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About the job
Job summary
This is an exciting opportunity to join our Legal Services Directorate as it continues to grow. The Professional Support Lawyer Crime is a new post within the Directorate, and you will work alongside the existing Professional Support Lawyer (Civil) delivering Professional Support services to the Crime Team and the wider Legal Services Directorate. The Crime Team prosecutes a wide range of offences concerned with insolvency related crime and corporate misconduct, including complex matters. The team also provides operational advice across the agency with particular focus on criminal and statutory investigations.
The Insolvency Service is a great place to work, learn and grow your career. Legal Services consists of approximately 82 staff who make up our Criminal, Civil Enforcement Teams and a Paralegal Team. We provide legal services to the Service that includes advisory work and conducting criminal and civil litigation.
The Insolvency Service is a leading Government agency which plays a crucial role in providing essential services to the public and to business. The work we do is important to the proper functioning of markets, the economy in general and support for thousands of people each year who are in financial difficulty.
Inclusive and diverse teams are important to us. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including groups underrepresented in our workforce. The Insolvency Service strives to ensure that the agency is a safe, inclusive and welcoming place for everybody to bring their true self to work and to help the agency to achieve its diversity objectives. We have 10 active employee network groups available to join or become an ally, these include, Carers Network, Disability & Health, FACES Network Group, Grass Roots, LGBT+, Mind Matters, No Limits, Part Time Workers, The Shed, and Women’s Network Group.
We offer full-time, part-time, job share and flexible ways of working. We value capability, technical skills and experience and we place great emphasis on lifetime development to support our people. We encourage our employees to become more involved in areas they feel strongly about, whether it be for the benefit of the agency, though our Engagement network or in their own local communities via volunteering opportunities.
The Insolvency Service is a great place to work, learn and grow your career.
Job description
The successful candidate will play a pivotal role in developing the Crime Team’s knowledge management systems, developing and implementing training programs and ensuring our criminal lawyers and the wider Legal Services Directorate stay up to date with the latest legal developments. The successful candidate will also work closely with the PSL (Civil) and colleagues in the Investigations Directorate, to optimise knowledge sharing and training initiatives. The post holder will be expected to have a strong background in criminal law, a real passion for knowledge management and continuous improvement in the delivery of legal knowledge and training for colleagues. An understanding of fraud / financial crime and / or the insolvency law landscape would be helpful but is not essential as relevant training can be provided.
Responsibilities
Upon joining the team, you will become part of the Government Legal Profession and a non-exhaustive list of responsibilities will be:
- Using our intranet and case management systems, to developing, organise, and maintain a system for the collection of knowledge resources, managing precedents and guidance.
- Keeping up to date with case law and legislative updates and horizon scanning for future developments.
- Keeping the Crime Team regularly posted on case law and legislative developments, collaborating, as appropriate, with our PSL (Civil)
Coordinating internal and external training sessions and speakers for the Crime Team on relevant matters. - Coordinating internal training sessions for our stakeholders where appropriate
- Review individual requests for external courses (where there is no internal course available) and request feedback to consider whether internal content should be produced.
- Conducting research and analysis.
- Responding to queries from lawyers and identify know how and training needs.
- Liaising with and updating other directorates where necessary, including our criminal investigation colleagues in Investigation and Enforcement Services.
Travel to senior leader conferences and other regional centres as and when required
Person specification
We are looking for highly motivated criminal lawyer, who can demonstrate:
- Expertise in criminal law and practice
- Experience working as a PSL (although applicants from those without prior PSL expertise are also welcome)
- An ability to instil confidence in colleagues as a subject matter expert .
- commitment to continuous improvement and technical excellence.
- Good verbal and written communication skills
- Working well within a team
Essential Criteria
Professional Qualifications:
Applicants must be qualified to practise as a Solicitor, Barrister or Chartered Legal Executive in England and Wales. You must have completed a training contract/pupillage/qualifying employment or have been exempted from this by the Law Society, the Bar Council or CILEx. Barristers and Solicitors qualified in a jurisdiction outside of England and Wales will be subject to the rules of the professional bodies and must have completed the Bar Transfer Test or Qualified Lawyer Transfer Scheme.
Chartered Legal Executives are eligible to apply where (i) a Qualifying Law Degree (QLD) is held; or (ii) the Graduate
Diploma in Law (GDL)/CPE has been completed; or (iii) where exams have been passed and a score of 50% or above achieved, at CILEx Level 6*, in all the following foundation subjects:
2. Criminal Law
3. Equity and Trusts Law
4. European Union Law
5. Land Law
6. Public Law
7. Law of Tort
- Note: There are specific requirements relating to academic achievement in the CILEx Level 6 exams where these are being used to demonstrate 2.1-degree equivalence as set out below.
