Director Legal and Policy (Ref: 16833)

Job summary

This position is based at 10 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London, E14 4BB, National

Job description

Job Title: Director of Legal and PolicyDepartment: Legal & PolicyTeam: Senior Leadership Team (SLT)Job Grade: 6Number of Posts: 1Reports to: COO

Job Purpose

To provide legal advice and policy support to the Parole Board Scope of Responsibilities:

• To provide legal advice to the Parole Board including to the Chair, Vice-Chair, CEO, senior leadership and PB members.
• To attend Management Committee, Senior Leadership Group (SLG) and SLT, Standards Committee, and other Committees or working groups as necessary from time to time
• To lead the development of policy, guidance and legislation
• To contribute to the delivery of training for staff, members and stakeholders
• To oversee the Board’s research work
• To oversee and direct all litigation to which the Board is a party
• To be responsible for complex and high profile legal challenges in the higher courts
• To direct and oversee the work of the Legal and Policy Function
• To be responsible for the Legal and Policy Function’s budget
• To lead the Legal & Practice team in dealing with legal queries
• To support specialist workstreams within the Board, including reconsideration, set aside, public hearings, non disclosure, public hearings, TACT cases and CLOSED proceedings
• To represent the Board to internal and external stakeholders events and meetings, including with senior officials, the senior judiciary and on occasion with Ministers
• To sit on external working groups from time to time
• Such other responsibilities are as assigned by management from time to time

Primary Deliverables

• Legal advice
• Policy and guidance
• Legislation
• Conduct of litigation
• Budget management

Person Specification Essential

• Qualified to provide professional legal services (solicitor, barrister, or equivalent)
• Deep experience of public law and litigation
• Deep experience of policy and legislative development
• Excellent written and oral communication skills including adept at relaying complex information in a simple, digestible format
• Ability to interact confidently with internal and external stakeholders, including senior officials, Ministers and members of the judiciary.
• Ability to combine both a strategic outlook with forensic attention to detail
• Experience of budget management
• Experience of managing teams
• Experience in using Microsoft programmes

Desirable

• Experience in civil litigation
• Experience in criminal litigation
• Experience in prison law
• Security clearance to DV level or willingness to undergo screening to obtain it

About the Parole Board:

The Parole Board is an independent court-like body that carries out risk assessments on prisoners to determine whether they can be safely released into the community We do that with great care and public safety is our number one priority.

All Parole Board decisions are solely focused on whether a prisoner would represent a significant risk to the public after release. Not all decisions Members make are popular, but they make these decisions fairly and objectively.

The Board is made up of about 230 secretariat staff based in our and approximately 380 Members who make decisions on risk and hold hearings at prisons around the country.

The Parole Board is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Ministry of Justice. Staff who work for the Parole Board Secretariat are Public Servants and not Civil Servants.

About the role:

This is an exciting role on the Senior Leadership Team of the Parole Board. You will be the principal legal advisor at the Parole Board, You will be the principal legal advisor at the Parole Board, providing legal advice and support to Parole Board members, the Chair, Vice-Chair, CEO, the senior leadership team and across the Parole Board secretariat. You will also lead and manage the legal and policy team, consisting of a mix of other legally qualified and policy staff. The team handles all legal challenges to which the Board is a party, oversees those parts of the Parole Board process with a legal nature, develops policy, guidance and practice advice for the membership, and co-ordinates the Board’s research functions. You will assist in the development of policy, guidance, training and new legislation for the Parole Board (both secondary and primary). You will attend senior management meetings and form part of the Board’s Senior Leadership Team. You will work collaboratively with and represent the Board to external stakeholders.

Main Duties:

As set out in the job description above.

Behaviours

We will assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Managing a Quality Service
• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Changing and Improving

Security:

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed, which is to be security cleared to SC-level. Candidates must be willing to undergo screening to Developed Vetting (DV) level.

Accessibility

The Parole Board is a disability confident recruiter. Accessibility requests will be carefully considered and, where reasonable, actioned.

Whilst the Parole Board office is principally located in London, and, for the purposes of organisational management and administration, it is not required to conduct business in Welsh. However, the Parole Board welcomes applications from candidates who speak Welsh and English as part of its commitment to treat both languages on a basis of equality in the conduct of public business and administration of justice in Wales, as far as is both appropriate and reasonable, and to reflect the community it serves.

Office requirements

This role is hybrid. You will be required to spend a minimum of 20% of your time in person contact. For some SLT and MC meetings as well as member staff away days, training, or other events, you will be required to attend in person either in London or at other locations within the UK.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours and Experience. At the interview stage you will be assessed against Behaviours, Strengths and Experience and may be required to prepare a presentation.

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Licences

Qualified to provide professional legal services (solicitor, barrister, or equivalent).

Behaviours

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

• Managing a Quality Service
• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Changing and Improving

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £69,520, Parole Board contributes £20,139 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Access to learning and development
• A working environment that supports a range of flexible working options to enhance your work life balance
• A working culture which encourages inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
• Annual Leave
• Public Holidays
• Season Ticket Advance

For more information about the recruitment process, benefits and allowances and answers to general queries, please click the below link which will direct you to our Candidate Information Page.

Link: https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

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, Strengths and Experience.https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

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.

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 : SSCL Recruitment Enquiries Team
• Email : moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk
• Telephone : 0345 241 5359

Recruitment team

• Email : moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel a department has breached the requirement of the Recruitment Principles and would like to raise this, please contact SSCL (Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com) in the first instance. If the role has been advertised externally (outside of the Civil Service) and you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages: http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/civil-service-recruitm…

https://jobs.justice.gov.uk/careers/JobDetail/16833?entityId=16833