Job Title: Legal Adviser to the Parole Board & Director of Legal and Policy

Department: Legal & Policy

Team: Senior Leadership Team (SLT)

Job Grade: 6

Number of Posts: 1

Reports to: COO

Job Purpose

To provide legal advice and policy support to the Parole Board

Scope of Responsibilities:

• To provide legal advice to the Parole Board including to the Chair, Vice-Chair, CEO, senior leadership and PB members.
• To attend Management Committee, Senior Leadership Group (SLG) and SLT, Standards Committee, and other Committees or working groups as necessary from time to time
• To lead the development of policy, guidance and legislation
• To contribute to the delivery of training for staff, members and stakeholders
• To oversee the Board’s research work
• To oversee and direct all litigation to which the Board is a party
• To be responsible for complex and high profile legal challenges in the higher courts
• To direct and oversee the work of the Legal and Policy Function
• To be responsible for the Legal and Policy Function’s budget
• To lead the Legal & Practice team in dealing with legal queries
• To support specialist workstreams within the Board, including reconsideration, set aside, public hearings, non disclosure, public hearings, TACT cases and CLOSED proceedings
• To represent the Board to internal and external stakeholders events and meetings, including with senior officials, the senior judiciary and on occasion with Ministers
• To sit on external working groups from time to time
• Such other responsibilities are as assigned by management from time to time

Primary Deliverables

• Legal advice
• Policy and guidance
• Legislation
• Conduct of litigation
• Budget management

Person Specification

Essential

• Qualified to provide professional legal services (solicitor, barrister)
• Deep experience of public law and litigation
• Deep experience of policy and legislative development
• Excellent written and oral communication skills including adept at relaying complex information in a simple, digestible format
• Ability to interact confidently with internal and external stakeholders, including senior officials, Ministers and members of the judiciary.
• Ability to combine both a strategic outlook with forensic attention to detail
• Experience of budget management
• Experience of managing teams
• Experience in using Microsoft programmes

Desirable

• Experience in civil litigation
• Experience in criminal litigation
• Experience in prison law
• Security clearance to DV level or willingness to undergo screening to obtain it

About the Parole Board:

The Parole Board is an independent court-like body that carries out risk assessments on prisoners to determine whether they can be safely released into the community We do that with great care and public safety is our number one priority.

All Parole Board decisions are solely focused on whether a prisoner would represent a significant risk to the public after release. Not all decisions Members make are popular, but they make these decisions fairly and objectively.

The Board is made up of about 230 secretariat staff based in our and approximately 380 Members who make decisions on risk and hold hearings at prisons around the country.

The Parole Board is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Ministry of Justice. Staff who work for the Parole Board Secretariat are Public Servants and not Civil Servants.

About the role:

This is an exciting role on the Senior Leadership Team of the Parole Board. You will be the principal legal advisor at the Parole Board, providing legal advice and support to Parole Board members, the Chair, Vice-Chair, CEO, the senior leadership team and across the Parole Board secretariat. You will also lead and manage the legal and policy team, consisting of a mix of other legally qualified and policy staff. The team handles all legal challenges to which the Board is a party, oversees those parts of the Parole Board process with a legal nature, develops policy, guidance and practice advice for the membership, and co-ordinates the Board’s research functions. You will assist in the development of policy, guidance, training and new legislation for the Parole Board (both secondary and primary). You will attend senior management meetings and form part of the Board’s Senior Leadership Team. You will work collaboratively with and represent the Board to external stakeholders.

Main Duties:

As set out in the job description above.

Behaviours

We will assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Leadership
• Changing and Improving
• Communicating and Influencing

We will also assess Experience.

Security:

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed, which is to be security cleared to SC-level. Candidates must be willing to undergo screening to Developed Vetting (DV) level.

Accessibility

The Parole Board is a disability confident recruiter. Accessibility requests will be carefully considered and, where reasonable, actioned.

Whilst the Parole Board office is principally located in London, and, for the purposes of organisational management and administration, it is not required to conduct business in Welsh. However, the Parole Board welcomes applications from candidates who speak Welsh and English as part of its commitment to treat both languages on a basis of equality in the conduct of public business and administration of justice in Wales, as far as is both appropriate and reasonable, and to reflect the community it serves.

Office requirements

This role is hybrid. You will be required to spend a minimum of 20% of your time in person contact. For some SLT and MC meetings as well as member staff away days, training, or other events, you will be required to attend in person either in London or at other locations within the UK. This role will require attendance in court to represent the Parole Board, Ministry of Justice for CLOSED sessions and other duties where required.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours and Experience. An up-to-date CV must be provided. At the interview stage you will be assessed against Behaviours, Strengths and Experience. A presentation and a technical scenario-based activity will also be assessed.

The Parole Board offers a range of benefits:

For nationally advertised campaigns, candidates will be appointed to their nearest Justice Collaboration Centre or Justice Satellite Office. This will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate(s) on the completion of pre-employment checks.

The Parole Board offers a flexible working system in many offices. Standard full time working hours are 37 hours per week. Parole Board welcomes part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns, where they meet the demands of the role and business needs. All applications for part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns will be considered in accordance with the Parole Board’s Flexible Working policy.

Annual Leave

Annual leave is 25 days on appointment and will increase to 30 days after five years’ service.

There is also a scheme to allow qualifying staff to buy or sell up to three days leave each year. Additional paid time off for public holidays and 1 privilege day. Leave for part-time and job share posts will be calculated on a pro-rata basis.

Pension

The Civil Service offers a choice of pension schemes, giving you the flexibility to choose the pension that suits you best.

Training

The Parole Board is committed to staff development and offers an extensive range of training and development opportunities.

Networks

The opportunity to join employee-run networks that have been established to provide advice and support and to enable the views of employees from minority groups to be expressed direct to senior management. There are currently networks for employees of minority ethnic origin, employees with disabilities, employees with caring responsibilities, women employees, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees.

Support

• A range of ‘Family Friendly’ policies such as opportunities to work reduced hours or job share.
• Access to flexible benefits such as voluntary benefits, retail vouchers and discounts on a range of goods and services.
• For moves to or from another employer or moves across the Civil Service this can have implications on your eligibility to carry on claiming childcare vouchers. You may however be eligible for alternative government childcare support schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. More information can be found on www.GOV.UK or Childcare Choices You can determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/
• Paid paternity, adoption and maternity leave.
• Free annual sight tests for employees who use computer screens.

A Great Place to Work for Veterans

The "Making the Civil Service a Great Place to work for veterans" initiative includes a guaranteed interview scheme to those who meet the minimum criteria to provide eligible former members of the Armed Forces with opportunities to secure rewarding jobs. Allowing veterans to continue to serve their country, and to bring highly skilled individuals with a broad range of experience into the Civil Service in an environment, which recognises and values your previous service in the Armed Forces.
For further details about the initiative and eligibility requirements visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/making-the-civil-service-a-great-place-to-work-for-veterans

Redeployment Interview Scheme

Civil Service departments are expected to explore redeployment opportunities before making an individual redundant. The MoJ are committed, as part of the Redeployment Interview Scheme, to providing opportunities to those who are 'at risk of redundancy'.

MoJ are able to offer an interview to eligible candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns. Candidate's will not be eligible for the Redeployment Interview Scheme if they are applying on promotion.

Civil Service Nationality Rules

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) (opens in a new window) https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families
• 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 (opens in a new window) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules

Reserve list

A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made for the same or similar roles.

A sift based on the lead behaviour, Leadership, may be held if a large number of applications are received. If a large number of applications remain after the initial sift, your application will be progressed to a full sift, where all behaviours will then be considered.