About the job

Job summary

Why join the Government Legal Department?

Thank you for your interest in this hugely important role at the heart of Government. As you read this candidate brief, I very much hope you
will get a sense of some of the things that excite me about working in the Government Legal Department (GLD).
 
Fascinating Work

We are the government’s principal legal advisers. Our core purpose is to help the government to govern well, within the rule of law. We do this by providing legal advice on a huge range of issues, spanning every area of legal specialism. People in GLD enjoy a terrific variety of work and the intellectual stimulation of working at the cutting edge by not only interpreting the law, but also making it.

Meaningful Impact

Everything GLD does has impact on a national scale – and not infrequently on an international scale. People working in GLD have the genuine satisfaction of knowing we are making a positive difference to the lives of the citizens of the UK and beyond. 

Engaging with colleagues across a wide range of government departments, agencies and public 
bodies, we have clear visibility of how our work fits in to the broader programme of government.  This is an exciting opportunity to lead a team advising on some of the most interesting legal work in Government on improving and protecting the environment, growing a green economy and supporting our food, farming and fishing industries.

A Brilliant Place to Work

We employ nearly 3,000 people, including over 2,000 legal professionals and have offices across the UK. People working in GLD enjoy belonging to a thriving professional community with a strong sense of team. GLD is committed to being a place where everyone can thrive and fulfil their potential and to supporting and empowering our people to prioritise their health and wellbeing. We welcome applications from people representing as broad a range of views and backgrounds as we have in UK society. Diverse perspectives and experiences are critical to an effective, modern Civil Service that delivers policies and services for all our citizens.

An Exceptional Career Development Opportunity

I hope you will be excited by the opportunity which this post presents. It is an opportunity for the right person to take up a role at the heart of government, interacting with ministers, permanent secretaries and other senior civil servants. 

This is a critical role with stretching responsibilities which demand an exceptional person with a rare combination of strengths and knowledge. If you think you might fit the bill, we would very much like to hear from you. 

About the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs Legal Advisors 

Defra Legal Advisors (DLA) is the in-house legal team of DEFRA. We provide legal advice to the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). DEFRA is responsible for safeguarding our natural environment, supporting our world-leading food and farming industry and sustaining a thriving rural economy. The wide remit means the legal division is involved in a diverse range of activity: 

• Providing legal advice to Ministers and officials across the full range of DEFRA business including the natural environment, animal welfare, food and farming, fisheries and marine, water and air quality, waste, and trade, international and the Retained EU law Act.
• Advising DEFRA on its measures in HMG bills by instructing parliamentary counsel and advising Ministers during the passage of bills through Parliament and their implementation and delivery.
• Drafting DEFRA’s subordinate legislation (SIs)
• Advising on all aspects of legal risk and on litigation 

Our aim is for DLA to be a place where: 

•    Lawyers are confident and resilient, with a professional approach
•    The Team is known as kind, happy and inclusive 
•    Everyone feels empowered, energised and enthusiastic about the role that they play, the work that they do and their future careers 

Job description

The Role 

The post offers a wonderful opportunity to lead a vibrant and supportive legal division, advising on issues that are central to the economy, the environment, and the lives of individual citizens. The new legal director will have responsibilities akin to a General Counsel, providing personal support and advice to Defra’s Exco.   The legal director is also part of the senior leadership group in GLD, playing a vital role in the leadership of GLD and the achievement of our strategic objectives. This includes developing and engaging wider stakeholders in GLD’s modernisation and transformation agenda.

