Paralegal Jobs

Location

Bristol, Leeds, London, Manchester

About The Job

Job summary

About The Government Legal Department

From energy to security, health to human rights, we help the Government deliver life changing law for citizens.

The Government Legal Department is the largest provider of legal services across government, working on high profile matters that are frequently scrutinised in Parliament and the media. Our work includes:

• Securing our economic and trade relationships
• Providing the Civil Service’s employment law advice
• Ensuring value from commercial contracts worth billions of pounds
• Providing legal advice on policies
• Developing and drafting legislation

We are at the heart of delivering the Government’s priorities and our success depends on our people.

GLD is a non-ministerial government department, sponsored by the Attorney General. We are headed by the Treasury Solicitor, our Permanent Secretary and employ nearly 3000 people, including over 2000 legal professionals. Our offices include London, Leeds, Bristol, Croydon and Manchester as well as overseas. We provide specialist legal services including Litigation, Employment and Commercial Law as well as advising most Government Departments on the policies and services they deliver.

GLD also depends on a range of vital corporate services. These are essential to the smooth and efficient running of the Department and provide the foundation to enable GLD to deliver outstanding legal services. Our corporate functions include Strategy, HR, Finance, Digital, Data and Technology, Communications, Security, Commercial and Project delivery.

Our vision is to be an outstanding legal organisation and a brilliant place to work where everyone can thrive and fulfil their potential. This is an exciting time for GLD, with cutting edge legal work on global issues and a transformation agenda which is ensuring the Department exemplifies the Modern Civil Service.

To find out more about what we do visit the Government Legal Department’s webpage or have a look at this short film which showcases the breadth of work government lawyers.

The Division

The Department for Business & Trade Legal Advisers is a Division of the Government Legal Department.

The Division advises its client, the Department for Business & Trade (DBT). The Department for Business and Trade is responsible for encouraging economic growth. It supports business to invest, grow and export, creating jobs and opportunities across the country.

DBT Legal Advisers provide legal advice to help support the Department for Business and Trade across a wide and varied range of work, including: -

• Working on legislation to reform legislation to reform the law on competition and consumer law, the law on industrial action, company law and to give effect to the Windsor Agreement
• Ensuring the benefits of WTO and FTA trade commitments can be realised through effective enforcement of dispute settlement mechanisms and resolving of any disputes arising under bilateral, plurilateral or multilateral trade agreements
• Leading the government’s relationship with business
• Championing the rules-based international trading system and operating the UK’s new trading system, including protecting UK businesses from unfair trade practices
• Putting in place and then advising on the new UK regime for subsidy control.
• Taking through Parliament legislation on retained EU law to enable the UK to take advantage of the opportunities of Brexit and then co-ordinating the subsequent secondary legislation
• Responsibility for areas such as labour law and corporate governance reforms
• Delivering economic growth to all the nations and regions of the UK through attracting and retaining inward investment
• Securing world-class free trade agreements and reducing market access barriers, ensuring that consumers and businesses can benefit from both

The post-holders will report to a lawyer, but the role supports all the Division’s lawyers depending on workloads and available resources. The role involves handling a varied workload under appropriate supervision as required.

Main activities may include:

• Providing organisational support to legal teams; and
• Performing legal research, analysis and drafting on a range of areas including international trade and investment law matters, as well as tasks related to Bills and secondary legislation;
• Supporting the Division’s advisory and litigation functions, which includes providing legal research and administrative support across various workstreams;
• Contributing to the Division’s bank of guidance and knowledge management notes, including creating, editing and uploading content;
• Assisting in the delivery of corporate objectives and improving the inclusivity, wellbeing and working environment for colleagues in the Division.
• Supporting knowledge management and information sharing processes, including by:
• Reviewing Memorandum of Understanding and Trade Agreement texts;
• Supporting work with external lawyers, as well as the Trade Law Panel Coordinator with Trade Law Panel related work by advising on procurement, organising meetings, taking minutes, analysing data, drafting reports and presentations;
• Collating and disseminating legal know-how and updates from a range of sources;
• Supporting the work of the Government Legal Department’s International Trade and Investment Law Centre of Excellence based at DBT Legal;

This list is not exhaustive; the role may involve additional duties according to business need.

