About the job

Job summary

This role is an opportunity to join a fast-paced in-house legal team comprising four senior solicitors and a paralegal. The work is varied and includes dispute resolution, complex contracts, subsidy control, and procurement. You will provide advice to internal funding teams, building and maintaining excellent professional relationships.  

You will be responsible for your own case load of matters as well as helping to develop policies, guidance and processes to simplify and streamline legal and compliance requirements.  You will report to the Head of the Agreements, Information and Disputes team which forms part of the wider Legal team.

Job description

The successful candidate must:-
• Provide timely, proactive and high quality legal advice and solutions to the Fund.
• Manage own work and have sole responsibility for matters and escalate to Senior Solicitors/Head of Agreements, Information and Disputes where necessary.
• Be able to gain the confidence and trust of clients.
• Have strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to communicate with people at all levels.
• A team player who will contribute towards continuous improvement and the sharing of best practice. 

The ideal candidate will have public sector experience and the ability to hit the ground running, adept at working autonomously and using initiative to tackle new areas of law.

The successful candidate will be expected to occasionally travel to other Fund offices.

Evidence of your current practicing certificate will be asked for on offer.

Person specification

Contract Type: Permanent
Hours: Full time 37 Hours per week.  Flexible working considered but minimum of 4 days per week
Interview Date: Week commencing 29th January
Location: UK-wide. The role can be based at any of our UK offices, these are Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Exeter, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Newcastle and Newtown.

*If you would like to have a discussion ahead of applying, please email alistair.mackenzieross@tnlcommunityfund.org.uk

Essential Criteria

1. Minimum 2 years PQE, relevant experience in general commercial matters and/or litigation
2. Qualified solicitor with a current practicing certificate
3. Experience in drafting, negotiating and advising on a range of contracts particularly within a public law setting
4. Strong communication skills and ability to provide an excellent service to clients

Desirable Criteria  

1. Experience of working within the charity/third sector and/or in-house
2. Experience of advising on state aid/subsidy control
3. Experience of drafting grant-funding agreements
4. Knowledge management experience (and using legal knowledge to improve processes and precedents) 

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion  

Communities in the UK come in all shapes and sizes. National Lottery funding is for everyone – therefore, we are committed to equity, diversity and inclusion and we work hard to ensure our funding reaches where it is needed.  

We also believe our people should represent the communities, organisations and individuals we work with. That’s why the National Lottery Community Fund is committed to being an inclusive employer and a great place to work. We recognise and celebrate the fact that our people come from diverse backgrounds. We positively welcome applications from people from ethnic minority backgrounds, people with disabilities or longstanding health conditions, people who are LGBTQ+, and people from different socio-economic and educational backgrounds, as well as people of all ages. 

As a Disability Confident Employer, we take a proactive approach in making reasonable adjustments, if needed, throughout the recruitment process and during employment. (This can be related to a physical and mental health condition.) 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £42,500, The National Lottery Community Fund contributes £11,475 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

Please apply via our website through the recruitment portal, aligning your supporting statement to the essential and desirable criteria

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

Security

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.