Legal Director, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs

Why join the Government Legal Department?

Thank you for your interest in this hugely important role at the heart of Government. As you read this candidate brief, I very much hope you
will get a sense of some of the things that excite me about working in the Government Legal Department (GLD).
 
Fascinating Work

We are the government’s principal legal advisers. Our core purpose is to help the government to govern well, within the rule of law. We do this by providing legal advice on a huge range of issues, spanning every area of legal specialism. People in GLD enjoy a terrific variety of work and the intellectual stimulation of working at the cutting edge by not only interpreting the law, but also making it.

Meaningful Impact

Everything GLD does has impact on a national scale – and not infrequently on an international scale. People working in GLD have the genuine satisfaction of knowing we are making a positive difference to the lives of the citizens of the UK and beyond. 

Engaging with colleagues across a wide range of government departments, agencies and public 
bodies, we have clear visibility of how our work fits in to the broader programme of government.  This is an exciting opportunity to lead a team advising on some of the most interesting legal work in Government on improving and protecting the environment, growing a green economy and supporting our food, farming and fishing industries.

A Brilliant Place to Work

We employ nearly 3,000 people, including over 2,000 legal professionals and have offices across the UK. People working in GLD enjoy belonging to a thriving professional community with a strong sense of team. GLD is committed to being a place where everyone can thrive and fulfil their potential and to supporting and empowering our people to prioritise their health and wellbeing. We welcome applications from people representing as broad a range of views and backgrounds as we have in UK society. Diverse perspectives and experiences are critical to an effective, modern Civil Service that delivers policies and services for all our citizens.

An Exceptional Career Development Opportunity

I hope you will be excited by the opportunity which this post presents. It is an opportunity for the right person to take up a role at the heart of government, interacting with ministers, permanent secretaries and other senior civil servants. 

This is a critical role with stretching responsibilities which demand an exceptional person with a rare combination of strengths and knowledge. If you think you might fit the bill, we would very much like to hear from you. 

About the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs Legal Advisors 

Defra Legal Advisors (DLA) is the in-house legal team of DEFRA. We provide legal advice to the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). DEFRA is responsible for safeguarding our natural environment, supporting our world-leading food and farming industry and sustaining a thriving rural economy. The wide remit means the legal division is involved in a diverse range of activity: 

• Providing legal advice to Ministers and officials across the full range of DEFRA business including the natural environment, animal welfare, food and farming, fisheries and marine, water and air quality, waste, and trade, international and the Retained EU law Act.
• Advising DEFRA on its measures in HMG bills by instructing parliamentary counsel and advising Ministers during the passage of bills through Parliament and their implementation and delivery.
• Drafting DEFRA’s subordinate legislation (SIs)
• Advising on all aspects of legal risk and on litigation 

Our aim is for DLA to be a place where: 

•    Lawyers are confident and resilient, with a professional approach
•    The Team is known as kind, happy and inclusive 
•    Everyone feels empowered, energised and enthusiastic about the role that they play, the work that they do and their future careers 

The Role 

The post offers a wonderful opportunity to lead a vibrant and supportive legal division, advising on issues that are central to the economy, the environment, and the lives of individual citizens. The new legal director will have responsibilities akin to a General Counsel, providing personal support and advice to Defra’s Exco.   The legal director is also part of the senior leadership group in GLD, playing a vital role in the leadership of GLD and the achievement of our strategic objectives. This includes developing and engaging wider stakeholders in GLD’s modernisation and transformation agenda.

Key responsibilities:

1. Overseeing the provision of high quality, risk-focused and integrated legal advice to Defra ministers and senior officials in a fast-paced, high-profile environment, advising personally as required and acting as relationship manager for all GLD’s services to Defra, working in partnership with colleagues in the expert services group. 
2. Providing personal support to the Defra Permanent Secretary and Executive Committee members, including giving legal advice on propriety and ethics issues.
3. Building strong relationships with Defra Ministers and senior clients and maintaining strategic engagement with the legal teams in Defra’s various agencies and public bodies. 
4. Being jointly accountable to both Defra and GLD for delivering a highly effective and efficient legal service, with delegated responsibility from GLD for a legal budget.
5. Providing visible and effective leadership of the Division, engaging staff and leading change to develop a confident team which operates successfully across all GLD’s offices, is inclusive and takes account of people’s diverse needs and talents.
6. Developing the skills and capability of the people under your direction, using performance and talent management effectively to ensure everyone fulfils their potential.
7. Ensuring a strong focus on improving value for money, ensuring lessons are learnt, continuous improvement, and seeking out innovative approaches.
8. Playing a visible role in the collective leadership of GLD, both as a senior member of the Directorate leadership team and part of the Strategic Leadership Group (the Board and Directors) for GLD.
9. Acting as a role model for the Civil Service values.

The successful candidates will be qualified to practice* as a solicitor or barrister in England and Wales (*which includes overseas lawyers with necessary exemptions). It is important through your CV and Statement of Suitability that you provide evidence and examples which demonstrate capability and potential against these selection criteria:

• The ability to provide and oversee the provision of authoritative, risk based public law advice, taking into account international and trade implications where appropriate demonstrating excellent judgement and facilitating practical and innovative solutions
• Exceptional communication skills and the ability to command credibility with senior politicians and officials and build deep collaborative partnerships with other parts of government and Defra’s Arm’s Length Bodies.
• The ability to manage workloads and resources across a large legal function, effectively managing legal risk, maintaining and enhancing the legal professionalism of the team and utilising external resource appropriately, with a commitment to improving service delivery and value for money.
• The leadership skills to inspire and empower professional staff in a large team with scale and complexity, supporting talent development, building a strong culture of continuous learning, flexibility and knowledge sharing.
• A commitment to diversity, to creating a truly inclusive working environment and to the core Civil Service values of integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality.

• 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%

Job contact :

• Name : Anthony Cunningham
• Email : Anthony.Cunningham@governmentlegal.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : Ghezala.Ali-Rizvi@governmentlegal.gov.uk