Senior Enforcement Lawyer (LSD Band 1 / Grade 6)

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.

As Great Britain’s Health and Safety regulator, our enforcement powers are key not only to enforcing compliance with the wider H & S regime but also to backing up our wider messages and ensuring that those responsible for causing death and serious injury are appropriately punished. The role of Senior Enforcement Lawyer is a key one which will contribute directly to public confidence, both in HSE and wider justice system.

Part time working hours are available for this role. We can accept part time applicants who can commit to working a minimum of 4 days per week (28 hours per week).

We are looking for experienced legal professionals to join the leadership team of our expanded Legal Services Division. This is an exciting opportunity to help manage significant strategic change and contribute to the leadership of a new and vibrant legal team, whilst dealing with some of the most complex and significant prosecutions in this area of regulatory law which, put simply, helps to save lives.

You will be either a qualified Barrister or Solicitor with significant post qualification experience of advising on complex criminal investigations and prosecuting, experience of line management and leadership, and ideally, practical experience of assisting in the management of organisational change.

Hybrid Working

At HSE, we are proud to be able to offer our people the opportunity to work in a hybrid way which combines working from home and the office. This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and your allocated office will be your contractual place of work. If hybrid working is suitable for you and your role, the arrangements will be determined primarily by business need, but personal circumstances and other relevant circumstances will also be taken into account. Therefore, we would encourage candidates to consider if the commute from home to the office is a feasible distance to travel before making an application. Please note that if you are successful, 
hybrid working will be discussed prior to taking up the post.

Travel

We envisage flexible teams which are based across the country which will require regular travel to HSE’s headquarters in Bootle, and less regularly, to other HSE offices as well as occasional attendance at courts and case conferences nationwide. This may involve overnight stays but the vast majority of visits will be ones which can be planned in advance and are not routinely required at short notice.

• Provide legal advice to the organisation on a wide range of topics, including operational and policy issues.
• Manage your own caseload of the more complex and challenging criminal cases, providing advice on investigations, making decisions to prosecute and conducting any resulting court proceedings.
• Assume oversight of a junior team of lawyers, managing their performance and professional development.
• Supervise the caseload of those you line manage, ensuring that cases are progressed in a timely and efficient manner, to high professional standards.
• Provide oversight and delivery of legal training to HSE’s inspectors and regular updating of written guidance.
• Be a member of the Division’s senior leadership team, leading the newly expanded team through periods of operational change and contributing to, and assisting to implement changes in process to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the Division’s work.
• Be a member of the HSE senior leadership team – taking part in the wider strategic direction and management of the organisation.

Skills and Experience

• Significant post qualification experience of advising in complex criminal investigations
• Extensive experience of leading prosecutions and of personal conduct of prosecutions though the courts. 
• Well-developed legal skills, together with strong analytical skills and sound practical advice and judgement.
• An ability to communicate in a clear, effective and influential manner.
• The ability to actively manage your caseload and balance this with your other responsibilities.
• An ability to supervise and manage staff to achieve their full potential.
• An ability to lead a team, including through a period of change.
• An ability to build, maintain and manage relationships with internal and external stakeholders and other prosecutors.
• An ability to quickly assimilate new areas of law with a keen interest in expanding your legal knowledge and skills.
• A good, flexible team player who can deliver work to a tight timescale and who is capable of managing situations to get the best results from the resources available.
• Experience of developing a team through case oversight and performance management.
• Experience in instructing experts and Counsel in complex and sensitive cases.

The postholder must be legally qualified – they must be either a qualified practising Solicitor or Barrister.

Academic:

The postholder must have a law degree or a non-law degree accompanied by either a Common Professional Examination or Post Graduate Diploma in Law.

Professional:

The postholder must have either completed the Legal Practice Course, Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) or the Bar Professional Training Course and where necessary, have completed the relevant pupillage or training contract (or received full exemption from either the Solicitors Regulatory Authority or the Bar Standards 

Board).

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

• Working Together
• Leadership
• Making Effective Decisions
• Managing a Quality Service

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Working Together

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27.9%
• Family friendly policies and working hours to help balance your home life and career
• Carer friendly policies to help create a supportive working culture
• 25 days annual holiday increasing to 30 days after 5 years’ service, plus bank holidays and 1-day Civil Service privilege leave
• Parental leave benefits

Allowances

This post is eligible for Excess Fares Allowance. A successful internal candidate currently based at another office may be entitled to Excess Fares Allowance in line with HSE policy (http://intranet/finance/expenses/excess-fares-allowance-policy.htm)

Job contact :

• Name : Angela England
• Email : Angela.England@hse.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : hr.resourcing-team@hse.gov.uk