Key responsibilities:

1. Overseeing the provision of high quality, risk-focused and integrated legal advice to Defra ministers and senior officials in a fast-paced, high-profile environment, advising personally as required and acting as relationship manager for all GLD’s services to Defra, working in partnership with colleagues in the expert services group. 
2. Providing personal support to the Defra Permanent Secretary and Executive Committee members, including giving legal advice on propriety and ethics issues.
3. Building strong relationships with Defra Ministers and senior clients and maintaining strategic engagement with the legal teams in Defra’s various agencies and public bodies. 
4. Being jointly accountable to both Defra and GLD for delivering a highly effective and efficient legal service, with delegated responsibility from GLD for a legal budget.
5. Providing visible and effective leadership of the Division, engaging staff and leading change to develop a confident team which operates successfully across all GLD’s offices, is inclusive and takes account of people’s diverse needs and talents.
6. Developing the skills and capability of the people under your direction, using performance and talent management effectively to ensure everyone fulfils their potential.
7. Ensuring a strong focus on improving value for money, ensuring lessons are learnt, continuous improvement, and seeking out innovative approaches.
8. Playing a visible role in the collective leadership of GLD, both as a senior member of the Directorate leadership team and part of the Strategic Leadership Group (the Board and Directors) for GLD.
9. Acting as a role model for the Civil Service values.

Person specification

The successful candidates will be qualified to practice* as a solicitor or barrister in England and Wales (*which includes overseas lawyers with necessary exemptions). It is important through your CV and Statement of Suitability that you provide evidence and examples which demonstrate capability and potential against these selection criteria:

• The ability to provide and oversee the provision of authoritative, risk based public law advice, taking into account international and trade implications where appropriate demonstrating excellent judgement and facilitating practical and innovative solutions
• Exceptional communication skills and the ability to command credibility with senior politicians and officials and build deep collaborative partnerships with other parts of government and Defra’s Arm’s Length Bodies.
• The ability to manage workloads and resources across a large legal function, effectively managing legal risk, maintaining and enhancing the legal professionalism of the team and utilising external resource appropriately, with a commitment to improving service delivery and value for money.
• The leadership skills to inspire and empower professional staff in a large team with scale and complexity, supporting talent development, building a strong culture of continuous learning, flexibility and knowledge sharing.
• A commitment to diversity, to creating a truly inclusive working environment and to the core Civil Service values of integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £97,000, Government Legal Department contributes £26,190 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 

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 23:55 Tuesday 2nd January 2024 and will involve uploading the documents outlined below:

1. A 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
2. A Statement of Suitability (no longer than 1250 words) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the criteria in the person specification
   Failure to submit all documents will mean the panel only have limited information on which to assess your application against the criteria in the person specification.  

As part of the online application process, you will be asked a number of diversity-related questions. If you do not wish to provide a declaration on any of the particular characteristics, you will have the option to select 'prefer not to say'. The information you provide when submitting your application will help us monitor our progress towards the Civil Service becoming an inclusive employer and a great place to work. See the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy for more information or go to Equality and Diversity

Should you encounter any issues with your online application or are unable to apply online please contact Ghezala.Ali-Rizvi@governmentlegal.gov.uk

Selection Panels

The selection panel for this campaign will be:
•    Sarah Pittam, Civil Service Commissioner 
•    Sarah Goom, Director General, GLD Commercial with Trade and International 
•    Lucy Smith, Director General, Defra Strategy and Change Group 
•    Douglas Wilson, Director General, Attorney General’s Office

Shortlist 

You will receive an acknowledgment of your application through the online process.
The panel will then assess your application to select those demonstrating the best fit with the role by considering the evidence you have provided against the criteria set out in the ‘Person Specification’ section. Failure to address any or all of these may affect your application.

Assessments

If you are shortlisted, you will be asked to take part in a Staff Engagement Exercise and an Individual Leadership Assessment. 
This assessment will not result in a pass or fail decision. Rather, it is designed to support the panel’s decision making and highlight areas for the panel to explore further at interview. 
Full details of the assessment process will be provided to shortlisted candidates at the earliest opportunity.

Informal Conversations

Shortlisted candidates will also have the opportunity to speak to the vacancy holder, Secretary of State or other Minister prior to the final interview to learn more about the role and the organisation. Please note this is an optional part of the process, not part of the formal assessment process

Interview

You will be asked to attend a panel interview in order to have a more in-depth discussion of your previous experience and professional competence in relation to the criteria set out in the Person Specification. 
Interviews will probably take place in person, full details of the interview format will be provided to shortlisted candidates prior to interview.
Candidates may be asked to give a presentation or complete a written exercise. 

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. 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.