About the job

Job summary

Our reward package:

We’re looking for an exceptional Legal Business Practice Manager to help us make a difference to our planet.

As our Legal Business Practice Manager you will work a hybrid pattern and will be on site at Exeter HQ for 20% of your time each week. You can choose to work more frequently in our state-of-the-art office if you'd prefer.

Our opportunity is full time, 37 hours per week, but we would also consider applicants wishing to work a minimum of 32 hours per week.  Our people are at the heart of what we do and we'll do our best to agree a working pattern that works for everyone.

Why join us?

The Met Office is accredited as a 'Great Place to Work UK 2023' and in addition has achieved a place on both the UK's 'Best Workplaces in Tech' and 'Best Workplaces for Women' lists.

We invest in our people to unlock their full potential. As our Legal Business Practice Manager, we will support you to develop and thrive to be the best you can be.  We champion positive physical and mental health in the workplace and are committed to being an inclusive organisation, providing a working culture that actively values an equal and diverse workforce. 

As our Legal Business Practice Manager, your starting salary will be £49149.00. New joiners to the Met Office will start on the salary band minimum. Our 2022-25 pay award means the salary will increase to £52799.00 from 1st April 2024, and you will be able to progress towards £56738.00 over time.

Your total reward package is potentially worth up to £67622.00 annually, which includes basic salary, potential corporate bonus and employer pension contributions.

Job description

Who we are:

We provide critical weather services and world-leading climate science to deliver extraordinary impact and benefit across the globe. Our work helps people make better decisions to stay safe and thrive. 

Together: 

• We’re a force for good - focusing on our environmental and social impact 
• We’re experts by nature - always learning and developing to do things better 
• We live and breathe it - putting our purpose at the heart of decision-making 
• We’re better together - understanding partnerships and inclusivity make us greater 
• We keep evolving - pushing boundaries to make tomorrow better for our customers 

Find out more about our values - https://bit.ly/3fokaRD 

Job Purpose:

As our Legal Business Practice Manager, your key responsibilities are:

• To support the Head of Legal (HoL) in planning the functioning of the Legal Team to ensure that it delivers its objectives in an efficient and effective way. To provide feedback to the HoL and lead on the design of new ways of working and procedures that will improve the effectiveness of the Legal Team. To draft business reports or recommendations as required. To deputise for the HoL as required on leadership and management matters.
• To take a leading role in maintaining relationships with (and influence as necessary) senior stakeholders and internal customers so that that there is a good mutual understanding of requirements and business objectives; to provide internal customers with appropriate information and updates so that their expectations of the Legal Team are managed appropriately.
• To oversee the management of requests for support to the Legal Team, sifting new instructions to ensure efficient and effective allocation to caseworkers after assessing complexity, subject matter, and available resources, ensuring that standards of (internal) customer service are maintained and that effective and quality legal solutions are delivered to all areas of the Met Office.
• To lead the co-ordination of multi-faceted and complex business arrangements and major partnerships, acting as liaison between the Legal Team and other business areas to ensure that all elements of the arrangement are considered and reviewed as appropriate, and that proper due diligence is performed.
• To design, collate and report management information on legal workloads and outputs to ensure that the efficiency and effectiveness of the Legal Team is well understood and used to plan future activity. To be the primary point of contact for legal budget and expenses.
• To consider the guidance and communications required by key business stakeholders and to plan and provide training so that they understand key legal issues and the workings of the Legal Team and they are equipped to make the best use of Met Office legal expertise.
• Line management of paralegals/junior members in the Legal Team, ensuring they support their Legal Manager effectively and have suitable support and training to develop their own careers.

Person specification

Essential Qualifications, Skills & Abilities:

1. Strong strategic awareness coupled with practical business experience, so business prioritisation and legal outputs deliver effective solutions aligned with Met Office strategic and operational needs. (We’re experts by nature)
2. Demonstrable ability to manage and service customers/stakeholders effectively, with appropriate communication skills to explain matters and justify decisions. (We’re better together)
3. Ability to maintain effective relationships with senior stakeholders, with appropriate communication skills. (We’re better together)
4. Can stay calm and focused to manage competing priorities. (We live and breathe it)
5. Strong organisational skills, with an ability to plan, prioritise and take decisions in the best interests of the business. (We live and breathe it)
6. An ability to collate and report management information effectively. (We’re experts by nature)
7. Line management experience and the ability to foster talent. (We’re better together)

Desirable Qualifications, Skills & Abilities:

We encourage you to apply if you believe you meet our essential criteria, but we’re also keen to discover if you have:

1. Understanding of how professional services organisations work and/or experience of how the public sector operates.
2. An understanding of the types of issues encountered in commercial and contract negotiations and some experience of dealing with legal matters (legal qualifications are not a requirement).
3. Experience with using information management software and applications, including Office365 and how it can be used to improve efficiency or support with reporting information.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £49,149, Met Office contributes £13,319 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

How to apply:

If you share our values, we’d love to hear from you. Apply below using your CV and a Cover Letter/Supporting Statement which evidences how you meet each of the essential criteria - we recommend candidates use the CARL (Context, Action, Result and Learning) method for presenting evidence of skills. 

Closing date 25/02/2024 at 23:59 with interviews commencing from 11/03/2024. You will hear from us once the closing date has passed.

If successful, please note we are unable to offer expenses for travel to your normal place of work. This post is contractually aligned to Exeter HQ, please ask at interview if you would like extra clarity on how often this requirement is likely to be.

How we can help: 

If you are considering applying and need support to do so, please contact us via careers@metoffice.gov.uk . You can request adjustments either within your application or by contacting us. Should you be offered an interview, please be aware there may be a selection exercise which could include a presentation, written test or a scenario-based activity. You can select in your application to be considered under the Disability Confident Scheme. To be invited to interview/assessment under this scheme, your application must meet the essential criteria for the role.  

We understand that great minds don’t always think alike and as an equal opportunities employer we welcome applications from those with all protected characteristics. We recruit on merit, fairness, and open competition in line with the Civil Service Code. 

We can only accept applications from those eligible to live and work in the UK - please refer to GOV.UK for information. We require Security clearance, for which you need to have resided in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years to be eligible. You will need to achieve full security clearance within your first 6 months with us.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. 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

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.