Lawyer

Job summary

About the Electoral Commission

The Electoral Commission is the UK’s independent body overseeing elections and regulating political finance. Everything we do is about ensuring trust, participation, and integrity in the democratic process.

As we enter a bold new chapter under our five-year Corporate Plan, we are increasing our workforce and transforming how we plan and deliver core services. This post plays a central role in that journey.

Job description

About the role

We are currently seeking a number of full time, or equivalent, lawyers to join the Commission’s Legal Team.

As a UK-wide organisation, we welcome applications from lawyers qualified in any of the jurisdictions in the UK (England & Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland) to join our Legal Team.

For this recruitment round we are particularly keen to encourage applications from lawyers based in Scotland, but applications from across the UK will be equally considered and the ultimate appointments will be based on merit.

As a statutory body, the Commission relies on its Legal Team for high quality legal advice to advance its objectives and ensure it exercises its functions lawfully.

You will provide high quality legal advice and assistance to the Commission including:

• advising on electoral law including during major political events such as UK Parliamentary General Elections, local elections, PCC elections, mayoral elections, referendums and elections for the devolved parliaments,

• advising on regulatory decisions and enforcement action affecting political parties and campaigners,

• working on proposed legislation and the implementation of new legislation, and

• advising on the Commission’s wider legal obligations as a public body.

Since the Commission operates in a niche area, we do not require or expect candidates to have experience of electoral law but experience of advisory work, statutory interpretation and public and administrative law will be essential.

You will be supported by one of the Senior Lawyers and receive training in role.

bout the team

You’ll be joining the Legal Team, part of the Devolution and Law directorate.

The team is currently comprised of a Head of Legal, a Legal Management Team of Senior Lawyers, Lawyers and a Legal Officer, under the Commission’s General Counsel.

We are a collaborative, supportive and solutions focused team that works closely with colleagues across the Commission.

We pride ourselves on being approachable, responsive and innovative in the way we provide legal advice. Our work is high-profile and varied with electoral reform, the regulation of parties and candidates, and devolution all being hot topics across the whole of the UK. The work is interesting, intellectually challenging, and varied.

Person specification

Who we’re looking for

To be successful in this role, you will need to:

• be fully entitled to practice in England & Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland under the rules of the relevant national Law Society, Bar Council or Faculty of Advocates. This includes those dual qualified to also practice in any of the above jurisdictions.

• have experience of advisory work, statutory interpretation and administrative and public law.

• have strong legal analytical skills, a sound public law knowledge base and the ability confidently and effectively to interpret and apply new and complex legislation.

For a full list of competencies, please refer to the job description and person specification.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £59,971, The Electoral Commission contributes £17,373 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Why work for us?

  This role offers a unique opportunity to contribute to democracy in the UK by providing high quality legal advice to the Commission. You’ll gain exposure to high profile stakeholders, play a key role during major electoral events, and develop expertise in electoral law.

  We offer a strong total reward package, including:

  • Flexible working and hybrid model (40% office minimum)
  • 28 rising to 30 days annual leave + bank holidays
  • Civil Service pension scheme (28.97% employer contribution)
  • Study support for professional qualifications
  • Ongoing learning and development opportunities
  • Ride2Work, eye care vouchers and more

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

How to apply

We are committed to fair and inclusive recruitment. To help reduce unconscious bias and ensure all applicants are assessed solely on their skills, knowledge and experience, we use an anonymous recruitment process.

When applying, please provide an anonymised CVwhich omits your protected characteristics and any personally identifiable information:

Do not include:

• Your name, address, phone number, email or other contact details

• Your date of birth or age

• Gender, ethnicity, nationality or other personal identifiers

• A photo of yourself

• Remove educational dates as these are a clear indication of your age

• There is no requirement to include your primary education details.

Do include:

• Your employment history including employers and dates of employment

• Explanation for gaps in your history

• Your duties, responsibilities and achievements

If your CV contains personal details (such as your name or contact information), we will be unable to consider your application. Please double-check your documents before submitting, including the file name you use to save and upload your CV.

Supporting disabled applicants

The Electoral Commission is proud to be a Level 2 Disability Confident Employer. As part of our commitment, we offer a guaranteed interview scheme for disabled applicants. If you have a disability and meet the minimum essential criteria listed in the job description, you will be offered an interview.

To be considered under this scheme, please indicate this when you apply. We also welcome requests for reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process or in the workplace.

Key dates

• Application deadline: 18 January 2026 (23:59)

• Interviews: Week commencing 2 February 2026

Interviews will be conducted virtually via Microsoft Teams.

Shortlisted candidates will also be asked to undertake a written assessment.

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

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.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 : Talent Acquisition Team
• Email : recruitment@electoralcommission.org.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : recruitment@electoralcommission.org.uk

Further information

Raising a Concern About the Recruitment Process

At the Electoral Commission, we are committed to delivering fair, inclusive, and transparent recruitment. Our recruitment practices are guided by Civil Service values and comply with the Equality Act 2010 and other relevant legislation.

If you have concerns about the way a recruitment process has been conducted, we encourage you to raise them with us.

How to Make a Complaint

If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of our recruitment process, you can contact us directly by email:

recruitment@electoralcommission.org.uk

Please include the following information:

The job title or reference number

A clear explanation of your concern

Any relevant supporting information

Your preferred contact details

We aim to respond to all complaints within two working days.

Our Commitment

All complaints are treated seriously and in confidence. They are handled in line with our Recruitment Policy and the relevant provisions of the Equality Act 2010, Employment Rights Act 1996, and the Data Protection Act 2018.

If you require this information in an alternative format, or need additional support, please contact us at recruitment@electoralcommission.org.uk.

https://ce1002li.webitrent.com/ce1002li_webrecruitment/wrd/run/ETREC179GF.open?WVID=933737003x