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 the DLUHC Legal Advisers and the Housing and Land legal team

The Division

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) is responsible for the levelling up agenda, elections and the Union, planning policy, housing policy, building safety, community integration and regeneration and local government. The Department has an ambitious agenda to deliver on the Government’s levelling up aspirations, drive up housing supply, increase home ownership, devolve powers and budgets to boost local growth and to support strong public services.

Our lawyers support delivery across all DLUHC’s policy areas through 7 Deputy Director-led legal teams and supported by a small Business Management team. The Division is co-located with DLUHC in London with a small team in the Planning Inspectorate in Bristol, and a number of lawyers in Leeds and Manchester offices. The Division is a very friendly place to be, and we all strive to support each other and live the GLD values.

The Team

The Housing and Land team is made up of 19 Grade 6 and 7 lawyers and led by two Deputy Directors. We advise on a wide range of housing and property law matters, including social housing, homelessness and rough sleeping, the private rented sector, leasehold and freehold tenures and the housing market. Our current work has a significant focus on delivering two ambitious and high-profile Bills currently in Parliament: the Renters (Reform) Bill and the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill, as well as implementing the recent Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023. As well as Bill work, and implementing our Bills after Royal Assent, the team are involved in the full range of advisory work and statutory instrument drafting,  We are a supportive and welcoming team, and we value both government and private practice legal experience.

The Role

The role involves supporting the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in exercising its functions with a particular focus on law and policy relating to residential property, in particular reforms to the leasehold tenure, as well as housing more generally. The role provides an unrivalled opportunity to help shape and deliver legal and policy change in this subject area, working in the heart of Government.  

The work includes:

• Advising whether a policy can be implemented under existing legislation and, if so, how.
• Ensuring that all the legal implications of a policy have been thought through, and that any legislation which is produced will withstand the scrutiny of both the courts and Parliament.
• If new primary legislation is required, helping to prepare the Bill and taking it through Parliament.
• Drafting secondary legislation.
• Working closely with officials, Ministers and Parliamentary Counsel.
• Briefing ministers and supporting them in Parliamentary debates.
• Advising on litigation involving the Government, working closely with GLD Litigation teams and external Counsel as required.
• Responding in a creative manner to real world events.
• Supporting the Government in being accountable for its role.
• Casework, for example advising on leasehold or tenancy related matters.
• Producing timely and fit for purpose, risk-based advice.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

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

Behaviours

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

Communicating and Influencing

• Communicate with others in a clear, honest and enthusiastic way in order to build trust.
• Deliver difficult messages with clarity and sensitivity, being persuasive when required.
• Explain complex issues in a way that is easy to understand.

Managing a Quality Service

• Demonstrate understanding of the complexity and diversity of client needs and expectations.
• Deliver a high quality, efficient and cost-effective service.
• Proactively manage risks and identify solutions.

Working Together

• Build strong interpersonal relationships and show genuine care for colleagues.
• Challenge assumptions while being willing to compromise if beneficial to progress.
• Create an inclusive working environment where all opinions and challenges are taken into account and bullying, harassment and discrimination are unacceptable.

Technical Legal Skills (Lead Criteria)

• Sound knowledge of a range of property law matters and subjects
• Sound understanding of the role of lawyers in Government
• Reliable legal judgment and appreciation of legal risk.
• Sound analysis, using sound legal research to produce timely and fit for purpose advice.

Experience (Lead Criteria)

• Experience of advising on a range of property law matters

Desirable Criteria

Technical Legal Skills

• Sound knowledge of residential leasehold law
• Sound knowledge of public law

Experience

• Experience of advising on residential leasehold law
• Experience of advising on public law

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £59,200, Government Legal Department contributes £15,984 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.

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 29th May 2024:

1.An online CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years, as part of the online application form. This will be used to assess Experience as set out in the Person Specification. CV will be scored.

2.A Statement of Suitability (no longer than 1250 words) outlining why you want the role and how you have demonstrated the essential Technical Legal skills and Behaviours of Communicating and Influencing, Managing a Quality Service, and Working Together listed in the person specification.

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, Technical Legal Skills and Experience.

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 Flamur Kelmendi via Flamur.Kelmendi@levellingup.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.

• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service
• Working Together

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 will form the basis of further questions in the interview.  Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview.

As part of the interview candidates will be required to deliver a short 5-minute presentation, and the title of that presentation will be confirmed at the time of notification of being shortlisted to interview and it will be assessed against the Technical Legal Skills and Communicating and Influencing criteria set out in the person specification. 

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.