£56,209 - £58,820 + £5,000 allowance (and London weighting of £3,566 where appropriate) plus generous Civil Service defined benefit pension
Develop your legal expertise in an organisation that’s shaping policy and regulation
The challenge
Make a real difference to the lives of students by bringing your legal skills to the Office for Students (OfS).
As the independent regulator of higher education in England, we ensure the best experience and the best value – for students, for taxpayers, for the economy and for the public good. This is an opportunity to grow your legal expertise by working across our diverse and rapidly evolving organisation on a wide range of regulatory and corporate issues.
The role
You’ll lead on provision of legal advice and support for a broad range of legal matters. As well as advising on precedent-setting matters of higher education and public law, you can expect a varied and evolving caseload, where you will advise on matters of consumer protection, charity law, human rights, data protection and information law.
Expect to work collaboratively with internal legal and policy colleagues, as well as external legal support.
Responsibilities may include:
Acting on a wide range of legal matters running in parallel – 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
* Data protection and information law, including legislation implementing the GDPR and the Freedom of information Act 2000
* 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
* Charity law
* The law relating to defamation
* Managing the conduct of litigation activities, such as judicial review proceedings, statutory appeals and regulatory investigations (including the use of dawn raid powers);
* The use of the OfS’s enforcement and information gathering powers;
* The regulatory framework and registration conditions that apply to higher education providers.
Supporting the Legal Senior Leadership Team 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 or‑der 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 Legal Senior Leadership Team and senior lawyers 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
* 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
About you
This role would suit a qualified solicitor or barrister with a strong interest in public law and regulatory issues, and a flexible, creative approach. Excellent written and spoken communication and presentation skills are essential, including the ability to influence and negotiate.
While your legal career to date may have been in a different sector, you will have directly transferable regulatory and/or public law experience. We offer a supportive environment that enables you to get up to speed, but you will need experience in at least two of the following areas:
* Working on litigation cases involving judicial review and/or regulatory appeals;
* The interpretation of regulatory rules such as licence conditions
* The interpretation and application of sector-specific legislation which relates to a regulatory body
* Investigation and enforcement in a regulatory context
Reasonable adjustment
We are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is accessible to everyone. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support you through the application stage, please contact us at recruitmentteam@officeforstudents.org.uk and we will be happy to help.
Working for us
The OfS regulates the higher education sector on behalf of all students. We value 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 and sexual orientation.
Flexibility is important to the OfS, as we recognise that it can enable people to work more effectively. A set of organisation-wide principles 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 this role.
Closing date for applications: 30 March 2026
Interviews: From 13 April 2026
For information: the OfS does not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker Sponsor Licence.
For the full job description click Apply
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