JOB SUMMARY

Do you care about the safety of products and want to protect people and places? Can we use your skills, knowledge and experience to enable UK business to thrive?
If the answer is yes, then we would like to hear from you!
We are the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), part of the Department for Business & Trade. We are here for the purpose of making regulation work to deliver real world impact. Regulation is a powerful Government tool to address market failures, influence behaviour and promote positive action. Crafted and delivered well, regulation can be an enabler of growth, innovation and efficiency.
Since early 2018 we have been building a positive and creative team that enjoys a position of influence and respect within an organisation that continues to grow.

JOB DESCRIPTION

The OPSS Legal Advice and Practice team is a highly regarded team from a mixture of public sector and private practice backgrounds. The team provides legal advice across all OPSS’s functions. This is an exciting opportunity for a highly motivated lawyer with strong interpersonal skills who can work well within a team. This post reports directly to a Grade 6 Senior Lawyer.
You will work closely with teams across the OPSS to provide pragmatic, solution-focussed and high-quality legal advice. The scope of the role, reflecting the breadth of OPSS’s functions, is broad. We do not expect applicants to have existing expertise in all areas of OPSS’s work but you must be willing to advise on a wide range of matters including our enforcement across a range of legislation, statutory decision-making, development of policy, and data/ Freedom of Information Act enquiries. In doing so, you will liaise with both DBT and other government departments’ legal advisors (GLD) as well as other regulators and commercial entities, as appropriate.

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

We are interested in hearing from applicants who feel that they can demonstrate the following attributes:

The below is a list of characteristics which may be helpful in this role. These will not be assessed throughout the recruitment process, but are laid out to help candidates understand more about the role.

• An ability to assimilate complex information and provide pragmatic, delivery-focused advice on the back of it, underpinned by well-reasoned analysis.
• An aptitude for problem solving in a way that takes account of the ‘bigger picture’, particularly where there are uncertainties at play.
• A trusted advisor and advocate, able to listen and understand needs through open, structured and productive conversations.
• Capable of exercising sound judgment, even when balancing conflicting pressures and interests.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to express sophisticated concepts clearly and concisely and to influence colleagues.
• An ability to work at pace, recognising the need to prioritise or to adopt a flexible approach when appropriate.
• Ability to establish and maintain positive working relationships with a range of colleagues at all levels across a number of organisations.

QUALIFICATIONS

Qualified barrister or solicitor with current practising certificate or eligibility to obtain one.

TECHNICAL SKILLS

We’ll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Online Written Assessment

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)
• 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

OUR PRIMARY PURPOSE IS TO PROTECT PEOPLE AND PLACES FROM PRODUCT-RELATED HARM, ENSURING CONSUMERS AND BUSINESSES CAN BUY AND SELL PRODUCTS WITH CONFIDENCE

Further information can be found on our website here.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s recruitment principles. We embrace diversity and promote equality of opportunity. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives and skills. There is a guaranteed interview scheme (DCS) for people with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

You will have responsibility for a stimulating, wide-ranging portfolio of work which includes:

• Providing timely and high-quality legal advice to colleagues on a wide range of issues relating to OPSS’s operational activity, both in respect of discrete requests for legal assistance and on larger matters.
• Managing, with appropriate supervision, your own caseload and working collaboratively with others on larger matters.
• Providing strategic legal advice when OPSS is considering, or has committed to, taking on new regulatory functions on behalf of other Government departments.
• Advising on data protection and Freedom of Information Act issues.
• Understanding policy perspectives and confidently presenting delivery solutions.
• Highlight to senior colleagues any significant legal risks, particularly in your practice areas, on a timely basis.
• Liaising with legal teams/advisors of stakeholders and other government departments/regulators as appropriate.
• Contributing to the learning and development of the OPSS Legal Advice and Practice team, as well as to OPSS more broadly.

The below is a list of characteristics which may be helpful in this role. These will not be assessed throughout the recruitment process, but are laid out to help candidates understand more about the role.

• An ability to assimilate complex information and provide pragmatic, delivery-focused advice on the back of it, underpinned by well-reasoned analysis.
• An aptitude for problem solving in a way that takes account of the ‘bigger picture’, particularly where there are uncertainties at play.
• A trusted advisor and advocate, able to listen and understand needs through open, structured and productive conversations.
• Capable of exercising sound judgment, even when balancing conflicting pressures and interests.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to express sophisticated concepts clearly and concisely and to influence colleagues.
• An ability to work at pace, recognising the need to prioritise or to adopt a flexible approach when appropriate.
• Ability to establish and maintain positive working relationships with a range of colleagues at all levels across a number of organisations

This role is open to candidates working in either Birmingham, London or Teddington. When you are required to give a preference, Twickenham will appear rather than Teddington, so please be aware that you should choose this option if you wish to be based in Teddington.

• A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made. Reserve Lists will be for each location and appointments made in merit order based on location preferences.
• Any move to the Department for Business and Trade from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments.
• The Department will not consider sponsoring a visa or issuing a Certificate of Sponsorship. We are unable to offer advice on any Visa and Immigration cases.
• New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.
• Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty. Any applicant who has details held on the IFD will be refused employment.
• A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.
• Terms and Conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.
• Please note – the successful candidate will be expected to remain in post for a minimum of 18 months before being released for another role.
• This role may be considered as a secondment opportunity. Please reach out to the hiring manager listed at the bottom of this advert to discuss.
• Candidates that do not quite meet the standard for this role may be offered a position at a lower grade