About the job

Job summary

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 edgelegal 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 the DWP Legal Advisors

The Data, Inquiries, Fraud and Maternity Team (“DIFM”) is one of five legal teams making up DWP Legal Advisers.

DWP Legal Advisers provide legal support to Ministers and officials in the Department for Work and Pensions. We provide advice on policy development, new primary legislation, drafting statutory instruments (working with colleagues in GLD’s SI Hub), as well as advising on 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 DIFM Team advises on:

• all data matters including data sharing between DWP and other bodies
• criminal law issues relating to fraud in policy work such as fraud prevention and detection measures
• legal issues relating to maternity pay which includes Statutory Maternity Pay and Maternity Allowance
• Public Inquiries such as the Post Office Horizon and COVID-19 Inquiries

DIFM is a cross-cutting team and often works with other legal teams on issues such as data sharing.

The team advises on cutting edge legal issues, including the use of artificial intelligence and automation.

All lawyers are also expected to make a corporate contribution to the Division.

The Role

The successful candidate will already have experience of working in fraud or wider criminal law practice.  They will use this expertise as part of a team of qualified lawyers advising on policy and operational aspects of counter-fraud work, advising on all aspects of criminal law and related matters. 

You will work together with the Crown Prosecution Service and the Procurator Fiscal who prosecute fraud cases, as well as the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office and Counter Fraud and Compliance Directorate. The role is cross-cutting and hugely varied – you will need to work with other legal teams in the division, as fraud affects all benefits.

The role requires the ability to work independently, engaging directly with senior policy and operational colleagues, investigators, and if required, Ministers, in this fast-paced environment.

Fraud can be high profile and attract media attention.  The nature of fraud against the taxpayer is changing, becoming increasingly cyber-focused and organised.  The job holder must therefore be willing to develop further specialism in not just fraud but cyber-crime and resilience measures and must be interested in developing their skills in related areas of law such as data law.  As the team’s work is carried out within a government context, applicants must be willing also to develop public and administrative law skills alongside their pre-existing criminal law specialism. 

This critical role involves advising on fraud policy (including support on legislation) and dealing with the impact of COVID-19 on fraud, including support on Civil Recovery and digital design and digital resilience (for the avoidance of doubt, technical digital skills are not required to perform the role).

The team’s work covers a wide range of activities, including:

• Advising on counter-fraud policy formation (including support on legislation) and operations design.
• Advising on counter-fraud measures including digital design, cyber-crime and resilience, identifying threats and trends.
• Investigatory measures (including covert surveillance and IPA activities).
• Case preparation.
• Support for criminal prosecutions carried out on our behalf by the CPS.
• POCA and post-conviction measures. 

As the team’s work is carried out within a government context, public and administrative law is integral to everything we do.  You must be willing also to develop public and administrative law skills (for which training will be provided) alongside criminal law specialism.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Minimum 3 years’ PQE with some experience of working in criminal law.
• Specialist criminal law experience.
• Strong client care skills.
• Ability to manage own practice and workload
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment handling urgent matters and emergencies to hard deadlines.
• Interest in/willingness to develop skills in public law in the government context.

Desirable:

• Experience in or exposure to public and administrative law.

Technical Legal Skills

• Specialist knowledge of criminal law.
• Reliable legal judgement and appreciation of legal risk.
• The ability to think strategically and creatively, see legal issues in their wider context and advise accordingly. The ability to conduct sound analysis and use secure legal research to produce timely and fit for purpose advice.
• The ability to communicate advice effectively both in writing and orally. 
• Demonstrate an understanding of the role of lawyers in government.

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 behaviours during the selection process:

Working Together

• Actively build and maintain a network of colleagues and contacts to achieve progress on shared objectives.
• Challenge assumptions while being willing to compromise if beneficial to progress.
• Build strong interpersonal relationships and show genuine care to colleagues.
• Ensure consideration and support for the wellbeing of yourself and individuals throughout the team, creating an inclusive working environment where all opinions and challenges are taken into account and bullying, harassment and discrimination are unacceptable
• Remain available and approachable to colleagues and be receptive to new ideas.

Communicating and Influencing

• Communicate with others in a clear, honest and enthusiastic way in order to build trust.
• Explain complex issues in a way that is easy to understand.
• Take into account people’s individual needs.
• Deliver difficult messages with clarity and sensitivity, being persuasive when required.
• Monitor the effectiveness of own and team communications and take action to improve where necessary.

Making Effective Decisions

• Clarify your own understanding and stakeholder needs and expectations, before making your decisions.
• Encourage both innovative suggestions and challenge from others, to inform decision making.
• Analyse and accurately interpret data from various sources to support decisions.
• Find the best option by identifying positives, negatives, risks and implications.
• Present reasonable conclusions from a wide range of complex and sometimes incomplete evidence.
• Make decisions confidently even when details are unclear or if they prove to be unpopular.

Managing a Quality Service

• Demonstrate positive customer service by understanding the complexity and diversity of customer needs and expectations.
• Deliver a high quality, efficient and cost-effective service.
• Make clear, practical, and manageable plans for service delivery.
• Proactively manage risks and identify solutions.
• Create regular opportunities for colleagues, stakeholders, delivery partners and customers to help improve the quality of service.

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

Civil Service Code

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of you and other civil servants. These are based on the core values which are set out in legislation. As a civil servant, you are expected to carry out your role with dedication and a commitment to the Civil Service and its core values of:

• ‘integrity’ is putting the obligations of public service above your own personal interests
• ‘honesty’ is being truthful and open
• 'objectivity’ is basing your advice and decisions on rigorous analysis of the evidence
• ‘impartiality’ is acting solely according to the merits of the case and serving equally well governments of different political persuasions

These core values support good government and ensures the achievement of the highest possible standards in all that the Civil Service does.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £59,200, Government Legal Department contributes £14,283 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

Application

Your application will be assessed to select those demonstrating the best fit with the role by considering the evidence you have provided in your CV and personal statement (1250 words) against the criteria set out in the “person specification” section.  Failure to address any or all of these may affect your application.  You will be assessed on the following criteria:

• Technical Legal Skills – Lead Criteria
• Behaviour: Working Together
• Behaviour: Communicating and Influencing
• Behaviour: Making Effective Decisions
• Behaviour: Managing a Quality Service

In case of a high number of applicants, the panel reserve the right to sift on the Technical Legal Skills as a lead criteria where it will be otherwise a  full sift.

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 experience and criteria outlined in the person specification. 

Interview

Should you be successful in being invited to interview, you will be asked to complete an online written exercise one week prior to your interview with instructions given closer to the time. You will be assessed on your performance in all essential criteria as listed in the Person Specification, alongside exercises, scenario based exercises and strength-based questions. Candidates invited to interview will be given further information.

At interview we will assess on:

• Technical Legal Skills – Lead Criteria
• Behaviour: Communicating and Influencing
• Behaviour: Making Effective Decisions

There will also be an oral brief which will be follow-up questions on your written exercise which will be completed prior to the interview.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview.

Interviews will probably take place remotely via 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. In the case of a tiebreak, the score of the lead criteria Technical Legal Skills will be considered into the final decision.

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.