We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce and pride ourselves as being an employer of choice. To find out more about how we champion diversity and inclusion in the workplace, visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity
About the Department
MOJ is one of the largest government departments, employing around 70,000 people (including those in the Probation Service), with a budget of approximately £9 billion. Each year, millions of people use our services across the UK - including at 500 courts and tribunals, and 133 prisons in England and Wales.
What we do
We work to protect the public and reduce reoffending, and to provide a more effective, transparent and responsive criminal justice system for victims and the public. We are also responsible for the following parts of the justice system:
- courts
- prisons
- probation services
- attendance centres
We also work in partnership with other government departments and agencies to reform the criminal justice system, to serve the public and support the victims of crime. We are also responsible for making new laws, strengthening democracy, and safeguarding human rights.
Priorities
- A prison and probation service that reforms offenders
- A modern courts and justice system
- A Global Britain that promotes the rule of law
- A transformed department that is simpler, smarter and more unified
Further information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice
Job Profile
Job Title / Group / Directorate
Legal Services Trade Team Leader / Judicial and Legal Services Policy Directorate
Legal Services Transition Team Leader / Judicial and Legal Services Policy Directorate
Reports To
Jenny Pickrell (LS Trade role)
Clare Hayes (LS Innovation role)
Location & Terms of appointment
This is a permanent post based in London or Leeds.
For trade role: may entail international travel. SC clearance will need to be obtained.
Salary and Grade
This post is Grade 7.
New entrants to the Civil Service will be expected to join on the minimum of the pay range.
Existing Civil Servants will have their salary calculated in accordance with the Department’s pay on transfer / pay on promotion rules.
Background
The Legal Services Trade Policy Division (LSTPD) and its domestic sister Division UK Legal Services and Innovation Division (UKLSID) are responsible for delivering the second objective of the Ministry of Justice single departmental plan (2019 – 2022), namely - “Supporting a flourishing legal services sector”.
To achieve this, LSTPD’s main objectives are to: a) maintain market access, b) improve market access (including supporting FTA negotiations, leading or supporting the sector deliver mutual recognition agreements or support wider liberalisation in particular markets) and c) grow market share in a number of legal services markets across the world. Priority countries have been identified and categorised by these three objectives.
UKLSID acts as a good steward of the Legal Services sector, providing advice on statutory decisions, improving the positive impact of regulators and supporting the sector's competitiveness and sustainability including in response to Covid. We are also seeking to make our jurisdiction law tech friendly; encourage law firms to adopt tech which will drive competitiveness, promote our achievements abroad, ensure the quality of legal services and judiciary. Most closely in concert with LSTPD, we are seeking to prepare the UK Legal sector and regulators for the transition to new trading relationships.
These roles now on offer represent an excellent opportunity for a high performing policy professional to lead an exciting and challenging programme of work, as the UK starts its new independent relationship with the EU and other trade partners.
Role Purpose (1)
As Legal Services Trade Policy team leader, you will play a central role in the Government’s work to ensure UK legal services, courts and English law remain world-leading, and will be responsible for leading the development, delivery and implementation of the Department’s legal services policy objectives in the context of HMG’s trade strategy and negotiations with key trade partners.
You will be specifically responsible for leading the development and implementation of a legal services trade programme in the USA, Mexico and Colombia, with country priorities adjusting over time. You will also have responsibilities for particular cross-cutting trade policies, including investment and digital trade at this time. You will work alongside several other grade 7 team leaders responsible for a range of other priority countries and cross-cutting trade policies.
You will need to work confidentially with colleagues across the Department and Whitehall (in particular with BEIS, DIT and FCO colleagues) and with external stakeholders (including professional bodies such as the Law Society, regulators, practitioners and trade experts from the sector), to develop and advance the Department’s legal services objectives. You will be able to command the confidence of Ministers.
Role Purpose (2)
As Legal Services Transition team leader, within the UK Legal Services and Innovation Division you will lead on developing and delivering an engagement plan to ensure that businesses, regulators and individuals understand the implications, and actions they need to take to prepare for the end of transition.
You will need to work closely with colleagues across the Department and cross-government, including with Communications colleagues, the MoJ Transition programme, BEIS, HO and key external stakeholders from the sector.
