Job summary The energy sector is constantly changing and theres arguably never been a more important time to work in energy regulation. This is your opportunity to use your legal skills to have a profound impact on peoples lives. Youll be joining a stimulating yet supportive work environment, where the work is varied and intellectually challenging. You will also get to work as part of multidisciplinary project teams. Ofgem is Great Britains independent energy regulator. Our primary responsibility is to protect energy consumers, especially the most vulnerable, while at the same time working with government, industry and consumer groups to deliver a clean, more affordable and secure net zero energy system at the lowest cost to consumers and to drive economic growth. The Office of the General Counsel (OGC) is responsible for providing legal advice to Ofgem and its governing body, and for managing the organisations exposure to legal risk. The OGC supports Ofgems activities through Senior Civil Servant-led legal teams: Retail Legal Enforcement Legal Delivery and Schemes Legal Infrastructure Legal Systems Legal As a Legal Trainee, you will be training to become a qualified Lawyer and will play a key role in helping to provide legal context to UK energy policy decisions. You will develop your expertise and provide sound, effective, risk based legal advice, with appropriate supervision and support. This will include conducting legal research, analysing complex information, reviewing documentation and helping to structure practical solutions to the legal issues that arise across Ofgems work. You will work closely with colleagues across Ofgem and build effective internal and external stakeholder relationships, giving you exposure to a wide range of regulatory, policy and operational work. This is an excellent opportunity to develop your legal career in an environment where learning, wellbeing and professional growth are genuinely supported. If youre looking for a role where you can make a difference and do so in an environment that supports your professional development and personal wellbeing, then this could be the perfect next step in your legal career. We will be working towards a September start date. We will be holding an online recruitment open event on 14 April 2026 at 17:00-18:00 where you can find out more about this role and put your questions to our panel. Book your ticket here: Legal Trainee - Ofgem Recruitment Open Event. Interviews for this campaign will be held in person in our Glasgow or London offices. Job description Key Responsibilities Under the supervision of qualified solicitors and senior lawyers, the Trainee will support the delivery of legal services through OGCs legal teams: Legal Support and Advisory work Assist in the provision of legal advice on a broad range of matters, including: Energy and utilities regulation Public and administrative law Statutory interpretation Governance, decision-making and consultation processes Enforcement, compliance and licence modification Support the drafting and review of legal documents, including: Statutory instruments, directions and notices Licence conditions and regulatory frameworks Decision letters, guidance and consultation documents Casework and Projects Support legal input into complex regulatory projects, policy development and reform programmes Assist with litigation and dispute resolution matters, including judicial reviews and appeals, by: Stakeholder Engagement Work collaboratively with policy, operational, enforcement and technical teams across Ofgem. Support engagement with external stakeholders, including government departments, industry participants, consumer bodies and legal advisers. Professional Development Complete structured training seats across different legal teams in line with Ofgems training contract requirements. Maintain a training record Demonstrate continuous learning and professional development, including building expertise in energy regulation and public law. Person specification Please ensure you demonstrate clearly within your personal statement, how you meet each of the criterion below (not more than 1250 words). In the event of receiving a large number of applications an initial sift may take place on just the identified lead criterion indicated below. Essential: Possess strong powers of analysis, able to extract from lengthy and complex documents or sets of facts the key issuesand apply legal principlestothose issues. (LEAD). Strong communicationskills (verbal and written) to articulate your suggestions/conclusions in a clear and compelling manner, effectively engaging with the audience who may have varying understanding of legal risk. Experience of working within afast-pacedenvironment with the abilitytoprioritiseand organise workload effectively. Enthusiastically drive forwarda project to achieve goals. Excellent research skills, to find for example, relevant case law, legislation and commentary. Ability to work autonomously and collaboratively, flexing approach as required to ensure you are an effective team player. Desirable: Demonstrable interest in public, regulatory or energy law. Experience (through internships, paralegal work or similar) in a public sector, regulatory or legal environment. Awareness of Ofgems statutory duties, objectives and role in the energy sector. Qualifications You must meet the qualification requirements for either the England & Wales or Scotland. Please confirm details of how you meet (or will meet) these qualifications