About the job

Job summary

About the Government Legal Department

From energy to security, health to human rights, we help the Government deliver life changing law for citizens.

The Government Legal Department is the largest provider of legal services across government, working on high profile matters that are frequently scrutinised in Parliament and the media. Our work includes:

• Developing and drafting legislation
• Providing legal advice on policies
• Securing our economic and trade relationships
• Ensuring value from commercial contracts worth billions of pounds
• Providing the Civil Service’s employment law advice

We are at the heart of delivering the Government’s priorities and our success depends on our people.

GLD is a non-ministerial government department, sponsored by the Attorney General. We are headed by the Treasury Solicitor, our Permanent Secretary and employ nearly 3000 people, including over 2000 legal professionals. Our offices include London, Leeds, Bristol, Croydon and Manchester as well as overseas. We provide specialist legal services including Litigation, Employment and Commercial Law as well as advising most Government Departments on the policies and services they deliver.

GLD also depends on a range of vital corporate services. These are essential to the smooth and efficient running of the Department and provide the foundation to enable GLD to deliver outstanding legal services. Our corporate functions include Strategy, HR, Finance, Digital, Data and Technology, Communications, Security, Commercial and Project delivery. 

Our vision is to be an outstanding legal organisation and a brilliant place to work where everyone can thrive and fulfil their potential. This is an exciting time for GLD, with cutting edge legal work on global issues and a transformation agenda which is ensuring the Department exemplifies the Modern Civil Service.  

To find out more about what we do visit the Government Legal Department’s webpage or have a look at this short film which showcases the breadth of work government lawyers and legal trainees are involved in.

Job description

About Treasury Legal Advisers

Treasury Legal Advisers (TLA) is the in-house legal department of HM Treasury (HMT). HMT is the UK’s finance and economics ministry.

TLA is a division of GLD but works collaboratively with colleagues across HM Treasury to provide legal advice to ministers and officials

across all of HMT’s functions.

• Key legal areas on which TLA advises include:
• the regulation of financial services
• financial stability
• public spending
• public sector pensions.
• market interventions and state-owned assets
• trade negotiations
• sanctions, money laundering and illicit finance

TLA consist of about 100 lawyers and other professionals, operating through six legal teams each led by a Deputy Director. We work in a friendly, open, and collaborative culture: most of our work is handled by small groups of lawyers rather than by a single lawyer and so we place a high value on teamwork. We often work collaboratively with lawyers from other government departments and with the legal teams from the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority. Some of our work involves instructing and working with external law firms and Counsel. The division is currently based in HMT’s headquarters building at One Horse Guards Road, London and in GLD’s regional offices in Bristol, Leeds and Manchester.

About Department of Health and Social Care Legal Advisers

DHSCLA (Department of Health and Social Care Legal Advisers) provides core legal advice on DHSC’s policy and operations across all areas of health and social care. We also advise the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency and UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

There are approximately 110 people in DHCSLA, located across four of GLD’s offices (Leeds, Manchester, London and Croydon). We have seven legal teams and a business management team.

We advise across the full range of DHSC business, including:

• the organisation and regulation of the healthcare professions
• healthcare workforce pensions
• the regulation and supply of medicines in the context of the UK’s changed trade relationships
• the organisation of the National Health Service
• adult social care
• the reduction of health disparities
• the improvement of public health

Above all, we are a friendly, supportive place to work with a focus on wellbeing and work-life balance.

About Ministry of Defence Legal Advisers

The Ministry of Defence Legal Advisers team is one of the GLD client-facing advisory teams and supports the delivery of all aspects of the work of the Ministry of Defence. 

There are 4 deputy directors plus one MOD SCS, each heading a team.

The work of the division includes:

• high profile policy advice
• operational law
• diverse litigation (from medals to disputes with Iran over tanks bought in 1976)
• the service justice system
• Afghan, Iraq and Northern Ireland legacy issues

About Department for Work and Pensions Legal Advisers

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is responsible for welfare, pensions and child maintenance policy. As the UK’s biggest public service department it administers the State Pension and a range of working age, disability and ill health benefits. DWP Legal Advisers is largely co-located with and provides legal support to Ministers and officials in DWP. It is currently made up of five legal teams and a dedicated business management team.  We provide advice on:

• policy development and new primary legislation
• drafting statutory instruments (including working with colleagues in GLD’s SI Hub)
• inquiries and supporting our litigation colleagues in relation to significant claims.

Our work frequently engages with issues related to public law equalities and discrimination, data protection and freedom of information, human rights and international obligations.

The Role

TLA: HMT is responsible for developing public sector pension and pay policy across central and local government. The role in the pensions and pay mini team within the Public Finance and General Law team is varied and provides a unique opportunity to work closely with legal and policy colleagues across the whole of Whitehall and devolved nations. It involves working closely with HM Treasury policy colleagues on high profile issues; working closely with GLD litigation (employment and public), departmental advisory and SI hub lawyers; drafting secondary and tertiary legislation, and working closely with OPC drafting primary legislation. The role also involves working closely with Cabinet Office in its capacity as scheme manager for the civil service pension scheme and other arrangements such as Royal Mail Pension Scheme; drafting scheme rules; supporting CO and GLD litigation colleagues handling challenges in employment tribunals, civil courts as well as supporting CO in Pensions Ombudsman challenges; advising on regulatory matters, and advising CO on policy development on pay and compensation scheme matters.

