Senior Lawyer (Advisory) £69,822 -£76,974 plus £8,000 allowance (based on meeting qualification to practice requirements)

Job summary

About this role:

The TRA carries out investigations into unfair trading practices and recommends measures to the Secretary of State. This work is novel within the UK and the Legal team at the TRA is at the forefront in developing this new field of law based on complex legislation and underpinned by World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.

Informal Chat:

Jamie Munk, a Senior Lawyer in the legal team, is offering the opportunity for an informal chat up until 30th January 2026. Please email jamie.munk@traderemedies.gov.uk to arrange one.

Job description

Key Accountabilities:

As a Senior Lawyer at the TRA you will be responsible for providing legal advice and support to the case teams carrying out trade remedies investigations and reviews, to help ensure that our decisions and processes are legally robust. You may also provide legal advice to inform the development of the TRA’s operational policies and procedures.

You will be part of the senior leadership of the TRA and you will be motivated to play your part in leading the Legal team and the wider organisation.

You may have line management responsibility for junior lawyers, and coach and support their development.

You will provide authoritative specialist advice to senior decision makers.

You will be proactive in developing your legal skills and expertise in trade remedies and WTO law.

We are recruiting for two posts, but may appoint additional successful candidates from this campaign.

Person specification

Personal attributes and skills:

You will have excellent judgement and strong analytical skills, and significant experience of conducting high-quality legal research and producing robust legal analysis and advice often at pace.

You will be highly proficient in interpreting and applying statute, case law, and public law, and demonstrate a sound awareness of legal risk in your decision-making.

You will demonstrate a solutions-focused approach to legal problem-solving, considering broader contextual and policy factors to inform your advice.

You will be keen and motivated to learn about this new area of law in the UK and the underlying WTO law on which it is based. Your role will also require you to understand how international law, in particular WTO law, interacts with UK trade remedies legislation and public law.

You will convey thoughts and ideas well, both verbally and in writing – simplifying complexities and adapting communications so others can understand.

Essential skills and experience:

Technical Qualification

Fully qualified solicitor, barrister or Chartered Legal Executive entitled to practice in England and Wales (evidence of entitlement to practice must be given in the application).

If you are a barrister, you must have successfully completed your 1 year pupillage or have been exempted from this by the Bar Council.

If you are a solicitor, you must have completed your training/QWE or have been exempted from this by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

If you are a Fellow of CILEx you will be eligible to apply if you either:

• hold a qualifying law degree or
• have completed the Graduate Diploma in Law or Common Professional Examination or
• have passed exams (i.e. achieved 50% or above) in all seven of the foundation subjects in law taken at CILEx Level 6

The seven foundational topics of legal knowledge are:

1. Criminal Law
2. Equity and Trusts
3. Law of the European Union
4. Obligations 1 (Contract)
5. Obligations 2 (Tort)
6. Property/Land Law
7. Public Law (Constitutional Law, Administrative Law and Human Rights Law)

Degree-educated (2.1 or above) or provide evidence of an equivalent high-level academic or professionalachievement. Chartered legal executives must have an overall average score of 65% across exams passed in the seven foundation subjects in law (where studied at CILEx Level 6) to demonstrate the 2.1 degree equivalence (where a 2.1 degree is not held).

Technical requirements – Legal professional skills

• Considerable expertise in interpreting and applying statute, case law and public law, and significant experience in providing accurate, high quality, timely and solutions focused legal advice, often at pace.
• Significant experience in identifying legal risks and providing clear assessments of those risks, and exercising sound legal judgment taking into account the policy and operational contexts.
• Proven ability to communicate complex legal advice clearly and persuasively, tailoring the approach to suit different audiences.
• Knowledge and experience advising on trade remedies, WTO law, or a proven ability to quickly get up to speed in a new area of law.

Qualifications

Fully qualified solicitor, barrister or Chartered Legal Executive entitled to practice in England and Wales (evidence of entitlement to practice must be given in the application).Please refer to the Technical Qualification section in this advert.

Behaviours

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

• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Leadership
• Delivering at Pace

Technical skills

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

• Written assessment to be completed on the assessment day under timed conditions, to test the technical requirements – Legal professional skills.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £69,822, Trade Remedies Authority contributes £20,227 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Please refer to the candidate pack attached for further information.

Useful Information for Existing Civil Servants:

Existing Civil Servants should note that working for the TRA, you will be employed as a public servant. This means:

This vacancy is for a position in the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA). TRA employees are not Civil Servants. Individuals applying for this role from the Civil Service are advised to review terms prior to accepting the offer. Key terms are outlined in the benefits section of this advert (these are not exhaustive). Individuals can also discuss with hiring managers and the TRA People Team on resourcing.enquiries@traderemedies.gov.uk.

Your continuity of service for employment protection will start on the day you join us. We are not an employer of the Crown and therefore cannot recognise previous employment with the Civil Service for the purpose of qualifying for Employment Rights. An employee must have 2 years’ length of service with TRA before Employment Rights are recognised.

If you are a member of the Civil Service Pension scheme, your membership and reckonable service will continue with us, providing there is no break between your Civil Service employment and your employment as a public servant with TRA.

We will recognise the annual leave you have built up, up to a maximum of 30 days, and the sick pay entitlement taking account of your length of service in the Civil Service.

If you choose to re-join the Civil Service at any point in the future, this will be according to the policies of the department you are joining following your resignation from TRA. You may also wish to be aware that under Exception 5 of the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles, the re-employment of a former Civil Servant is possible within a maximum of five years of leaving the Civil Service, subject to qualifying criteria being met and depending on the policies of the department you are joining.

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, Experience and Technical skills.

Apply:

To apply, please submit a CV and personal statement of no more than 1000 words. Your CV should set out your education, professional qualifications and employment history to demonstrate how you meet the technical requirements for the role. Your personal statement should provide evidence to demonstrate how your experience, skills and attributes make you suitable for this role

Sift:

The Panel will consider your application against the essential skills and experience and personal attributes and skills required for the role and successful candidates will be invited to an interview. If more than 20 applications are received, an initial sift will be carried out on the basis of CVs.

Interview:

The interview assessment will consist of a written assessment to be completed on the assessment day under timed conditions, to test the technical requirements – Legal professional skills, followed by a behaviour based interview. The behaviours you will be assessed against are Making effective decisions, Communicating and Influencing, Leadership and Delivering at Pace.

We will share the Civil Service behaviour questions prior to the interview to allow candidates to prepare. The interviews will take place virtually via MS Teams. More details will be shared with successful candidates prior to the interview.

Timeline

Application Closes: 1st Feb 2026.

Shortlist: From 2nd Feb 2026.

Interviews: W/C 16th Feb 2026.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

Further Information

We are Inclusive

We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We are keen to make our workforce as diverse as possible and recognise how important inclusivity is to achieve the best outcomes. We hope to attract applications from all underrepresented groups.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable adjustments if required to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform crucial job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request adjustments.

Near Miss

Candidates who are judged to be a near miss at interview may be offered a post at the grade below the one advertised.

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Any move to TRA from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put 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 TRArecruitment.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.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

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.

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

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 : Jamie Munk
• Email : jamie.munk@traderemedies.gov.uk

Recruitment team

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

Further information

The law requires that selection for appointment is on merit based on fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles, which can be found at: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/20…. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, please contact: resourcing.enquiries@traderemedies.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission (at: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/recruitment/civilserv…).

Attachments

Candidate Pack - Interim Opens in new window (pdf, 368kB)