Job summary
As the Legal Service Policy Assistant you will be part of the small expert team of approximately 6 staff, reporting to the Head of Legal Services. The team perform a key function within the Central Policy Secretariat, at the heart of the UK Statistics Authority and the statistical system. �
You will have a unique opportunity to work in a fast-paced, challenging environment, with opportunities to develop a wide range of skills. This includes, but is not limited to, the interpretation of legislation, stakeholder engagement, deadline management, and engagement with a range of topics and staff at various levels across the Authority.
The UK Statistics Authority is an independent body at arm�s length from government, established with the statutory objective of promoting and safeguarding the production and publication of official statistics that serve the public good.
As a statutory body, legislation underpins all the work of the Authority; it provides the foundation of independence for the UK�s official statistics system and provides the framework through which we can access, use and share data safely while maintaining public trust.
Advice and support on legal requirements and best practice relating to information rights (including data protection) and statistical legislation are critical to the Authority meeting its public good objective.
The Authority�s responsibilities extend across the UK statistics system and include both the Office for National Statistics � the UK�s national statistical institute � and the Office for Statistics Regulation.
Job description
Your role will involve assisting the Legal Services Team with all aspects of their work with a focus on the handling of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to a statutory deadline and which arrive on a daily basis.
Key tasks include:
1. General branch support for the Legal Services team.
2. Managing compliance with FOI requests and Data Protection requests.
3. Daily organisation and management of correspondence systems used within Legal Services.
4. Assisting with ad-hoc legal queries relating to FOI and Data Protection.
5. Providing prompt, quality advice to colleagues on FOIs via the FOI Team mailbox.
6. Providing administrative support on key projects.
7. Developing and maintaining strong effective relationships with key stakeholders across the Authority.
8. Identifying emerging topics and trends that will have an organisation-wide impact.
Person specification
Essential Criteria
9. Experience of operating flexibly and working at pace, planning and prioritising to meet tight and competing deadlines.
10. Possess excellent communication skills, with the ability to adapt communication appropriately to a diverse range of colleagues, stakeholders, and members of the public.
11. Able to work well alone, managing your own time and also work as part of a team, encouraging the participation of others when necessary.
Desirable skills
Whilst not essential the following would be useful in the role:
12. An interest and awareness of emerging/current matters of public interest that could require a response from us.
13. Experience or background in the UK Legal System and information rights, including data protection and freedom of information.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
14. Delivering at Pace
15. Managing a Quality Service
16. Working Together
Benefits
Alongside your salary of �25,954, UK Statistics Authority contributes �7,007 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.
The is part of the Civil Service, and as such we share a number of key benefits with other departments, whilst also having our own unique offerings to support our 5400 valued colleagues across the business.
Whether you are hearing about us for the first time or already know a bit about our organisation, we hope that the benefits pack attached (bottom of page) will give you a great insight into the benefits and facilities available to our colleagues, and our fantastic working culture.
Inclusion & Accessibility
At ONS we are always looking to attract the very best people from the widest possible talent pool, and we are proud to be an inclusive, equal opportunities employer. As a member of the Business Disability Forum and a Disability Confident Leader we�re committed to ensuring that all candidates are treated fairly throughout the recruitment process.
As part of our application process, you will be prompted to provide details of any reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process that you need. If you would like to discuss any reasonable adjustments before applying, please contact the recruitment team in the first instance.
If you would like an accessible version of any of the attachments or recruitment documents below or linked to in this advert, please contact the recruitment team who will be happy to assist.
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