Information about the Command
The in-house legal department sits at the heart of the NCA; providing specialist advisory and litigation support across the entire organisation. NCA Legal collaborates with operational officers as well as other Government departments, agencies and police forces on a daily basis to assist with live investigations around the world and defend against legal challenges aimed to disrupt those investigations. The advice provided by the department contributes directly to the disruption of serious and organised crime. The teams include solicitors and barristers from a variety of backgrounds and with a wide range of experience alongside paralegals and a business management team.
Information about the Business Area
The Commercial and Employment Team advises the NCA on a broad range of contentious and non-contentious work. This ranges from advising on public procurement and transformation projects to advising on employee matters and policies. We ensure that decisions about the NCA’s people and contracts are made lawfully and in a way which minimises the risk of legal challenge.
Role Summary
NCA Legal comprises of the following teams: Data and Operational Advisory Team, Civil Litigation Team, Financial Disruptions Litigation Team, Disruptive Actions Litigation Team and Commercial and Employment Team.
We are currently recruiting exceptional Solicitors and Barristers specialising in procurement law with strong and significant post qualification experience.
Role Description
You will be part of the Commercial and Employment Team and will provide advice on procurement law to the NCA. The Commercial and Employment team plays a crucial role in enabling the Agency to lawfully procure high quality and value for money goods, works and services, including where national security considerations apply.
You will be expected to use your legal skills and judgement to contribute to the strategic direction of the NCA by providing specialist procurement law advice across all areas of the Agency. You will need to be able to think creatively to help manage legal risk in cases that are often novel, complex and challenging.
Duties and Responsibilities
* Advising officers at all levels of seniority across the Agency.
* Attendance and advice to key governance boards and regular advice on drafting briefing notes.
* Assessment and reporting of risk and advice about mitigation of risk, not just legal risk.
* Attendance and active participation in various commercial meetings.
* Active participation in various corporate activities.
Person Specification
Skills, Knowledge and Experience Description
* Legal judgement
o Reliable legal judgement and an appreciation of legal risk.
* Working at pace
o The ability to make effective decisions in a fast paced environment.
* Creative and strategic thinking
o The ability to think creatively and strategically and see legal issues in their wider context and advise accordingly.
* Team work and collaboration
o The ability to work as part of a team and be a key team player.
* Knowledge of contract law
o A good knowledge of contract law and the ability to advise on various contracts including their drafting.
* Knowledge of administrative law
o Knowledge of administrative law, data law and managing public money would be advantageous
Essential Criteria
You must meet the essential criteria and evidence this within your application to be considered for the role. Entry Requirements Significant and strong procurement law knowledge and experience. Qualifications, Membership and Licences
To apply for this role you must be either
(a) Solicitor or Barrister qualified to practice in England and Wales or Northern Ireland, with significant relevant experience; or (b) Chartered Legal Executive in England and Wales, with significant relevant experience. Upon appointment, Barristers and Solicitors qualified in Northern Ireland will be registered by the NCA with their respective professional bodies in England & Wales, to enable them to practice in both jurisdictions.
You must have completed a training contract/pupillage/qualifying employment or have been exempted from this by the Law Society, the Bar Council or CILEx. Professional entry criteria for Chartered Legal Executives (i.e. Fellows): Chartered Legal Executives are eligible to apply where (i) a Qualifying Law Degree (QLD) is held; or (ii) the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) / Common Professional Examination (CPE) has been completed; or (iii) where exams have been passed (i.e. a score of 50% or above achieved), at CILEx Level 6, in all of the following seven foundation subjects in law:
1. Criminal Law
2. Equity and Trusts
3. Law of the European Union
4. Obligations 1 (Contract)
5. Obligations 2 (Tort)
6. Property / Land Law
7. Public Law (Constitutional Law, Administrative Law and Human Rights Law)
Additionally, Chartered Legal Executives may need a Practice Rights Certificate depending on the role.
Please ensure the dates of any accreditations you are relying on, are entered on to your CV. Solicitors should also include their roll number.
Any applications from candidates not meeting this eligibility criteria will not progress. Virtual Open Evening Event
To find out more about the role and the application process we will be holding a virtual opening evening via MS Teams on Tuesday 21st October 1800 to 1900 hours.
This event is by invitation only. Registration will close at midday on Tuesday 21st October 2025. You will not be able to register after this date and time.
