Principal Assistant Counsel (Commercial)

Job summary

The House of Commons Administration supports parliamentary democracy by delivering excellent services to the UK Parliament. At the heart of this work is the Office of Speaker’s Counsel which provides legal advice to Mr Speaker, the Clerk of the House and teams across the House. The Office comprises of both solicitors and barristers and delivers work across three key areas: general legal advice, scrutiny of domestic legislation, and support for House of Commons Committees.

Job description

We are seeking an experienced lawyer to join our General Advice Team, where you will play a key role in advising the Parliamentary Commercial Department (PCD) and supporting departments across the House on a broad range of commercial and procurement matters. The role will be responsible for the provision of advice on procurement and commercial contract matters, and will also have a role in supervising and mentoring more junior lawyers in the team.

This role is offered on a hybrid working basis, with an expectation of you spending 40% of your time in the office.

Find out more about working at the House of Commons.

Person specification

• Qualified to practise as a solicitor or barrister in England and Wales.

• Substantial post-qualification experience of legal practice, which must include experience of advising on commercial contracts and all aspects of the application of the public procurement legislation

• Strong powers of research and analysis, including the demonstrable ability to assimilate a wide range of information as well as excellent communications skills with the ability to provide clear and concise legal advice on complex issues

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £73,806, House of Commons contributes £21,381 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

In addition to your salary, we offer an attractive range of benefits including but not limited to:

• Generous annual leave starting at 30 days and increasing to 35 after one full working year.

• Enrolment in the excellent Civil Service pension scheme with an average employer contribution of 28.97%

• Flexible working options that help you find a balance including enhanced maternity, paternity, shared parental and adoption leave, caring leave and alternative working patterns.

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

CV and Criterion Responses - If you would like to apply for this role, please submit your CV and provide evidence against criteria 1-6 in the Job Description.

More information on the application process can be found here: Application process - UK Parliament

Additional Information

Please ensure that you anonymise your application by removing any identifiable factors from your CV or Supporting Statement.

Please note that most job offers will be made at the minimum of the salary range, other than in exceptional circumstances.

We may close the vacancy prior to the closing date stated due to a high volume of applications.

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

Open to UK nationals only.

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.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 : Recruitment@parliament.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : Recruitment@parliament.uk