Assistant Counsel (Commercial)

House of Commons

The House of Commons is a unique and exciting place to work right at the heart of the UK's thriving democratic system.

Behind the scenes, the House of Commons Service is made up of more than 3,000 employees who support and facilitate the smooth day to day running of the House. They provide professional services to Members of Parliament, their staff, and the wider parliamentary community.

Staff Benefits

In addition to your salary, we offer an attractive range of benefits including:

• 30 days' annual leave (increasing to 35 days after first full leave year).
• Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%.
• Access to training and development.
• Flexible working.
• Interest free season ticket loan and bicycle loan.

Introduction

The Office of Speaker's Counsel provides legal advice to Mr Speaker, the Clerk of the House and all the staff teams in the House.

The Office consists of 20 qualified lawyers (a mixture of solicitors and barristers) with the support of a full-time office manager and a part-time paralegal. Its work falls into four main areas: general legal advice, scrutiny of domestic legislation, advice to the Joint Committee on Human Rights and the provision of advice on EU and international law, including international treaties.

This post is in the general advice team, primarily advising the Parliamentary Commercial Directorate.

The Role

This is primarily a commercial advisory post, working as part of the general advice team and in particular providing advice and guidance to departments of the House on construction contracts, other commercial contracts and procurement, during a period when the Procurement team expect to be particularly heavily loaded. The team as a whole covers a very wide range of work including issues of Parliamentary privilege, freedom of information, data protection, employment, health and safety, personal injury litigation, copyright and broadcasting. The post-holder may be expected to assist with other areas of advice as needed.

Some of the responsibilities for this role include:

• As part of the Office of Speaker's Counsel, to provide clear, accurate, practical and timely legal advice to the Speaker, the Clerk and staff in all departments of the House, particularly in relation to construction and other commercial contracts and procurement matters, working closely with the Procurement team and the In-House Services and Estates team and with senior members of the Office.
• To draft contracts for the Procurement and other teams as and when required.
• To support other members of the team in the provision of legal advice on other matters as necessary.
• To encourage House staff to seek legal advice where appropriate and to raise general awareness of the availability of legal advice within the House.

Skills and Experience

To be successful in this role you will demonstrate:

• Qualified solicitor or barrister in England and Wales.
• Sound knowledge of contract law. Knowledge and experience of operating and advising on the use of framework agreements and various standard forms of contract (e.g. construction, ICT, General Services and Supplies). Knowledge of NEC3 and NEC4 is particularly desirable.
• Experience of advising on the Public Contract Regulations 2015.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with the ability to provide clear and concise legal advice on complex issues in a comprehensible and appropriate format.

Next Steps and Additional Information

• Application Form - If you would like to apply for this role, please submit an application providing evidence against criteria 1-4 in the Job Description.

More information on the role and the full criteria and responsibilities can be found in the Job Description.

Please note that most job offers will be made at the minimum of the salary range, other than in exceptional circumstances.

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