Salary Allowances are reviewed annually and may be increased, decreased or removed. All salary offers will be made in line with Remuneration Policy.
* Roles based in London will receive an additional London Weighting (Per Annum) of £4218
* This position attracts a Recruitment and Retention Allowance (RRA) of £3000 (Per Annum) available as an addition to the advertised salary.
Benefits
All NCA employees are members of the UK Civil Service and eligible for the Civil Service pension scheme, alongside your salary the NCA contributes £28.97%. Further information on the benefits of the scheme is available on the Civil Service Pension Website.
New entrants to the NCA receive 26 days annual leave, rising to 31 on completion of 5 years continuous service, plus 8 bank holidays. If qualifying criteria is met new joiners from UK Police Forces or the UKIC will have service with those employers taken into account for continuous service purposes for annual leave entitlement only, this will be up to a maximum of 31 days leave (including 1 privilege day).
Other benefits include:
* Flexible working, including flexi-time, compressed hours and job sharing (in line with business requirements)
* Family friendly policies, notably above the statutory minimum
* Learning and Development opportunities
* Interest free loans and advances, including season tickets, childcare and rental deposits
* Housing schemes - Key Worker status
* Discounts and Savings with a wide variety of services including Cycle to Work, Smart Tech schemes, dental insurance, gym discounts and savings on everyday spending, available through the Reward Gateway | Edenred and Blue Light Card schemes.
* Staff support groups/networks
* Sports and social activities, including membership to the Civil Service Sports Council (CSSC)
Further information is available on the NCA Website.
Selection Process Details
This vacancy is using the Success Profiles framework and will assess using the following criteria: Behaviours, Experience, Technical Skills. Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
How we will assess you Your application will be assessed against the following: Experience - This will be assessed:
CV
Please include your full career history, training, qualifications, key responsibilities, and achievements. Explain any employment gaps in the last two years. Ensure all accreditation dates are accurate.
Details of what is expected within your CV are as follows: Please ensure that each entry of your career history has a few sentences outlining a description and the key elements of the role. Please ensure you include strong and significant procurement law experience and evidence the technical criteria for this role.
Statement of Suitability
Please provide a 750 word personal statement demonstrating how you meet the criteria below:
Significant and strong procurement law knowledge and experience
Legal Professional Skills with a sound understanding of public law, reliable judgement and appreciation of legal risk.
The ability to think strategically and creatively, seeing legal issues in their wider context and advising accordingly.
A panel will assess how well your application demonstrates the requirements outlined above.
You will receive an acknowledgement once your application is submitted.
We aim to have sift completed and scores released within 10 working days of the closing date of the advert. For high volume campaigns this timeframe may be extended.
Scores will be provided but further feedback will not be available at this stage.
For guidance on the application process, visit: The NCA Applying and Onboarding. Assessment 1
The format of this assessment will be Role Play Exercise and Interview which will be tested on via the details listed below.
Candidates who pass the sift process will be invited to the interview process. This will consist of a Role Play exercise and interview questions. The role play exercise will assess the following:
Seeing the Big Picture
Strong and significant procurement law knowledge and experience
An hour before your interview you will be sent a scenario and relevant extracts of the law. You will need to review this and prepare your verbal response. You will then join the interview panel and give your advice where follow-up questions may be asked (15 mins).
This will be followed by the interview questions
Success Profiles at Assessment Behaviours
* Seeing the Big Picture
* Making Effective Decisions
* Communicating and Influencing
* Delivering at Pace
Technical
* Strong and significant procurement law knowledge and experience
* Legal Professional Skills with a sound understanding of public law, reliable judgement and appreciation of legal risk.
* The ability to think strategically and creatively, seeing legal issues in their wider context and advising accordingly.
Assessment Outcome
Outcomes will be communicated via the NCA recruitment portal. If successful but no role is immediately available, you may be placed on a reserve list for 12 months.
