As a Senior Lawyer working within the Memorials function, you’ll work with clients on the delivery of several key projects of national importance, including both the Holocaust Memorial and the Grenfell Tower Memorial. You’ll provide high quality, risk-based legal advice to delivery teams, helping these important projects progress with minimal legal impediments.

The work is varied and will engage with public law, planning law, commercial issues, statutory powers and government grants. It will require a versatile and capable lawyer who can operate confidently in an area involving complex, high-profile and highly sensitive issues.

You’ll also support the wider team in the establishment of bodies to plan, coordinate and deliver large-scale development projects, including potential development corporations, and contribute to shaping future communities.

This is an exciting and unique opportunity to provide time-sensitive, critical and valuable legal advice to clients concerned with delivery, working at the heart of some of the Government’s most significant and nationally important projects.

The wider team currently has members in Bristol, Croydon, Leeds and London.

As a Senior Lawyer, you’ll manage your legal workstream and develop and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders. You’ll also provide professional leadership and support the development of junior colleagues. This role is likely to involve leading a mini-team of up to two others, including junior lawyers who may themselves be line managing Legal Officers, Legal Trainees, agency lawyers or paralegals.

About you

To be a success in this significant role, you’ll be a senior commercial, planning or advisory lawyer with a collaborative ethos and the ability to provide clear, practical and risk-based advice in a complex environment.

You’ll have the ability to think strategically and creatively, understand legal issues in their wider context and advise accordingly. Experience across areas such as public law, planning, commercial matters, statutory powers or government grants would be valuable.

You’ll be comfortable working on complex and high-profile projects, managing competing priorities and providing timely, fit-for-purpose advice. Given the sensitive nature of the Memorials programme, you’ll also need sound judgment, resilience and the ability to work collaboratively with clients and stakeholders.

You’ll be expected to have the skills and motivation to manage junior lawyers and provide strong professional leadership, even where line management has not previously formed a significant part of your role.

You should be a qualified Solicitor, Barrister or Chartered Legal Executive in England and Wales, and will have completed a training contract, pupillage or qualifying employment, or been exempted from this by the Law Society, the Bar Council or CILEx. You’ll also need a minimum of a 2.1 honours degree in any subject in your first degree (or its overseas equivalent), or evidence of high-level academic or professional achievement, such as a Graduate Diploma in Law, Legal Practice Course or Bar Professional Training Course, any of which must be underpinned by practical experience.

Chartered Legal Executives are eligible to apply where a qualifying law degree is held or the Graduate Diploma in Law has been completed, or where CILEx Level 6 exams have been passed at 50% or above in Contract Law, Criminal Law, Equity and Trusts Law, European Union Law, Land Law, Public Law and the Law of Tort.

All GLD employees must hold Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) vetting. If you are based in our London offices you must also hold or be willing to obtain CTC level clearance. More information about the vetting process can be found here.

Benefits

While your previous experience may be relevant, Government work is likely to involve a rapid learning curve as you acquire a number of legal skills and knowledge not required in private practice. However, we will provide you with the support you’ll need to acquire the necessary expertise, and have a thriving CPD-accredited in-house training programme.

GLD encourages its people to develop their skills in a nurturing environment. Other benefits include access to a valuable civil service pension and flexible working arrangements.

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.