Policy Development Officer

at  Scottish Legal Aid Board

We are seeking motivated and skilled Policy Development Officers (1x permanent, 1x fixed term) to join our Policy & Development team. This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to shaping the strategic direction of legal assistance in Scotland, advising Scottish Ministers, and driving reforms that enhance access to justice.

ABOUT US

The Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) was set up in 1987 to manage legal aid in Scotland. We are a non-departmental public body responsible to the Scottish Government. Our main purpose is to manage and continuously improve publicly funded legal assistance and to advise Scottish Ministers on its strategic development for the benefit of society.
If you wish to learn more about the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) and our other direct services please visit www.slab.org.uk.

ABOUT THE ROLE

Contribute to the delivery of SLAB’s policy development programme, which assists the organisation in meeting its objective of advising Scottish Ministers on the strategic development of legal assistance and its priority to deliver high quality and transparent decisions under the legal aid schemes.
Working with our 12 member Policy & Development department, you will contribute to a varied work programme including proposals for the reform of legal aid, as well as a large-scale programme reviewing all SLAB’s policies on operational decision-making on legal aid and developing options for change.
The broader team has a varied work programme including internal policy development, research, public sector equalities duties and management of SLAB’s grant funding programmes. You will be working with your colleagues in the Policy team, as well as colleagues across SLAB, Scottish Government and other stakeholder organisations.
There are two posts available:
1x permanent on a full time basis,
1x fixed term (12 month maternity leave cover) on a full time basis.
If you are applying for a full time position on a part-time basis (less than 35 hours per week), please give details of the number of hours and pattern of part time work you would be interested in. Further details are supplied in the ‘General Information for Applicants’ document.

WE WILL ENSURE THAT DISCLOSURE OF DISABILITY STATUS WILL NOT NEGATIVELY IMPACT ANYONE’S APPLICATION. WE ARE COMMITTED TO GUARANTEEING AN INTERVIEW TO EVERY APPLICANT WHO INDICATES THEY HAVE A DISABILITY, IN TERMS OF THE EQUALITY ACT 2010, THAT MEETS THE MINIMUM CRITERIA FOR THE ROLE.

For more details about this role and a full list of essential criteria and required competencies, please see the ‘Additional Information’ section on the vacancy page of our recruitment portal.
Completed applications should be returned by midnight on Sunday, 9 February 2025 via SLAB’s recruitment portal. We recommend applying early, as the vacancy may close ahead of the deadline.