About the job

Job summary

UK Export Finance is looking to recruit for one role that will work together with the other Co-Head to lead the Legal Division. The role will have separate line management responsibility but expected to collaborate on matters of team management.

The purpose of these exciting and challenging role is to lead a small team of lawyers who provide professional legal support to ensure that the organisation is operating within the law at all times and managing its legal risks within its appetite.  The Legal Division undertake a key role in documenting and negotiating the transactions through which the Department supports its customers.  Reporting to the Director of Legal and Compliance, the Co-Heads of Legal are responsible for core legal matters and supporting the Department in managing legal risk.  The Co-Heads of Legal are also members of the Department’s Senior Leadership Team.

Job description

• Provide leadership to a team of 15 and directly line manage team leaders.
• Responsible for the effective management of the legal budget (£800,000) and ensuring that value is received for expenditure upon legal services.
• Directly, or through the team, provide legal advice in support of the case decision making process. This will include ensuring documentation standards are upheld and that the Department is acting within its statutory powers and complying with its international obligations.
• To personally provide legal support on large or sensitive cases as required.
• The Legal Division may also be required to procure legal advice on matters ancillary to the primary function of the creating the Department’s commercial contracts from the Government Legal Department.
• To constantly innovate and develop forward plans.
• To promote and foster a strong performance management culture with a clear focus on delivering results and demonstrating the correct behaviours in accordance with the Civil Service competency framework.
• To set and achieve objectives for Legal Division that align across the department and with the organisation’s overall strategic objectives.

This list not exhaustive, further details are provided in the candidate pack attached to this posting - candidates are advised to review this fully before making an application.

Person specification

Due to the nature of this post and how it fits within the Legal and Compliance Division any successful candidate must be qualified to practice as a solicitor or barrister in England and Wales, complying with professional CPD requirements.

We also require that knowledge of at least one of the following areas of law is demonstrated within the application:

1. asset finance or project finance;
2. trade and export finance;
3. insurance and reinsurance law.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £75,000, UK Export Finance contributes £22,500 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

We are assessing candidates using Success Profiles (see Appendix 1) and across the whole process we will assess your Experience and Behaviours as highlighted below.

You will be invited to complete the online application form.  The application form must be completed by 23.55 on the day of the closing date for it to be accepted.

All applications will be sifted against our minimum essential selection criteria outlined in the personal specification.

Applicants are asked to apply with a personal statement, you should fully articulate in 750 words how you meet the essential criteria outlined in the person specification within the Information Pack

 

For the initial sift your application will be evaluated against:

1. Experience

 

If you are successful following the sift stage, you will be invited to an initial interview; this will include the following assessment:

1. Behaviours/Technical/Experience - a formal panel interview where you will be interviewed across all five behaviours highlighted and your technical ability to successfully carry out the role.
   • Seeing the Big Picture
   • Making Effective Decisions
   • Managing a Quality Service
   • Leadership
   • Communicating & Influencing
2. Technical - a short presentation (this will be on a topic determined by UKEF and will need to be prepared in advance of interview).

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 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.