In the event of a tie at the assessment stage, available roles will be offered in merit order using the following order:
1. Lead criteria (behaviours/technical/experience)
2. If still tied, desirable criteria will be assessed (if advertised)
3. If still tied, application sift scores will be used
Feedback is provided only to those who attend an assessment. You will be subject to vetting and pre-employment checks before appointment. Once the vacancy closes, the advert will no longer be accessible. Please save a copy for your records. We encourage all candidates to visit the NCA Careers Page for more information. Eligibility, Pre-Employment Check and Vetting Please see the NCA T&Cs and Privacy Policy (pdf) for details on how your data is handled. If you are an internal candidate who has passed interview but is undergoing an internal investigation or have a written warning in place preventing a post move you may not be able to be posted until this investigation is concluded or restriction lifted. Nationality Requirements This role is broadly open to the following groups: • UK nationals or dual nationals, where one component is British • 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) • 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 You will be required to participate in digital right to work and address checks as part of the recruitment process. Security and Vetting People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard checks. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is SC Enhanced. All security clearances will be managed by the NCA. For more information on security vetting please visit: UK Security Vetting guidance for applicants and Demystifying Vetting and see our vetting charter at: The Vetting Charter. Vetting requirements - SC Enhanced Prior to commencing the role, you will need to successfully complete SC Enhanced clearance. The requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years. Failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected. For further information on National Security Vetting checks please visit the following page Demystifying Vetting Individuals will be required to undertake and pass a substance misuse test as part of pre-employment checks. Occupational Health Successful candidates will be expected to undertake an occupational health assessment. Depending on the role an in-person medical may be required in either London or Warrington. Unfortunately, travel costs will not be reimbursed. Things you need to know Multi Location
Where multiple locations are advertised, appointments will be made in merit order per location.
Indicate your preferences clearly; you may be posted to any preferred location. If you decline a post at a location you selected, another offer may not be made.
Only advertised locations are available, any notes added to the application will not be considered.
Near Miss
If you meet the criteria for a lower grade, you may be offered that role if not appointable at the advertised grade.
Conversely, if found appointable at a higher grade but no posts are available, you may be offered a lower-grade role.
All offers are made based on merit.
Hybrid Working The NCA supports hybrid working. The extent of remote working will depend on the role and can be discussed at the offer stage. Reasonable Adjustments We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Leader and an inclusive, equal opportunities employer.
We’re committed to creating a workplace where everyone can be their authentic self. If you’re neurodiverse, have a disability, or live with a long-term health condition, we encourage you to let us know about any reasonable adjustments you may need during the recruitment process.
If you experience accessibility issues with the advert or require reasonable adjustments, please contact our Recruitment Team at Central.Recruitment@nca.gov.uk before the advert closing date.
Please ensure you complete the ‘Equal opportunities’ and 'Reasonable Adjustments' sections in the application form to inform us on what support you may need in the recruitment process.
For more on our Disability Confident commitment, visit Disability Confident Scheme | Civil Service Careers. Visit NCA Benefits and Support for more details.
Selection Process Details
This vacancy is using the Success Profiles framework and will assess using the following criteria: Behaviours, Experience, Technical Skills. Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
How we will assess you Your application will be assessed against the following: Experience - This will be assessed:
CV
Please include your full career history, training, qualifications, key responsibilities, and achievements. Explain any employment gaps in the last two years. Ensure all accreditation dates are accurate.
Details of what is expected within your CV are as follows: Please ensure that each entry of your career history has a few sentences outlining a description and the key elements of the role. Please ensure you include strong and significant procurement law experience and evidence the technical criteria for this role.
Statement of Suitability
Please provide a 750 word personal statement demonstrating how you meet the criteria below:
Significant and strong procurement law knowledge and experience
The ability to think strategically and creatively, seeing legal issues in their wider context and advising accordingly.
A panel will assess how well your application demonstrates the requirements outlined above.
You will receive an acknowledgement once your application is submitted.
We aim to have sift completed and scores released within 10 working days of the closing date of the advert. For high volume campaigns this timeframe may be extended.
Scores will be provided but further feedback will not be available at this stage.
For guidance on the application process, visit the NCA Applying and Onboarding. Assessment 1
The format of this assessment will be Role Play Exercise and Interview which will be tested on via the details listed below.
Candidates who pass the sift process will be invited to the interview process. This will consist of a Role Play exercise and interview questions. The role play exercise will assess the following:
Seeing the Big Picture
Strong and significant procurement law knowledge and experience
An hour before your interview you will be sent a scenario and relevant extracts of the law. You will need to review this and prepare your verbal response. You will then join the interview panel and give your advice where follow-up questions may be asked (15 mins).
This will be followed by the interview questions
Success Profiles at Assessment Behaviours
* Seeing the Big Picture
* Making Effective Decisions
* Communicating and Influencing
* Delivering at Pace
Technical
* Strong and significant procurement law knowledge and experience
* Legal Professional Skills with a sound understanding of public law, reliable judgement and appreciation of legal risk.
