Lead Legal Adviser

Job summary

The Home Office works to build a safe, fair and prosperous UK. We achieve this through our work on counter-terrorism, policing, crime, drugs policy, immigration and passports.

Immigration Enforcement is responsible for enforcing the government’s immigration laws, tackling illegal migration, removing foreign national offenders and immigration offenders from the UK. It also aims to disrupt the organised criminal groups that exploit the vulnerable for their personal gain. Learn more on our careers pages.

The Cash Forfeiture and Condemnation Legal Team sit within Criminal & Financial Investigation Unit which is part of Immigration Enforcement within the Home Office. The team is responsible for litigation relating to cash seized by officers under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and the seizure and restoration and condemnation (destruction, disposal or sale) of excise goods, other dutiable goods and illegally imported goods under the Customs and Excise Management Act.

Job description

We conduct litigation in the Magistrates’ and Crown Courts as well as the Tax Tribunals and the issues we deal with can take us to the higher UK courts.

The successful candidate will manage a caseload comprising the forfeiture of cash, listed assets (e.g. watches or other high-value items) and frozen bank accounts seized by Officers under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002; the seizure and condemnation (destruction, disposal or sale) of excise goods, other dutiable goods and illegally imported / exported goods, including drugs and weapons, under the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979; and we defend Border Force against appeals to the First-tier Tax Tribunal under the Finance Act 1994 concerning the non-restoration of seized goods. This caseload offers a wide opportunity for drafting Statements of Case, skeleton argument and providing legal advice as well as the opportunity for advocacy where caseloads and time allow.

The team currently comprises four lawyers, three of whom are full time, and a support staff of two Higher Executive Officers (HEOs) who manage the Executive Officers (EOs). This support team work closely with the lawyers to assist in the litigation and the management of cases and administrative work of the team.

You may be required to undertake the same or a similar role within a different team or teams (where possible, at your base location or within reasonable travel distance), depending on business priorities. With appropriate training and support, this will provide opportunities to broaden both your experience and skill set.

Key Responsibilities

The successful candidate will be responsible for (but not limited to):

• Legally supporting Border Force Officers and Immigration Officers, including supporting and working with Home Office Legal Advisers (HOLA)
• Case Management of cash, listed assets and frozen bank accounts seized by Officers under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002; the seizure and condemnation of excise goods and illegally imported / exported goods under the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979; and the non-restoration of seized goods under the Finance Act 1994
• Reviewing witness statements and advising on strengths and weaknesses of case work
• Drafting Statements of Case and skeleton argument with advocacy possible
• Answering legal queries, and providing ad hoc advice to our partners when needed
• Attending case conferences and hearings to support Counsel and Case Officers
• Liaising with clients, Counsel and their clerks, court staff, litigants in person and legal representatives
• Ensuring adherence to principles of data storage, retrieval, transmission and clear desk policy

Working Pattern

This role is available on a full-time basis. This role is also suitable for part-time working hours, with a minimum requirement to work 22.2 hours across 3 days per week due to business requirements.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Must be a qualified solicitor or barrister
• Strong communication skills including written advocacy
• Drafting and preparing legal documents for service to a high standard
• Managing a litigation caseload effectively and meeting attendant deadlines
• Clear decision making and able to leave a clear audit of decision making and record of the value-added to each case
• Advising clearly on the merits of cases and having a sound understanding of procedure and appeals processes in litigation

Desirable Criteria

• Working knowledge of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in relation to cash seizure under Part 5 civil recovery proceedings
• Working knowledge of the forfeiture and restoration of goods under and Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 in relation to the process of condemnation and restoration proceedings in the Magistrates’ Courts and First Tier Tribunal respectively

Licences

Due to the nature of the work and the geographical area, driving is a key requirement for this role. Applicants must have a full valid UK manual driving licence.