The post-holder will be willing to learn about areas of law which are unfamiliar and have the interpersonal skills to work as part of a team and to interact with departmental and cross-HMG colleagues, and other stakeholders. They will also prioritise work effectively and work to deadlines.

Person specification

Behaviours

Below are details of the Success Profile that make up this role. You will be expected to provide evidence to show how you meet the criteria at interview stage.

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

Delivering at Pace

• Have a positive and focused attitude to achieving outcomes, despite any setbacks.
• Ensure colleagues have the correct tools and resources available to them to do their jobs.
• Ensure that colleagues are supported where tasks are challenging.

Communicating & Influencing

• Present a reasoned argument in a clear, logical, succinct and persuasive way, avoiding using legalese as much as possible.
• Communicate in a straightforward, honest, purposeful and engaging manner choosing appropriate styles and methods to maximise understanding and impact.

Express ideas and questions confidently, clearly and with respect for others and listen to and value different ideas, views and ways of working, responding constructively and objectively to comments and questions

Working Together

• Invest time to develop a common focus, genuine positive team spirit where colleagues feel valued and support one another, including changing ways of working to aid cooperation within and between teams in order to achieve results.
• Forge strong and successful relationships with colleagues and clients, including building efficient professional relationships with a range of contacts outside own team and identify opportunities to share knowledge, information and learning.

Experience

• Ability to critically analyse a range of evidence and options and make an appropriate recommendation;
• Proficiency in the use of Microsoft applications;
• Highly effective communicator with the ability to forge strong and successful relationships with staff and senior colleagues;
• Able to operate effectively under own initiative and within a team;
• Ability to deliver successfully in a pressurised environment;
• Knowledge of trade law or a demonstrable interest in working on trade law matters (e.g. strong awareness of WTO law including its dispute settlement system, experience working on/studying trade law);
• Highly organised with excellent time management skills and the ability to juggle multiple demands and prioritise workloads;

As a requirement of SC clearance, you must have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years.

Technical

• CILEx Level 3/Paralegal Apprenticeship/NALP Paralegal practice award, certificate, diploma/an award in legal studies or higher qualification or 6 months demonstratable experience working in a legal environment or paralegal role.

Civil Service Code

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of you and other civil servants. These are based on the core values which are set out in legislation. As a civil servant, you are expected to carry out your role with dedication and a commitment to the Civil Service and its core values of:

• Objectivity’ is basing your advice and decisions on rigorous analysis of the evidence
• ‘impartiality’ is acting solely according to the merits of the case and serving equally well governments of different political persuasions
• ‘integrity’ is putting the obligations of public service above your own personal interests
• ‘honesty’ is being truthful and open

These core values support good government and ensures the achievement of the highest possible standards in all that the Civil Service does.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £25,419, Government Legal Department contributes £6,863 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
• An environment with flexible working options
• Learning and development tailored to your role
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window) , and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

Application

Applicants must complete online CV and personal statement:

Your personal statement should tell us:

• How you meet the experience and behaviour requirement set out in the person specification criteria on page 7, giving details of experience or examples of previous work / projects.
• Why you are interested in this opportunity, and:

Personal statement should be a maximum of 1000 words.

Selection Process

After the closing date, the appointing panel shall assess candidates’ suitability for the role based on evidence provided in their application against the behaviours and experience outlined in the person specification.

Interview:

Should you be successful in being invited to interview, you will be assessed on your performance in all experience and behaviours as listed in the Person Specification, alongside a legal scenario based exercise and strength-based questions. Candidates invited to interview will be given further information on the day and time to prepare.

• Experience
• Working together
• Delivering at pace
• Communicating & influencing

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview.

Interviews will probably take place remotely via video conference, full details of the interview format will be provided to shortlisted candidates prior to interview. The timeline later in this pack indicates the date by which decisions are expected to be made, and all shortlisted candidates will be advised of the outcome as soon as possible thereafter.

Offer

Regardless of the outcome, we will notify all candidates as soon as possible after the final interview.

We appoint in strict order of merit. If you meet the minimum criteria for this position but are not successful for a post, you will be placed on the reserve list for up to 12 months. We then may contact you to see if you are interested in a similar post in GLD should one arise.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window) . See our vetting charter (opens in a new window) .

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:

• Certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals
• Nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• Nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• Relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
• Relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
• Nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• UK nationals

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.

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Debra Young
• Email : [email protected]

Recruitment team

• Email : [email protected]