Legal Adviser

Welsh Parliament

Cardiff CF99 1NA, UK

Hybrid

Expires: Expiring in 1 month

Legal

Full time

£63,164 - £75,735 per year

Job summary

As part of a collaborative and highly skilled legal team, the successful candidate will provide timely legal advice to the Llywydd, the Chief Executive, Committees of the Senedd, individual Senedd Members and colleagues across the Senedd Commission. The role covers a wide range of complex and sensitive legal matters arising from the Senedd’s constitutional, legislative and corporate functions.

Working in a fast paced political and constitutional environment, the postholder will be expected to build strong working relationships, communicate complex legal issues clearly to non lawyers, and provide practical advice that supports Members and officials in carrying out their responsibilities effectively.

The Senedd (Senedd Cymru or Welsh Parliament) is the democratically elected body that represents the interests of Wales and its people. The Senedd makes laws for Wales on policy areas that are not reserved to the UK Parliament. It also sets Welsh taxes and holds the Welsh Government to account. The Senedd is constitutionally separate from the Welsh Government.

The Senedd Commission’s principal statutory function is to provide the Senedd with the property, staff and services required for its purposes. The Commission serves the Senedd to help facilitate its long-term success in delivering effectively for the people of Wales.

The Commission comprises the Llywydd (Presiding Officer) and four other Members appointed by the Senedd. The Commission is accountable to the Senedd for the exercise of its functions. This accountability is exercised in a variety of ways, including questions to the Commission for oral and written answer, the Finance Committee’s scrutiny of the Commission’s budget, and scrutiny of expenditure by the Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee.

Job description

Core Responsibilities:

With this appointment, the Legal Service will comprise seventeen legal advisers at various levels of seniority. The Service provides legal advice on a wide range of legal issues relating to the Senedd and its work as a Parliament. The Service does not, generally, advise on commercial matters, public procurement or employment law. Those areas of law are outsourced.

Examples of some of the work undertaken are set out below.

Legal Advice:

Advising the Commission, the Llywydd, Commission staff and Members of the Senedd on a range of issues which fall within the remit of the Senedd
Advising Committees in their role of scrutinising Welsh Government policy and legislation
Advising on the interpretation and application of the Government of Wales Act 2006 and other constitutional legislation

Legal Scrutiny of Legislation:

Advising on the legislative competence of the Senedd
Advising Committees about the legal effect of Senedd Bills
Advising on the scrutiny of subordinate legislation made by the Welsh Ministers
Advising on legislation made in consequence of international obligations
Advising on how Bills before the UK Parliament impact on devolved areas of law

Legislative Drafting Services

Drafting amendments to Bills
Working pro-actively with external Counsel to draft Member Bills Committee Bills and Bills promoted by the Senedd Commission

Person specification

Job Specific skills and Competencies:

This section states which skills and experience are deemed to be essential for this role.You should refer to these in your application form.
Eligibility

To apply for this position, you must confirm that you are a Solicitor, Barrister or Legal Executive, eligible to practise in Wales. We will also consider applications from candidates who are due to qualify no later than 31 October 2026.

Job Specific criteria:
Candidates must be solicitors, barristers or legal executives entitled to practise in Wales. We will consider applications from trainees who are due to qualify no later than 31 October 2026. In your application you are only required to state ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to whether you meet this requirement.

1. A demonstrable ability to use sound judgement and legal analytical ability to resolve complex legal problems.

2. Excellent communication skills, (verbal and written) with the ability to present with clarity and confidence to a range of audiences.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £63,164, Welsh Parliament contributes £18,298 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%

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

Details of the Selection Process:

Candidates are required to complete an application form through our recruitment portal addressing the job specific and desirable criteria.

In addition to your application you are also required to submit a statement of no more than 500 words setting out your understanding of the role of (i) the Welsh Government and (ii) Senedd Cymru (the Welsh Parliament).

Closing Date for applications:

23:59 30 April 2026.

Your application must be submitted before midnight on the closing date.

You will be updated on your progress via the email address you first register with. Please check your Junk Mail and Spam folders to make sure you don’t miss any future correspondence.

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

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist 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

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

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).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 : Recruitment Team
Email : jobs@senedd.wales
Telephone : 03002007588

Salary range

£63,164 - £75,735 per year