Qualifications

Qualified Solicitor or Barrister

Behaviours

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

• Making Effective Decisions
• Delivering at Pace
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Managing a Quality Service

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Making Effective Decisions

Benefits

In addition to your salary, a career with the Home Office offers a range of benefits, including:

• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%.
• In-year reward scheme for one-off or sustained exceptional personal or team achievements.
• 25 days annual leave on appointment, rising with service to 30 days.
• Eight days of public holidays, plus one additional privilege day.
• Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working. This is a non-contractual arrangement where all employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in an office.

See more of our benefits on our careers 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, Strengths and Experience.

This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, drives up performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.

We will endeavour to conduct the selection process in line with the dates indicated below, but cannot guarantee that these will not, where necessary, be revised.

3. Application – by 22nd April 2026

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete:

• CV
• Personal Statement (maximum 1000 words).
• Evidence of the Behaviour Making Effective Decisions (maximum of 250 words).

Your CV should consist of your career history, qualifications and skills/experience, including any key achievements in each role. Your CV will be scored against the experience required for the role as noted within the essential criteria.

The Personal Statement should be aligned to and demonstrate how you meet the skills and experience set out in the essential criteria, detailed in the job description.

For guidance and information on how to construct your application (CV, Personal Statement and Behaviours), you are encouraged to visit Civil Service Careers website.

2. Sift – week commencing 27th April 2026

The sift will be held on the Personal Statement, CV and Behaviour Making Effective Decisions.

Should a high volume of applications be received, an initial sift will be conducted on the Personal Statement and CV. Candidates who pass the initial sift will then be progressed to a full sift that will consist of all the remaining elements submitted (Lead Behaviour). Candidates who fail to meet the minimum pass score for the initial sift will not have their remaining submitted elements scored and will only receive a sift score for that assessed at the initial sift.

3. Interview – week commencing 18th May 2026

If you are successful at sift stage, you will be invited to an interview that will be Behaviours (as listed in the job advert) and Strength based questions.

The interviews will take place via Microsoft Teams.

For guidance and information on what to expect and how to prepare for an interview, you are encouraged to visit Civil Service Careers.

Problems during the application process

If you experience problems accessing this advert, or you think you’ve made a mistake on an initial application, please contact hocandidates.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk, including the vacancy reference, at least two working days before the vacancy closes. Further information can be found on our website.

Do not create or attempt to submit another application, online test or use a different Civil Service Jobs account to proceed as this would be in violation of the candidate declaration.

Location Preferences

You can select up to twolocations in order of preference. Please ensure that these are locations you are prepared to travel to. If you are offered a role at one of your preferred locations and you decline, your application will be withdrawn.

Reserve List

A reserve list may be held for a period of up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made. There is no guarantee that being held on a reserve list will lead to a job offer. Further information can be found on our website.https://careers.homeoffice.gov.uk/reserve-lists

Reserve lists will be held for each location and profession. Candidates will be appointed in merit order by location and profession.

Standards

All Civil Servants are expected to comply with the Civil Service Code, and its core values of integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality.

Further Information

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct.

If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

Integrity Check

As well as successfully obtaining UK Security Vetting clearance, you will also be subject to an additional Integrity Check, as part of the pre-employment process, to determine your suitability to work for Border Force or Immigration Enforcement. For further information on what this involves, please visit our website.

Reasonable Adjustments

If a person with disabilities is at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

• Contact Government Recruitment Service via HOrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs

• Complete the “Assistance Required” section in the “Additional Requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you're deaf, a language service professional

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the ‘Contact point for applicants’ section.

Feedback

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

Open to UK nationals only.

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 : Home Office Resourcing Centre
• Email : HORCCampaignTeamIE@homeoffice.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : HOrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the Civil Service Recruitment Principles. and you wish to make a complaint, then contact the Government Recruitment Service via HOrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission.

Attachments

candidate_information_v16_January_2026 Opens in new window (pdf, 429kB)2025-11-17 Pre-employment Checking - Document Requirements (V17) Opens in new window (pdf, 231kB)