About the job

Job summary

The Legal Services Department within Welsh Government is seeking a number of highly talented lawyers to strengthen its capacity at a critical time in UK and Welsh affairs.  If you are attracted by working at the forefront of the law, Welsh Government would welcome your interest. You could be a lawyer at the start of your career, an experienced lawyer seeking to apply your skills in a new and different context, or attracted by an environment which offers and embraces flexible working arrangements.

With more than 200 lawyers and support staff, organised across a wide variety of subject areas, the Legal Services Department is the largest public sector legal department in Wales. It is responsible for the delivery of all legal services to the Welsh Ministers. The Department’s lawyers are at the heart of devolved government, playing a central role in the development of Welsh primary and secondary legislation and Welsh provision in UK legislation and advising on complex matters of public law, projects of national significance and major constitutional developments.

Job description

You will be subject to appropriate supervision and monitoring dependent on grade by the Senior Lawyer or experienced lawyer within the team in carrying out some or all of the tasks below.

You will provide legal advice and legislative drafting services in a fast paced, public law environment in connection with matters that often have significant policy (and sometimes constitutional), importance. You will work in a team environment, alongside both experienced government lawyers and policy officials in supporting the delivery and implementation of the Welsh Ministers’ legislative priorities and their broader “Programme for Government”.

For further details of the Legal Services Department, please read the Candidate information pack:

https://www.gov.wales/sites/default/files/inline-documents/2023-10/public-lawyer-recruitment-candidate-information-pack-2023.pdf

What the organisation will expect:

• You will have the ability to work under pressure, be flexible, proactive and self-motivated. You will have the ambition to motivate a team to successfully deliver within a challenging, pressured and fast-paced environment.
• You will be able to take an innovative approach, looking for opportunities to do things differently and responsive enough to adapt and develop new options as things change. You will be adaptable, flexible, open to, and accepting of change affecting you and your area of work and deal with that change efficiently and professionally.
• As an effective Civil Servant, you will have an understanding of the political landscape and the role that Ministers play in setting the agenda for your business area; an understanding of how to get things done with regard to governance and financial management processes; an ability to manage risk, making informed decisions with little or no guidance; and be able to clearly communicate at all levels, including with senior stakeholders and Ministers.

What your team will expect:

• You will value diversity and inclusion, helping to create an environment where individuals feel safe to challenge, share ideas and express concerns.
• You will be a role model, who is able to motivate and inspire others, establish a vision and bring others on board.
• You will support the development of others, demonstrating an understanding of the importance of learning, planning for and providing opportunities and encouragement for individuals to develop, as well as investing time for your own development

What key stakeholders will expect:

• You will be able to use sound judgement, evidence and knowledge to provide credible advice and guidance to both internal and external stakeholders.
• You will understand the importance of building and maintaining constructive relationships, both within and outside Welsh Government. You will have strong influencing skills and the ability to build collaborative relationships that both challenge with support, and build trust and mutual respect across organisational boundaries.
• You will be able to use creative thoughts to develop recommendations, and take advantage of opportunities to work collaboratively across boundaries. 

Person specification

Professional Qualification:

Applicants must be qualified to practice as a Solicitor, Barrister or Chartered Legal Executive (meeting the professional entry criteria below, or historic equivalent) in England and Wales. Trainee solicitors, pupil barristers and those training to be Chartered Legal Executives may also apply but appointment will be conditional on qualification having been obtained prior to start date.

Professional entry for Chartered Legal Executives (i.e. Fellows): Chartered Legal Executives are eligible to apply where (i) a Qualifying Law Degree (QLD) is held; or (ii) the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL)/CPE has been completed; or (iii) where exams have been passed (i.e. a score of 50% or above achieved), at CILEx Level 6, in all of the following seven foundation subjects in law:

1. Contract Law
2. Criminal Law
3. Equity and Trusts Law
4. European Union Law
5. Land Law
6. Public Law
7. Law of Tort

Chartered Legal Executives should note that the Welsh Government will be willing to accept an, overall, average score of 65% or above across exams in the seven foundation subjects in law (where studied at CILEx Level 6).