* The ability to think strategically and creatively, seeing legal issues in their wider context and advising accordingly.
Assessment Outcome
Outcomes will be communicated via the NCA recruitment portal. If successful but no role is immediately available, you may be placed on a reserve list for 12 months.
In the event of a tie at the assessment stage, available roles will be offered in merit order using the following order:
1. Lead criteria (behaviours/technical/experience)
2. If still tied, desirable criteria will be assessed (if advertised)
3. If still tied, application sift scores will be used
Feedback is provided only to those who attend an assessment. You will be subject to vetting and pre-employment checks before appointment. Once the vacancy closes, the advert will no longer be accessible. Please save a copy for your records. We encourage all candidates to visit the NCA Careers Page for more information. Virtual Eligibility, Pre-Employment Check and Vetting Please see the NCA T&Cs and Privacy Policy (pdf) for details on how your data is handled. If you are an internal candidate who has passed interview but is undergoing an internal investigation or have a written warning in place preventing a post move you may not be able to be posted until this investigation is concluded or restriction lifted. Nationality Requirements This role is broadly open to the following groups: UK nationals or dual nationals, where one component is British; 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); 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. You will be required to participate in digital right to work and address checks as part of the recruitment process. Security and Vetting People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard checks. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is SC Enhanced. All security clearances will be managed by the NCA. For more information on security vetting please visit: UK Security Vetting guidance for applicants and Demystifying Vetting and see our vetting charter at: The Vetting Charter. Vetting requirements - SC Enhanced Prior to commencing the role, you will need to successfully complete SC Enhanced clearance. The requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years. Failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected. For further information on National Security Vetting checks please visit: Demystifying Vetting. Individuals will be required to undertake and pass a substance misuse test as part of pre-employment checks. Occupational Health Successful candidates will be expected to undertake an occupational health assessment. Depending on the role an in-person medical may be required in either London or Warrington. Unfortunately, travel costs will not be reimbursed. Things you need to know Multi Location
Where multiple locations are advertised, appointments will be made in merit order per location. Indicate your preferences clearly; you may be posted to any preferred location. If you decline a post at a location you selected, another offer may not be made. Only advertised locations are available, any notes added to the application will not be considered.
Near Miss
If you meet the criteria for a lower grade, you may be offered that role if not appointable at the advertised grade. Conversely, if found appointable at a higher grade but no posts are available, you may be offered a lower-grade role. All offers are made based on merit.
Hybrid Working The NCA supports hybrid working. The extent of remote working will depend on the role and can be discussed at the offer stage. Reasonable Adjustments We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Leader and an inclusive, equal opportunities employer.
We’re committed to creating a workplace where everyone can be their authentic self. If you’re neurodiverse, have a disability, or live with a long-term health condition, we encourage you to let us know about any reasonable adjustments you may need during the recruitment process.
If you experience accessibility issues with the advert or require reasonable adjustments, please contact our Recruitment Team at Central.Recruitment@nca.gov.uk before the advert closing date. Please ensure you complete the ‘Equal opportunities’ and 'Reasonable Adjustments' sections in the application form to inform us on what support you may need in the recruitment process.
For more on our Disability Confident commitment, visit Disability Confident Scheme | Civil Service Careers. Visit NCA Benefits and Support for more details.
Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy. In order to monitor the effectiveness of the National Crime Agency's Diversity & Inclusion strategy, we require certain personal details about you on submission of your application for statistical and monitoring purposes only. Please note that this will be treated in confidence and will not impact your application.
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative. Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit on merit through fair and open competition, in line with Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy. If you believe your application has not been treated fairly, email: Central.Recruitment@nca.gov.uk (quoting the vacancy reference). If unresolved, you may escalate your complaint to the Civil Service Commission.
Working for the NCA The National Crime Agency is a 24/7 organisation, and working patterns must support business requirements. Some roles may require you to respond at short notice or outside of core hours. If preferable, alternative contract types may be available. Please review the green bar of this advert to view all available contract types for this role. Where Loan or Secondment options are available, these would be for existing Civil Servants (Loan) and applicants from accredited Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) or any other employer (Secondment). Prior agreement to be released on a loan basis must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant. This includes grade on return. If you have any specific queries about the role that are not covered by the advert, please contact: Name: Central Recruitment Team; Email: Central.Recruitment@nca.gov.uk
#J-18808-Ljbffr