide range of other benefits.

• We have integrity– we value honesty, trust and doing the right thing in the right way.
• We drive innovation– we are forward-thinking, embrace change and are continually improving our processes.
• We are professional– we value and grow our knowledge and professional expertise.
• We give assurance– we guarantee our services and provide confidence to the property market.

You can find more information on our rewards package on our website.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

To apply, please paste your CV into the online form to include your qualifications and relevant roles (with main duties / key responsibilities only please); removing any personal details as the sift process is anonymous.

At application stage you will be required to submit a Personal Statement with no more than 500 words, to demonstrate the below leading criteria:

• Proven ability to identify key issues in complex cases, and make pragmatic decisions based on sound legal judgement and expertise in using evidence.

Within the role specific question boxes, please provide evidence (using specific examples) of how you demonstrate the following “essential experience” criteria, from the attached job description, in no more than 500 words each for the three areas:

• Proven ability to work and deliver results effectively as part of a team, including under pressure with a broad workload and competing demands.
• Proven ability to lead others, supporting colleagues in their learning and development whilst still prioritising and pursuing your own development.
• Effective communication skills, both written and verbal, to a variety of audiences and in different contexts and situations.

Please note that the information provided in the personal statement and these question boxes will be used to assess these criteria, along with the information provided in your CV.

In the event of there being a large volume of applications, the leading criteria is:

• Proven ability to identify key issues in complex cases, and make pragmatic decisions based on sound legal judgement and expertise in using evidence.

The sift will take place shortly after the closing date, with interviews taking place in person at either our Coventry or Leicester Office during the week commencing 23 March 2026.

If successful at the shortlisting stage, you will be invited to attend an interview and discuss a technical scenario, pre-reading will be provided in advance of the interview, to enable you to prepare for this. Further details will be provided on invitation to interview.

The interview will test the technical skills, experience and behaviours listed in the job description.

Please review your application form before clicking ‘submit’ – once you have submitted, you will not be able to amend your application. Ensure your application form is received by the closing date for receipt of applications – this is 11:55pm on the advertised date.

HMLR is accredited to the Disability Confident Scheme, which denotes organisations which have a positive attitude towards disabled people. Disabled applicants who meet the minimum essential criteria at the shortlisting stage may be invited to attend an interview. If you require the panel to consider a reasonable adjustment or there is anything else you would like the panel to take into consideration, you are asked to notify us of this at application stage where possible or during the process as soon as it becomes a requirement.

Visa Sponsorship

Please note that we will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa where a role is in a certain business critical category. This role does not meet that category, and we will not sponsor a skilled worker visa.

You must ensure you have the appropriate right to work in the UK before applying.

You can find more information on how we use your personal data on our website.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Amy Slocombe Smith
• Email : amy.slocombesmith@landregistry.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : hrresourcingTeam2@landregistry.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance to the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, please email hrresourcingteam2@landregistry.gov.uk in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from HM Land Registry then you may take your complaint to the Civil Service Commission: http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/making-complaint/

Attachments

Assistant Land Registrar Job Description Final Opens in new window (pdf, 170kB)Service Delivery Candidate Pack 2026 - Candidate Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 1669kB)Lawyer Prospectus February 2026 Opens in new window (pdf, 1671kB)