For both roles, you will be responsible for leading a team of policy advisers, equipping and supporting them to drive forward their own work. You will be expected to get to grips with a range of complex issues and support your team in doing the same.
You will also need to be flexible and support the Division’s wider programme of activity as priorities develop over the next 12 months.
Finally, you will need to be an active member of the Division’s senior management team ensuring you fully embrace the Ministry of Justice’s corporate values and making the Division a positive place to work.
If we receive applications from more suitable candidates than we have vacancies for at this time, we may hold suitable applicants on a reserve list for 3-6 months, and future vacancies requiring the same skills and experience could be offered to candidates on the reserve list without a new competition.
Main Activities / Responsibilities
The Legal Services Trade team leader will undertake the following duties and responsibilities:
Deliver UK legal services trade interests in the trade priority markets the post holder is responsible for, developing and implementing a clear work programme to achieve agreed objectives for each priority market, including as part of the wider UK trade agenda, working with DIT and BEIS, and with stakeholders, in particular:
- ensuring UK legal services interests are integrated into and delivered through trade negotiations with the USA, supporting DIT in negotiations, alongside activity to encourage unilateral liberalisation of the legal services market in priority US States.
- preparing for future trade negotiations with Mexico and Colombia, and to consider and deliver other approaches to trade liberalisation in those markets.
Lead work on a range of cross-cutting trade policy areas, in particular:
- understand the range of barriers to investment and delivery of legal services on a permanent basis from within a country (mode 3 service provision) and trade agreement precedent, to inform specific strategies to address these barriers in trade priority markets, through trade negotiations and market liberalisation; and work with country leads responsible for developing objectives and leading negotiations for priority markets, to ensure coherence of approach across trade agreement negotiations.
- understand legal services interests in e-commerce and digital trade, and work with DIT and country leads to ensure that these interests are reflected in future trade negotiations and in the WTO JSI ecommerce negotiations.
The Legal Services Transition team leader will undertake the following duties and responsibilities:
Lead on business readiness:
- Working closely with internal and external stakeholders to develop and deliver an engagement plan to ensure businesses and individuals understand the implications and actions they need to take to prepare for the end of transition.
- Tracking and assuring our key performance indicator measures to ensure business readiness for the end of transition
- Working with the MoJ transition programme, Comms team and other MoJ policy divisions to agree and support the implementation of the communications approach for the legal sector, including how this is managed with the ongoing response to Covid-19.
Immigration changes
- Ensuring the sector understands the Home Office’s new points-based immigration system and what it means for the legal services sector.
- Engaging with representative bodies on their ability to act as sponsors for self-employed lawyers to enter the UK.
International Law Committee
- Leading our engagement with the ILC, including briefing for monthly meetings, and developing proposals for how this senior body should evolve in future to reflect the changing international position, and fit with other government sectoral engagement bodies.
This role will develop and evolve over the course of the year as we move towards and pass the end of the transition period, taking on other responsibilities from the two Divisions.
We are looking for individuals with:
- Excellent leadership skills, including the ability to manage and motivate multi-disciplinary teams against a background of fast-moving policy.
- Excellent stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to build and maintain relationships across Government and externally.
- Demonstrable capability for strategic thinking and policy development, and the ability to make sound judgements.
- The ability to provide clear, evidenced briefing in both written and oral formats on complex policy areas to senior stakeholders and Ministers.
- Strong prioritisation skills and the ability to make effective decisions on how to make best use of your resources to handle time-sensitive work to achieve both short and long-term results.
- The ability to use project and programme management skills in a fluid environment where priorities may need to change quickly.
- The ability to get your message across to diverse groups and deploy effective influencing and negotiating skills to further Departmental and Government objectives.
- Previous experience of leading policy, managing a team and building relationships with senior stakeholders and Ministers.
- A genuine interest in trade policy (for the trade role).
Management of Resources
The post holders will each be required to manage a small team.
Behaviours (if using):
We will assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
1. Seeing the bigger picture
2. Leadership
3. Working together
4. Communicating and influencing
5. Making effective decisions
6. Delivering at pace
Experience (if using):
We will assess any demonstrable experience, career history and achievements that are relevant to the role.
Technical skills / qualifications (if using):
none
Ability Test details (if using):
none
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