must be clearly set out in your application (including in the case of candidates who are currently in the process of completing qualifications when these will be completed). Ofgem reserves the right not to consider your application if these are not expected to be completed by September 2026. England & Wales: A degree in law with an overall grade of upper second class; or law conversion qualification (e.g. CPE, GDL, PGDL); and Passed the LPC or SQE 1 and 2 (or holds an SRA exemption from the LPC under Equivalent Means), at date of appointment; A candidate can be in the process of completing the LPC or SQE1 and 2 but must have passed these by date of appointment; Scotland: Accredited Scots Law LLB with an overall grade of upper second class (oraccelerated LLB for non-law graduates); and Diploma in Professional Legal Practice (PEAT 1); A candidate can be in the process of completing PEAT 1 but must have passed this by date of appointment. Behaviours We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process: Making Effective Decisions Communicating and Influencing Working Together Delivering at Pace Benefits Alongside your salary of 35,231, OFGEM contributes 10,206 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides. Ofgem can offer you a comprehensive and competitive benefits package which includes; 30 days annual leave after 2 years; Excellent training and development opportunities; The opportunity to join the generous Civil Service pension which also includes a valuable range of benefits; hybrid working (currently 1 day a week in the office but this is kept under review), flexible working hours and family friendly policies. Plus lots of other benefits including clean and bright offices based centrally, engaged networks and teams and an opportunity to contribute to our ambitious and important targets of establishing a Net Zero energy system by 2050. This exciting blend of professional challenge and personal reward identifies career opportunities at Ofgem as something to get excited about. Things you need to know Artificial intelligence 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 (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use. Selection process details This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Ability and Experience. When you press the Apply now button, you will be directed to a Civil Service test guidance for this can be found here Civil Service online tests - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The test you are due to take is not timed and you can complete it at your own pace. Upon passing the test, you will be asked to complete personal details (not seen by the sift panel), your career history and qualifications. You will then be asked to provide a 1250 word personal statement evidencing how you meet the essential criteria listed in the role profile. Please ensure you demonstrate clearly, within your supporting statement, how you meet each of the criteria listed in the role profile. In the event of receiving a large number of applications, an initial sift may take place on just the lead criteria indicated in the essential criteria. The personal information we have collected from you will be shared with Cifas who will use it to prevent fraud, other unlawful or dishonest conduct, malpractice, and other seriously improper conduct. If any of these are detected, you could be refused certain services or employment. Your personal information will also be used to verify your identity. Further details of how your information will be used by us and Cifas, and your data protection rights, can be found by [ https://www.cifas.org.uk/fpn ]. At Ofgem, we expect our staff to carry out their roles with honesty, fairness and openness. They should follow the Civil Service code and be free from any influence or bias. We are committed to making sure interests are recognised, declared and managed appropriately so that we can fulfil our duties as an energy regulator. Our Conflicts of Interest policy outlines the types of interests Ofgem staff must declare before onboarding, and the rules they must follow throughout employment so that we can clearly demonstrate that our decisions are not influenced by private interests. 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) (opens in a new window) 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) Working for the Civil Service The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). 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. 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. 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 (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window). Apply and further information This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative. 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 : Lisa Buchanan Email : recruitment@ofgem.gov.uk Recruitment team Email : recruitment@ofgem.gov.uk Further information Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commissions Recruitment Principles. You have the right to complain if you feel there has been a breach of these Recruitment Principles. In the first instance, you should raise the matter directly via recruitment@ofgem.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission, please visit their website. Attachments Role Profile_Trainee Solicitor Opens in new window (pdf, 152kB) Terms & Conditions April 2025 Opens in new window (pdf, 323kB) Trainee Solicitor Candidate Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 517kB) Apply now