The CILEx Level 6 Diploma in Law and Practice is set and assessed at level 6, honours degree level. For those already holding a qualifying law degree, CILEx also offers a new Graduate Fast-track diploma which can be used instead of the LPC or BPTC to complete your legal studies. Once you have completed the Level 6 Diploma in Law and Practice you will need to complete a period of qualifying employment and then you will be able to apply to become a Fellow of CILEx and use the designation CILEx.

As part of the pre-employment checks successful candidates will be required to provide evidence that they are qualified lawyers.

If you would like any additional information about these posts, you can either:

• Contact LegalRecruitment.WG.Legal@gov.wales to request a telephone conversation with a Deputy Director in Legal Services, who will be happy to discuss the posts; or
• Contact LegalRecruitment.WG.Legal@gov.walesmailto:LegalRecruiment.WG.Legal@gov.wales to request a link to our on-line information session which will be held on day 9th January 2024, 17:00-18:00; or attend one of our drop in sessions at either our Welsh Government London Office at, 25 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0EX on 12th December 2023, between 11:00 and 14:00 or our Cardiff Office at Government Buildings, Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NQ between 9:30 and 12:00 on 10th January 2024. For security purposes, please confirm attendance at the Open Day in advance by email to LegalRecruitment.WG.Legal@gov.wales 

If you have 3 or more years of post-qualification experience at offer:

A starting salary between £56,112 and £67,095 will be offered to the successful candidate based on their skills, knowledge, experience and performance at interview. Final offer is at the discretion of Welsh Government. This range is not negotiable.

• Legal Officer - starting at £34,083 (non-negotiable) if you have less than 3 years’ post-qualification experience at offer.  Eligibility to re-grade to the Lawyer grade and salary will be subject to further assessment.

'Pan Wales' means that the location in which the vacancy can be based is flexible, subject to the needs of the business. A list of the Welsh Government's offices can be found on our website (www.wales.gov.uk). Please note it may not always be possible to accommodate a preference for a specific office location, but requests will be taken into consideration.

Most of our staff are however currently working remotely due to the pandemic. Whilst the precise post pandemic working arrangements are still under consideration, it is likely that such arrangements will see the normalisation of blended or hybrid “place of work” arrangement for many staff in the future.

Candidates who meet the above criteria will be invited to attend an interview, which will take place remotely.  In advance of the interview, candidates will receive a scenario exercise.  Candidates will be asked to undertake a 5-minute presentation in response to the scenario at the start of the interview to test the technical skills described above. 

A statement of suitability of no longer than 1750 words. Anything over the wordcount will be discounted. This should explain how your professional qualifications, skills, qualities and experience match the seven technical skills and behaviours  criteria.

This advertisement contains the titles of the Behaviour criteria being assessed throughout. For further information on what is required at the application stage, you will need to press apply and view the full details on the application form. At interview, you may be tested on the overall Behaviours listed.

When presenting your evidence please keep in mind the expectations of the grade as set out below in the grade description as well as the main responsibilities that are essential for the role.

In the case of more than one candidate scoring the same, the panel has agreed the following criteria will determine merit order:

It will be the person who scores highest in the area testing experience –“Public Law experience or experience of developing expertise in an area of law.” Then the person scoring highest in Technical Skills 1 “A reliable legal judgement and appreciation of legal risk”, then the person scoring highest in technical skills 2 –“The ability to advise on legal issues in their wider context, thinking strategically and creatively”, then Behaviours 1,4,2,3.

For this recruitment process all those who meet the minimum criteria will be invited for an interview.

These opportunities will also be available on a secondment basis (for individuals employed in non-Civil Service organisations) and loans (for existing Civil Servants). Please refer to the guidance pack for more detail on the terms.

There are a mix of permanent and fixed term appointments. These will be offered in merit order, with available permanent positions being offered first followed by remaining fixed term appointments.

Benefits

All Welsh Government staff are members of the Civil Service, and as a result are eligible for:

• Civil Service Pension Scheme
• 31 days annual leave (pro-rated for part time)
• training and development opportunities
• Cycle2Work Scheme
• Smart Working flexible working arrangement
• Green Car Scheme (subject to availability)

If you are an active Civil Service Pension member you can continue your membership throughout your employment with us.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

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

Welsh Government, like all other Government Departments use Success Profiles when we recruit. For each role we consider what you will need to demonstrate to be successful. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job. It raises performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.

The selection process and stages are:

Number of Stages:	2 stage process
Stage 1	Application Form
Stage 2	Interview

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.