Main Duties and Responsibilities:

• To provide advice to organisation staff on all areas of the organisation’s work including casework, investigations and policy.
• Providing in depth and specialist advice and assistance in relation to decision making and the preparation and presenting of cases for misconduct hearings.
• To handle a caseload of matters including litigation cases, inquests, judicial review cases and misconduct hearings.
• To ensure value for money in the commission of external legal providers and accurate forecasting and recovery of costs for both business as usual matters and cases the IOPC are presenting at misconduct hearings.
• To advise and manage legal risk.
• To undertake advocacy.
• Participate in the development and review of organisational policy.
• To capture outcomes from misconduct hearings and disseminate learning throughout the IOPC, lead and participate in de-briefs on presented cases.
• To participate in service wide initiatives and projects.
• To lead on certain allocated legal issues.
• Comply with the Legal Service’s policies and procedures.
• To comply with all relevant corporate policies and procedures.
• Must be prepared to travel to attend hearings or other IOPC offices if necessary, (additional travel costs will be paid for by the IOPC) in particular:
  • if based in the South East – Canary Wharf and Croydon offices
  • if based in Birmingham, then travel to Cardiff office
  • if based in Sale, then travel to the Wakefield office
• To undertake other duties commensurate with the level and remit of the post as may time to time be allocated by the General Counsel or another member of the Legal Services Senior Management Team.
• To take on work and/or provide support to other regional offices as required.
• After 6 months of employment to provide telephone based on-call cover. This is on a rota within the Legal Team and is approximately 2-3 weeks per year. Additional on-call allowances are payable.

Person Specification:

Essential Technical

• By the first day of employment you will need to be a qualified solicitor or barrister entitled to practice in England and Wales. A current practising certificate will need to be provided prior to the start of your employment.
• We welcome applications from applicants that expect to receive their first practising certificate within 6 months of the closing date of this advert – 26.06.2026. If successful, then any job offer would be conditional on obtaining and submitting their practising certificate before the start of their employment.

Experience

• Experience in at least one relevant area of law – this includes criminal law, police law, coronial law, professional disciplinary and regulatory law, public and administrative law and human rights law.
• Experience of advising on complex issues.
• Experience of handling substantial and complex cases.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to master new material rapidly.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Problem solving skills.
• Approachable and constructive.
• A good team worker but also able to work independently.

This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, therefore a basic Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check will be carried out for the successful candidate during the pre-employment process. Once in role, the postholder will ideally undertake and obtain Home Office SC clearance.

Desirable

• Experience of litigation
• Knowledge of FoI/DPA/GDPR matters
• Knowledge of complaints systems and handling

We believe that diverse perspectives contribute to a more innovative and dynamic workplace. We actively encourage applications from individuals who are typically under-represented or disadvantaged in society. This includes women, people from ethnically diverse backgrounds, parents and carers, and disabled candidates, including neurodiverse candidates.

We are committed to providing equal opportunities for all applicants and creating an inclusive environment where diverse perspectives are valued and supported.

Reasonable adjustments

The IOPC is a diverse and inclusive workplace and we want to help you demonstrate your full potential whatever type of assessment is used. We are open to providing you with the tools you need to succeed, from extra time to formatting changes, to name a mere few. If you require any reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process, please email recruitment@policeconduct.gov.uk

Working conditions

The IOPC operates a hybrid working policy which requires all staff to work an average of 40% of their contractual hours at their office base (or another office for business reasons). Office attendance time includes in-person training, meetings with stakeholders and families, and attending events.