Academic qualifications:
Applicants should have a minimum of a 2:1 degree in their first degree (in any subject). Where an applicant holds an overseas degree qualification this should be equivalent to a 2.1 degree. However, the Insolvency Service will consider applicants who do not have a 2.1 degree (or above) (e.g. where a lower
degree classification is held, or, where applicants have (under the rules of the professional bodies) qualified as a Solicitor/Barrister/ Chartered Legal Executives without a degree) but only where satisfactory evidence of equivalent high level academic and/or professional achievement can be provided (e.g. via relevant experience and results achieved for the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL)/CPE, Legal Practice Course (LPC), Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC)).
Chartered Legal Executives should note that the department will be willing to accept an, overall, average score of 65% or above across exams passed in the seven foundation subjects in law (where studied at CILEx Level 6) as demonstrating 2.1 degree equivalence (where a 2.1 degree is not held).
Qualifications
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Working Together
- Managing a Quality Service
- Communicating and Influencing
We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:
- Working Together
Benefits
We want you have a good work-life balance and want to support you in all that you do so we offer a great benefits package:
- Flexible working arrangements and flexi-time.
- Full time new entrants to the Civil Service and those Civil Servants on modernised terms and conditions will be entitled to 25 days leave increasing on a sliding scale to 30 days after 5 years’ service.
- In addition to this you are entitled to 8 public/bank holidays plus an additional day of privilege leave.
- Competitive maternity, paternity and parental leave.
- 5 days paid leave for learning and development
- 5 days paid for volunteering
- Cycle to work scheme
- Season ticket loan
- Staff have access to an employee assistance programme, Workplace Wellness, for confidential, independent support and advice during difficult times in either their professional or personal life.
A Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
Your pension is a valuable part of your total reward package where the employer makes a significant contribution to the cost of your pension. Your contributions come out of your salary before any tax is taken. This means, if you pay tax, your take-home pay will not be reduced by the full amount of your contribution; and your pension will continue to provide valuable benefits for you and your family if you are too ill to continue to work or die before you retire. For more information, visit www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk
Things you need to know
Selection process details
As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV, 500 words personal statement and Behaviours. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
Please provide a personal statement of not more than 500 words demonstrating how you meet the following essential criteria:
- A sound knowledge and experience of criminal law, including evidence, disclosure, procedure, and confiscation.
- Sound legal analysis and research skills.
- Good understanding of public law
- Knowledge of fraud and financial crime
Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead behaviour 'Working Together'. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.
We will test your behaviours and experience as part of the sift process, and if successful, you will be invited to a short interview where we will continue to test your behaviours and experience . Full details of the selection process will be made available to shortlisted candidates once the sift has been completed.
Candidates will be required to complete a written assessment test prior to the interview.
Expected Timeline (subject to change)
Sift – w/c TBC
Interview – w/c TBC
Location - MS Teams
Candidates are asked to note the above timetable, exercising flexibility through the recruitment and selection process
Further Information
A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.
Any move to Insolvency Service from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk
If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.
In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service /Disclosure Scotland on your behalf.
However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.
For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email Info@disclosurescotland.co.uk
New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.
Transforming Workplaces
The Insolvency Service is currently delivering an exciting five-year transformation project that started in April 2022 which will define our future direction supporting a gradual migration to a Regional Centre model combined with smarter ways of working. As part of this, transforming our estate will align us with the government modernisation programmes making The Insolvency Service a great place to work.
We are letting you know about our future plans because if you are joining the Insolvency Service and are recruited into an office over the next five years that is not one of the Regional Centres, you will be expected to move to one of the Regional Centres in the future. This move would not attract financial assistance.
The 11 Regional Centres are : Birmingham, Cardiff, Croydon, Edinburgh, Exeter, Ipswich, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Stratford.
Hybrid Working
Insolvency Service operates a hybrid working policy subject to business need, giving people the flexibility to choose when and where they work and collaborate with others.
Individuals are expected to work from one of the office locations stated in the advert to connect with their colleagues, as required by their role and business team needs. There is flexibility to split the working week, spending a minimum of 60% in the workplace, which includes the office, site visits, court etc.
Reasonable Adjustment
If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.
If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:
Contact Government Recruitment Service via Insolvencyrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.
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).
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Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
Recruitment team
