About the job

Job summary

Influence how we shape the legal future of the energy sector

Ofgem works on behalf of energy consumers to ensure that every household and business in the UK can rely on a safe and environmentally sustainable energy supply. The record increase and volatility in global gas prices in recent months, has put the energy market under severe strain. The Office of the General Counsel (OGC) is responsible for providing all legal advice for Ofgem and its governing body and managing the organisation’s exposure to legal risk.

As a Senior Lawyer you’ll be joining a team that plays a key part in a number of significant policy and legal matters during a time of massive change. Your work will focus on a range of legal areas within Ofgem. You’ll support the Deputy Legal Director in ensuring the continued delivery of a first-class legal function before quickly taking on more responsibilities.

Your role plays a critical part in ensuring the delivery of high quality, effective legal advice across the organisation. You’ll autonomously delivery complex work for the highest priority legal projects across Ofgem. You’ll quickly adapt into a leadership function within a broad range of areas from public law to competition, commercial to information law, energy regulation to PPP/PFI. Once established, you’ll act as a role model and ‘go to’ lawyer for this area of expertise.

With impressive legal knowledge and analysis, you’ll have experience of autonomously leading highly complex legal matters. Your ability to demonstrate a deep technical specialism, combined with a strong, broad knowledge of legal and associated risk will ensure your success. Your pragmatic, innovative approach makes you comfortable working at pace. Your excellent communication skills give you the ability to clearly present findings when addressing both technical and non-technical audiences. Resilient and flexible, your adaptable mindset and ability to multitask will ensure you thrive in this dynamic, diverse work environment.

Ofgem relies on having a workforce that reflects the society we serve, so we welcome candidates from all backgrounds, and especially those from underrepresented groups. While this is a full-time role, flexible working patterns and job shares are welcome. We will also support you with excellent training and development opportunities, plus a competitive benefits package.

Job description

Ofgem’s legal function sits in the Office of the General Counsel (OGC). The OGC is responsible for the provision of all legal advice and management of all legal risk required by OFGEM and its governing body the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority and for managing the organisation’s exposure to legal risk.

 

The energy sector is going through an unprecedented transformation to a net zero and data-enabled future. Furthermore, the record increase and volatility in global gas prices, has put the energy market and consumers under severe strain. You will be joining Ofgem OGC to advise on how to solve these and other policy and legal matters all under development at a time of increasing change in the energy sector.

 

The OGC supports Ofgem’s activities through hubs focused on the following areas:

 

Retail Pricing Legal

Retail Policy & Governance Legal

Enforcement and Emerging Issues Legal

Delivery and Schemes Legal

Networks RIIO Legal

Networks Strategic Programmes Legal

Systems Legal

 

More details of the work areas of those hubs is set out in the Appendix to this document. 

You will initially be posted to work in one hub, where you will support the Deputy Legal Director responsible for that hub in ensuring the continued delivery of a first class legal function, but you can expect to work in a number of hubs over time which means that you will be working in a diverse culture with like minded people. Some of the projects cut across more than one hub.

 

Lawyers in our senior expert roles play a critical role in ensuring the delivery of high quality and effective legal advice across the organisation. They will autonomously deliver the highest priority, high risk and complex legal projects across Ofgem. Working in different areas of Ofgem, they will be quickly adaptable and expected to take on and lead on projects across OGC as required . They are our role models and the “go to” lawyers within their areas of expertise. The expert roles in this recruitment broadly relate to public law, enforcement, , commercial, information law, complex and high value public procurements, energy market regulation, infrastructure transactions and insolvency expertise. Senior expert lawyers

 

The work is meaningful with a real impact on the lives of energy consumers and energy and environmental policy. You will find the work interesting, intellectually challenging and varied, you will be involved in advising on a wide range of public law issues in a regulatory context. You will enjoy the role if you are a lawyer who is pragmatic and solutions driven, can manage competing demands and deliver at pace to provide advice to policy colleagues at all levels.

We are looking to expand our legal team based in the Cardiff office, whilst also growing our existing legal teams in the Glasgow and London offices.

We are hosting a virtual recruitment event Tuesday 16th of January from 12noon - 1pm, where you'll find out more about these fantastic vacancies and have the opportunity to ask the panel of senior management any questions you have. Link to register for this free event: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/office-of-the-general-counsel-recruitment-event-senior-expert-lawyer-tickets-791106489807?aff=oddtdtcreator 

 

#LI-AD1

Person specification

Essential Criteria

Qualifications

 

• Qualified to practice as a Barrister or Solicitor, in England and Wales or an Advocate or Solicitor in Scotland o

> Will be qualified 3 months from application date; or

> An overseas professionally qualified lawyer.

 

• Barristers and Solicitors qualified in a jurisdiction outside of England and Wales or Scotland will be subject to the rules of the professional bodies and must have completed:

 

> In England and Wales the Bar Transfer Test or Qualified Lawyer Transfer Scheme; or

> In Scotland have passed the Qualified Lawyers Assessment.

 

• 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 and a score of 50% or above achieved, at CILEx Level 6*, in all the following foundation subjects:

 

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

 

Experience

 

• Ability to lead on highly complex and large legal matters and analysis. (LEAD)

 

• Significant legal expertise and capability, as demonstrated by proven record of high performance and substantial achievements in past positions in any one of the following:

 

1. energy law;
2. economic regulation;
3. consumer protection;
4. competition law;
5. commercial or complex projects/procurement; or
6. public or administrative law or regulatory litigation in a context similar to that in which Ofgem operates, for example advising a government department, economic regulator or highly regulated industry participant.
   
   

• Exemplar legal knowledge and analysis, as the subject matter expert. Ability to demonstrate a deep technical specialism and/or a strong breadth of relevant legal knowledge and associated legal risk.

 

• Demonstrable and proactive commitment to the development of subject-matter expertise and capability across a legal function.

 

• Strong communication skills (verbal and written) with the ability to present findings of analysis in a clear and compelling manner to technical and non-technical audiences, and defend findings, based on evidence.

 

• Resilient and able to work under pressure and on demanding and challenging projects.

• Extensive experience working collaboratively with diverse colleagues. 

Desirable criteria: 

• Demonstrable experience of practicing law in the UK.

 

• Knowledge of one or more of: Information Law, Human Rights Law, Public Procurement Law, Environmental Law, Insolvency Law.

• Experience advising in relation to corporate or project finance, investment or funding agreements and financial reporting.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £56,000, OFGEM contributes £15,120 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.

When you press the ‘Apply now’ button, you will be asked to complete personal details (not seen by the sift panel), your career history and qualifications.

 

You will then be asked to provide a 1250 word ‘personal statement’ evidencing how you meet the essential and desirable skills and capabilities listed in the role profile. Please ensure you demonstrate clearly, within your supporting statement, how you meet each of the essential and desirable skills and capabilities.

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.