Details
Reference number
428637
Salary
£68,720 - £72,004
* £7,500 allowance plus London weighting £3,566 (where appropriate)
A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
GBP
Job grade
Other
Contract type
Fixed term
Length of employment
12 month fixed term
Type of role
Legal Services
Working pattern
Full-time
Number of jobs available
2
Contents
* Location
* About the job
* Benefits
* Things you need to know
* Apply and further information
Location
Stoke Gifford, South West England, BS34 8SR : London, London (region), E14 4PU
About the job
Job summary
Senior Legal Advisers (Fixed Term)
Bristol or London
2 x 12 month fixed term contracts available
£68,720 - £72,004 + £7,500 allowance plus London weighting £3,566 (where appropriate)
Generous Civil Service defined benefit pension
Note: we are open to queries regarding secondment for this fixed term position. For more information, please contact:
About us:
The Office for Students (OfS) is the independent regulator of higher education in England – we regulate higher education on behalf of all students. Our mission is to ensure that every student, whatever their background, has a fulfilling experience of higher education that enriches their lives and careers.
The Resources & Finance Directorate provides critical services to the OfS to enable the organisation to deliver its strategy. The Directorate ensures that the OfS complies with statutory and other public sector requirements, identifies and manages risks and opportunities and co-ordinates efforts across the organisation to be efficient and effective.
Job description
About the role:
The aim of the 'Senior Legal Adviser' role is to lead on provision of legal advice and support for a broad range of legal matters relevant to the functions of the OfS and its internal corporate activities. Key responsibilities include: supporting the General Counsel and Legal Senior Leadership Team in tasks relating to the operation of the legal function within the OfS and leadership of specific initiatives. This role requires significant engagement with internal stakeholders to ensure that all employees are appropriately trained, and external stakeholders to ensure the team is supported.
The key person attributes required to fulfil this role include: significant legal experience dealing with many legal practice areas; ability to analyse and advise on complex legal issues; sensitivity to politics, understanding the needs of, and willing to work collaboratively with external stakeholders; an ability to adopt a creative and innovative approach to legal issues; excellent verbal, written communication and presentation skills; and an ability to influence and negotiate.
Responsibilities:
Delivering and working in a team:
* In the areas for which the post holder is responsible, the outcomes and objectives in the OfS's business plan are delivered efficiently and effectively
* The following are delivered: the OfS's behaviours and values; flexible, agile and collaborative working, including with staff and teams in other directorates
Leads on providing advice and support on the following legal areas and topics:
* Legislation applying to the higher education sector including the Higher Education and Research Act 2017;
* The use of the OfS's enforcement and information gathering powers;
* Managing the conduct of litigation activities, such as judicial review proceedings and statutory appeals;
* Legal topics relevant to decision making and supporting processes, such as public law principles, statutory duties and considerations, the delegation of functions and equalities legislation;
* Human rights law;
* Consumer protection law;
* The regulatory framework and registration conditions that apply to higher education providers
Supporting the General Counsel and other senior lawyers in operating the legal function within the OfS:
* Commissioning external legal support (including Counsel);
* Fees are negotiated with external legal and other support service providers and Barristers' clerks in order to ensure value for money;
* Lead on the production of internal guidance documents on key legal and regulatory issues to a high standard;
* Training for the legal team is organised in line with professional CPD requirements
External and internal stakeholder management:
* Working closely with the General Counsel and Legal Senior Leadership Team in the team to deliver the objectives of the OfS;
* An understanding of senior leadership team objectives, concerns and aspirations is developed;
* Engages with internal and external stakeholders, including by building on proven experience of developing and maintaining productive relationships with key internal stakeholders, eg heads of teams, policy leads
Knowledge development:
* An expert knowledge and understanding of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 is developed;
* A thorough knowledge and understanding of the work and operations of the OfS is established
Person specification
About you:
It is essential to have knowledge in the following key skills:
At an expert level:
Significant legal experience dealing with a range of relevant legal practice areas, including at least two of the following:
* working on litigation cases involving judicial review and/or regulatory appeals;
* investigation and enforcement in a regulatory context
* the interpretation of regulatory rules such as licence conditions or equivalent;
* the interpretation and application of sector specific legislation which relates to a regulatory body;
* public law matters;
* UK consumer protection law;
At an advanced level:
* Sensitive to politics, understanding the needs of, and willingness to work collaboratively with external stakeholders
* Ability to adopt a creative and innovative approach to legal issues
* Excellent verbal, written communication and presentation skills
* Ability to influence and negotiate
Essential professional qualifications: Qualified Solicitor or Barrister (or similar qualification from a jurisdiction recognised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority)
Application process:
We use a set of 'enablers' to evaluate candidate strengths. This is your opportunity to expand on what you have achieved in your career by describing what you've done and how you've done it. It is here you should use detailed examples to explain how you meet all the requirements of the job description.