The role is a leadership role and line management, direct or matrix management will be included with the role. The team is friendly, supportive and the role provides an excellent opportunity to develop pensions and public law knowledge, drafting skills as well as gaining litigation and pensions regulatory experience.  

DWP: The role in the pensions team will be advising the Government on policy development in the occupational pensions space with the potential option of also advising on state pensions policy.  Our work is frequently in the news and at the heart of significant social change.

Examples of pensions reform that we have led include the introduction of pensions flexibilities, automatic enrolment and collective defined contribution schemes. We also work closely with other government departments as well as professional regulators such as the Pensions Regulator and the Pension Protection Fund.

The pensions team does a significant amount of SI drafting and there will be plenty of opportunity to develop and practise that skill as well as opportunity to work on government Bills. 

DHSC: For DHSC, the role will be advising the Department on all aspects of pensions of the healthcare sector workforce, including doctors, nurses and other professionals. The work includes providing advice to DHSC, drafting secondary legislation and, where appropriate, working on primary legislation (as was the case in the recent implementation of the McCloud judgment). You will be a member of the Division’s Pensions & Professional Regulation team and you will work closely with your colleagues in the team and in the wider division, with pensions lawyers across Government, particularly HMT, and with our policy colleagues in DHSC.

MOD: The Command, Discipline and Constitutional law team is recruiting for a pensions lawyer to lead on advising on the eight armed forces pension schemes. The work is varied and interesting, and will include case work, policy advice and drafting amendments where required. Pensions are a particularly important and high profile benefit for service personnel, and the role is likely to include meetings with Ministers and senior officials on a regular basis as well as being part of a cross-Whitehall network of pensions specialists. The role will also include advising in relation to the armed force compensation schemes, and there is the opportunity to get involved in non-pension related work as resourcing permits, including working on Bills. There is highly likely to be line management of at least one other lawyer.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

Behaviours

Below are details of the Success Profiles that make up this role.

You will be expected to provide evidence to show how you meet the criteria at interview and/or selection stage.

We’ll assess you against these Success Profile Behaviours during the selection process:

vManaging a Quality Service

vCommunicating and Influencing

vWorking Together

vMaking Effective Decisions

Experience

vExperience of Pensions Law

Technical

vSound understanding of pensions law.

vWillingness to quickly learn new areas of law.

vReliable legal judgement and appreciation of legal risk.

vThe ability to think strategically and creatively, see legal issues in their wider context and advise accordingly.

vSound analysis, using secure legal research to produce timely and fit for purpose advice.

Desirable Criteria  

vSome knowledge of public law is desirable

For further information about Civil Service recruitment processes and Success profiles, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £68,000, Government Legal Department contributes £18,360 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, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.

Selection Process

Application

To apply for this post, you will need to complete the online application process accessed via the advertisement listed for this role. This should be completed no later than 12pm on 16th April 2024:

To apply for this position, candidates are asked to submit a statement for each of the following criteria (see skills and qualities above for the detail of each criteria). Each behavior should not exceed 250 words:

vManaging a Quality Service

vCommunicating and Influencing (Lead Behaviour)

vWorking Together

vMaking Effective decisions

vExperience

Selection Process

After the closing date, the appointing panel shall assess candidates’ suitability for the role based on evidence provided in their application against the behaviours and experience outlined in the person specification. If there are a large number of applications, the sift will be undertaken on the lead criteria, Communicating and Influencing

Informal Conversations

Shortlisted candidates are encouraged to speak to the vacancy holders prior to the final interview to learn more about the role and the  organisation. This is an optional part of the process, not part of the formal assessment process. If you would like to arrange a conversation, please email maise.amusategui@hmtreasury.gov.uk who will arrange it with one of the vacancy holders.

Job Share

If you have identified a job-share partner in advance of submitting an application, it is essential you both apply with individual applications. Prior to interview all candidates that have been sifted in will be asked to state their preferred working pattern of full time, part-time (confirming that they meet the minimum hours required for the role) or job sharing. If job share, they should state if they already have a job share partner, naming the person, and may choose to provide a statement describing how they will work together. If candidates do not have a job share partner and are successful at interview, attempts will be made to match them with one.

Interview

Should you be successful in being invited to interview, you will be assessed on your performance in all essential criteria as listed in the Person Specification, alongside scenario based exercises and strength-based questions.

vManaging a Quality Service

vWorking Together

vMaking Effective decisions

vExperience

Alongside your invitation to interview, you will be asked to complete a written exercise under timed conditions in advance of attending your interview. The written exercise will assess the ‘Communicating and Influencing’ behavior and the listed Technical skills and will form the basis of further questions in the interview. Candidates will be asked to present on the legal scenario that they will have submitted. Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview.

Interviews will take place remotely via MS Teams video conference, full details of the interview format will be provided to shortlisted candidates prior to interview. The timeline later in this pack indicates the date by which decisions are expected to be made, and all shortlisted candidates will be advised of the outcome as soon as possible thereafter. 

Offer

Regardless of the outcome, we will notify all candidates as soon as possible after the final interview.

We appoint in strict order of merit. If you meet the minimum criteria for this position but are not successful for a post, you will be placed on the reserve list for up to 12 months.  We then may contact you to see if you are interested in a post at the same, or a lower grade, in GLD should one arise.

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. 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.