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Legal Services
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Location
About the job
Benefits
Things you need to know
Apply and further information
Location
About the job
Job summary
DBS was established under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 on 1st December 2012, operating from two sites, Liverpool and Darlington. We operate on behalf of government delivering Disclosure functions in England, Wales, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man, and Barring functions for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
We provide a service that enables organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors to make better informed, safer recruitment and other decisions. We do this by providing information to enable them to determine whether individuals are unsuitable or unable to undertake certain work, particularly with occupations involving regular contact with vulnerable groups, including children.
You will be joining the DBS Legal Services Team at an exciting time. DBS is in the third year of it's five-year strategic plan. The plan was co-created by our staff and has three key themes: Quality, Profile and People. The Legal Director has established a Legal Team that is recognised and engaged as a crucial service in the delivery of the DBS' functions. You will work collaboratively and proactively with colleagues from various teams, building relationships and confidence in the Legal Services Team. This role will offer you varied, challenging and rewarding work in a professional and fast-paced environment.
Job description
To provide administrative support to the DBS Legal Services Team, including:
- Supporting the lawyers in the Team wherever possible
- Collating and reviewing documentation
- Drafting basic internal and external correspondence
- Assisting with the preparation of instructions to law firms/counsel
- Liaising with external advisers
- Engaging with DBS colleagues to ensure that advice queries are dealt with in a timely manner
- Maintaining and updating the Legal Case Management system, other data bases and spreadsheets
- Raising purchase orders and complying with financial processes for the provision of external legal services
- Checking invoices and ensuring payment is made in a timely manner
- Managing the data retention of files, and the process for the destruction of files
- Reviewing the Legal Services Team inbox and ensuring that matters are signposted to allocated lawyers
Work flexibly and undertake such other duties appropriate to the level of the post that may reasonably be required
Resources
- The job holder will have support from other members of the Legal Services Team
Accountability
- The job holder will report directly to the Legal Support Officer and be supervised by individual lawyers in the Team
Other Information
The role may require occasional travel between the Liverpool and Darlington DBS sites, with the possibility of overnight stays
Person specification
Essential Criteria
ABILITY
- Ability to communicate effectively and efficiently, with good client care skills
- Good written communication skills to the level required for the preparation of legal correspondence
- Excellent attention to detail and accuracy
- Ability to work flexibly
- Ability to prioritise and manage a varied workload
- Ability to work effectively in a fast paced team
- Excellent organisational skills
EXPERIENCE
- A background in providing support in a legal environment
- Experience of using all Microsoft Office packages, particularly Excel
Desirable Criteria
ABILITY
- Ability to conduct legal research
EXPERIENCE
Experience of working with a legal case management system
Other Information
Work can be done remotely, but the post holder will have a contracted base of Darlington. The post holder will work from the Darlington Office in accordance with the needs of the organisation, which will vary from time to time. We estimate that at least one day per week.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Managing a Quality Service
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Delivering at Pace
Benefits
The DBS offers a number of excellent benefits for its employees. These can include:
- Generous annual leave entitlement
- Excellent maternity, paternity and adoption schemes (after a qualifying period)
- Commitment to the health and wellbeing of our employees
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Flexible working opportunities
- Eyecare voucher scheme
- Occupational Health Service including referrals for counselling and physiotherapy
- 24/7 Counselling and Wellbeing Service
- A Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
- Legislative changes and the closure of Employer Supported Childcare scheme on 4th October 2018 will mean that if you are already a Civil Servant and move across the Civil Service, your ability to claim Childcare Vouchers will be impacted. However, you may still be eligible to claim Tax Free Childcare - click here https://www.gov.uk/get-tax-free-childcare
The DBS vision and purpose is to make people safer by being a visible, trusted and influential organisation, providing an outstanding quality of service to all our customers and partners, where our people understand the important safeguarding contributions they make and feel proud to work here. To do this, the DBS is committed to being an employer that is able to attract, develop, retain and engage diverse talent that is representative of the communities we serve, and to be an organisation providing outstanding service to all our existing and new customers, who are diverse and have a range of different needs. We want all our staff to be able to bring their ‘whole self’ to work.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
To apply for this role, please complete the Civil Service Verbal Test that closes on the 3rd June 2024 at 10am. The online test will have to be completed prior to you starting on your full application form so please ensure you manage your time effectively. This will consist of:
Providing a CV and Suitability Statement of not more than 500 words outlining how your skills and experiences meet the requirements of the role. This should include all essential and desirable criteria and the key responsibilities. In addition, you will also be required to provide examples for the following behaviours, Managing a Quality Service, Seeing the Big Picture and Delivering at Pace.
Should there be a large number of applicants, the sift will initially be conducted on the lead behaviour, Managing a Quality Service.
For all candidates who are successful at the initial sifting stage, you will be asked to attend a behaviour based interview process. The interview will be conducted face to face and will be separated into 2 parts:
Part 1: Practical exercise which you will be required to complete under timed supervision. This will be measured against the essential criteria. You will undertake this exercise prior to the interview at part 2.
Part 2: Behaviour based face to face interview. This will be measured against the behaviours, Managing a Quality Service, Seeing the Big Picture and Delivering at Pace.
Probing questions will also be asked against essential criteria.
The dates of both of the above parts will be advised in due course.
Advert closing date: 3rd June 2024 at 10am
Sift week commencing: 3rd June 2024
Once the sift has been completed notifications of interviews will be advised.
Whilst we will endeavour to provide some flexibility with regard to dates wherever possible. It is unlikely that we will be able to offer an alternative date once an appointment has been scheduled.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
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
Working for the Civil Service
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).
Diversity and Inclusion
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Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
Recruitment team