We are looking for how you made your own contribution to a scenario, why you made that contribution and what was the outcome. Assertions without evidence will, in contrast, make it difficult to evaluate your skills and how you apply them. When completing your application, please note that there is a word limit of 250 words per enabler.
The enablers for this role are:
Knowledge and Learning
* Understanding of context in which OfS operates, including relationships with the sector and government
* To have an eye for detail and be able to see the bigger picture and awareness of the political and wider context in which a regulator such as the OfS operates.
* An ongoing commitment to learning and developing new knowledge and skills, demonstrated through an ability to take responsibility for identifying and managing own development needs.
* Knowledge and understanding of judicial review proceedings and statutory appeals in a regulated sector.
* Knowledge of public law issues relevant to a regulatory body, including principles relating to consultation.
Planning
* Able to manage own workload, operate proactively and plan ahead for anticipated tasks, resolve competing demands, and cope with changing priorities in a flexible and proactive way ensuring that key priorities are delivering to time and quality
* Effective case and upwards management, providing clear briefs to senior legal colleagues and delivering the required outputs to time and quality to both internal and external stakeholders.
Communications
* Excellent communication skills, oral and written
* An ability to develop and present persuasive arguments, negotiate with and influence people in a constructive manner to ensure the best outcome.
* Proven ability to provide clear, pragmatic and risk-based legal advice.
* Ability to chair meetings, giving presentations and facilitate discussions to an agreed outcome.
* Be able to build and maintain constructive relationships with colleagues within the OfS, other government departments and internal and external auditors
Relationships
* Proven team player with strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to debate complex legal and regulatory issues in a constructive and professional manner.
* Able to establish and maintain constructive working relationships within OfS and with key external stakeholders
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £68,720, Office for Students contributes £19,908 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
* 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 employer contribution of 28.97%
Things you need to know
Selection process details
Working for us
The OfS values diversity and the wealth of perspectives, experience and ideas that it brings to our work, and we strive to embed equality of opportunity in everything we do.
We recruit based on fair and open competition and welcome applications from candidates regardless of age, disability, race and ethnicity, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.
We love working flexibly because we know that it helps us all to do our best work. We've created a set of principles to shape our approach to flexible and hybrid working, which our teams then use as guidance on how they deliver their business goals. This would usually mean working from the office for two or three days in a typical week.
To attract the widest possible field of qualified applicants, flexible working, for example job share and part time working, apply to these roles.
Closing date for applications: Monday 6 October 2025 at noon
We will be conducting interviews on a rolling basis, both during the advertising window, as well as after it has closed. We would therefore encourage candidates to submit applications as soon as possible.
Full privacy notice
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.
Nationality requirements
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)
* 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
Working for the Civil Service
Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
Diversity and 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 .
Apply and further information
The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
* Name : Recruitment Team
* Email :
* Telephone :
Recruitment team
* Email :
Further information
Careers - Office for Students