About the job

Job summary

We are Ofwat, the Water Services Regulation Authority, a non-ministerial government department responsible for regulating the water sector in England and Wales.

We are at the source of everyday life. We help the sector build trust and confidence with customers, the environment and wider society: keeping water flowing, bills affordable and helping ensure the health of our rivers and waterways. 

We are looking for two Senior Associate Legal Advisers to join our growing Legal Team which is part of the Office of the Chief Executive Directorate. We work with all Directorates in Ofwat, embedded in the policy teams' work, to help evolve and deliver Ofwat's strategy, whilst navigating and managing legal risk.

You can find out more about why you should join Ofwat, our strategy, values and our framework for success in the attached Information for Candidates Pack. 

Job description

The Legal Team at Ofwat is varied and ever-changing and some examples of work other colleagues have been involved in include advising on our five-yearly price-reviews, developing a new customer-focused licence condition for water companies in serving residential customers to improve outcomes for customers, and advising on enforcement cases. We pride ourselves on providing high quality, pragmatic, solutions-focussed advice, clearly, simply and concisely.

You will be working flexibly across the range of Ofwat's work, from longer-term policy projects to urgent, ad hoc matters requiring an immediate response.  The primary focus of the role will be as set out under the Key Deliverables below, although there may also be other areas of Ofwat's work where advice may be requested.

Key Deliverables:

In this role you will be expected to:

• Provide high quality, timely and solutions-focussed legal advice across a number of Directorates, workstreams and projects;
• Be fully involved in helping policy teams develop and deliver strategically focussed policy which is legally robust;
• Be an adaptable thinker and incorporate wider considerations into your work, helping to identify and manage organisational risks and opportunities;
• Demonstrate good judgement and to create clarity and build trust through effective communication and collaboration;
• Proactively share skills and knowledge, and support others in doing this; and
• Support Ofwat’s relationships with external law firms and legal counsel, other regulators and government.

Person specification

To be successful in this role you will need the below essential attributes, experience, skills and knowledge.

Experience, skills and knowledge

• Qualified Solicitor or Barrister in England and Wales or at least 3 years’ experience acting in a role akin to that of a qualified Solicitor or Barrister in a legal environment.
• Material experience of working in a complex organisation within the water sector and/or another regulated utility sector in the specific areas of regulatory, public and administrative law or competition law.
• Material experience of delivering solutions-focussed legal advice on the development and implementation of policy objectives and/or the implementation of strategic government projects and programmes.
• Material experience of successfully applying analytical skills in a complex legislative structure within an innovative policy environment.
• Material experience of successfully influencing and/or negotiating with internal and external stakeholders, including colleagues, government departments, external lawyers, counterparties, and partner organisations.
• Material experience of effective and efficient planning, including prioritisation and delegation.

Attributes

• Adaptable Thinker
• Creates Clarity
• Builds Trust

Attributes as per Ofwat's Framework for Success for Senior Associate Band. You can read more about Attributes here.

Benefits

• Why You Should Join Us: 

  We’re forward-thinking, creative, innovative, and ambitious. We constantly push the boundaries and embrace new ways of working.  

  With us, your work matters, your voice is heard, and your impact is felt. Ours is a culture of trust, flexibility, autonomy, collaboration, and innovation. We all want positive change for water customers, the environment, and the future of water.  

  But for us, change is more than what happens on the outside – we’ve always pushed boundaries internally, too. From becoming the first Civil Service organisation to achieve ‘Smarter Working’ status, to gaining our prestigious ‘Smarter Working Maturity’ award, we’ve consistently demonstrated our commitment to embracing innovative ways of working. Our people do their best work when given freedom over where, when, and how they work. Which is why we trust our teams to balance meaningful collaboration in the office with the flexibility of working from home. 

  You will also benefit from:

• Excellent employer pension contributions of 28.97% (around £10,695 to £13,036 per annum). 
• 25 days’ annual leave (increasing to 30 with each year of service) plus bank holidays and an extra 2.5 days of privilege leave
• Access to exclusive discounts on a variety of goods and services, including retail outlets, theatre tickets, holidays, insurance, and a gym membership
• Flexible working arrangements that suit your lifestyle
• Fees paid for membership of relevant professional bodies
• Up to 3 volunteering days per year
• Recognition vouchers scheme
• Generous shared parental leave and pay
• Enhanced sick pay
• Regular development opportunities
• Health and wellbeing initiatives
• Cycle-to-work scheme
• Season ticket loan for home-to-office travel
• Free eye tests and contribution to lenses/spectacles for VDU users

Things you need to know

Selection process details

How to apply

Apply through the Civil Service Jobs website where you’ll be asked to create an account and complete an application form (CV and personal statement). If you’re unable to make an electronic application, please contact recruitment@ofwat.gov.uk and we will support you in completing your application.

Please ensure you have submitted your application in full ahead of the deadline listed below. Unfortunately, we won't be able to consider late applications.

Selection timetable

• Closing date: 23:55 on 18 August 24 
• Sifting: w/c 19 August 24 
• Interview date(s): w/c 26 August 24

Assessment process

Sift Stage

We operate a blind sifting model to eliminate bias. All candidate identifying information will be removed from applications.

At sift stage we assess your application against key essential skills, experience, and knowledge, listed in the 'Person Specification' section above.

In your application, please state clearly how your skills, experience, and knowledge meet the essential criteria. Please ensure that anything submitted as part of your application is factually accurate, and you are not presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by AI, as your own.

Interview Stage

Our transparent interview process involves candidates receiving a list of attribute-based questions in advance. This has been proven to help neurodiverse candidates and others to perform better at interview and is part of our inclusive culture.

At interview stage we will test against attributes, as well as skills, experience, and knowledge (set out in the 'Person Specification' section).

You can read more about attributes and our Framework for success  here.

As part of the interview process, we will require a short presentation. Further details will be provided to candidates upon invitation to interview.

Please note that the interviews will be conducted via video conferencing software (Microsoft Teams)

If you have any queries about any aspect of this role, selection process, or you require any reasonable adjustments please email recruitment@ofwat.gov.uk

Please read the attached Candidate Pack for details on Terms and Conditions.

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.