Principal Legal Adviser

About the role
We are looking for a talented and experienced lawyer who shares our organisational values , to join our General Counsel team as a Principal Legal Adviser (PLA) for 12 months to cover a maternity leave.
As a senior member of the General Counsel (GC) Team, you will be responsible for providing high quality and timely legal advice and support to the NMC on a wide range of legal issues, supporting the NMC to fulfil its legal obligations as a regulator, public body and registered charity. These may include complex regulatory issues, litigation, public inquiries and other forms of external challenge, policy and guidance development, complaints, enquiries and information requests, governance matters, contracts and public procurement, audit and finance.
You will need to work closely with NMC colleagues and external stakeholders to proactively identify solutions to mitigate the NMC’s legal risk and drive forward change and improvement. We are therefore looking for someone who will role-model the NMC’s values and promote equality, diversity and inclusion in everything they do.
You will provide expertise across a wide range of legal areas, including regulatory law, public law, equality and human rights, information law, contract and public procurement law, general civil law and procedure. You do not need to have pre-existing expertise in all of these areas, as we can support you to develop your skills. However, you will need to have the ability to master new areas of law quickly and explain complex legal matters clearly and simply to a wide audience. You may also be asked to design and deliver training to colleagues on relevant areas of law.
We value collaborative and reflective learning, and people who have an interest in developing and sharing knowledge. Our team is friendly and supportive, and we work closely together so we can deliver high quality, timely advice, often under pressure. You will manage and support other members of the GC team, provide peer support for your fellow PLAs and act as a role model for lawyers across the NMC. We look forward to receiving applications from suitably qualified and experienced candidates, who share our values and approach.
About you
We are looking for people with the following qualities/skills and experience:
Must be eligible to practise in England and Wales and maintain a current practising certificate with the relevant regulator
Substantial experience as a qualified Solicitor or Barrister in the UKLeadership and/or management experience including oversight of lawyer/paralegal work
Experience in advising on regulatory, and/or public law matters
Experience of and commitment to working collaboratively with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders
Strong commitment to learning and development for you and your colleagues
Excellent communication skills and the ability to explain complex legal issues clearly and simply, so as to give confidence
Excellent organisational skills and ability to work on a range of different matters and cases under time pressure