Senior Lawyer

Job summary

Make a difference
Every role at CQC contributes to our mission. If you’re looking for a new role in the Legal Services Directorate that gives a true sense of meaning and purpose, then you’ve found it! As a Senior Lawyer, you’ll help ensure that CQC’s decisions are legally sound and support our mission to improve health and social care for everyone.

Picture this
Imagine leading a team of legal professionals who are passionate about making a difference, where your advice helps shape national policy and protect people’s rights.

In the last year as a Senior Lawyer, you might have:

• Led the legal response to a complex public law case, ensuring actions were fair, lawful, and in the public interest.
• Developed a new legal framework to support enforcement activity, helping frontline teams act swiftly and confidently.
• Supported the development of new or emerging policies or legislation.

Job description

The role
You’ll play an important part in delivering our mission. In this role, you’ll:

• Lead and develop a legal team: Provide coaching, supervision, and support to ensure high-quality legal advice across the organisation.
• Advise on legal matters: Offer clear, solutions-focused legal guidance on a wide range of issues, including policy development and public law.
• Shape legal strategy: Work with senior leaders to align legal priorities with CQC’s goals and ensure legal risks are identified and managed early.

Person specification

Show us
We will be looking for specific skills, knowledge and experience in your application form:

• Demonstrated legal expertise: You’re a qualified solicitor, barrister, or chartered legal executive with at least 5 years’ post-qualification experience, including advising on complex legal matters.
• Leadership and team development: You’ve successfully led and supported legal professionals, helping them grow and deliver high-quality work.
• Strategic legal thinking: You’ve used your legal knowledge to shape policy or operational decisions, balancing risk and benefit in a fast-paced environment.

Join us and help CQC shape the future of health and care.

Benefits

The Benefits
We offer a wide range of benefits, including:

• Annual leave starting at 27 days per year, rising to 32.5 days with service, plus bank holidays (usually 8 days per year).
• Training and development opportunities.
• Wellbeing initiatives, such as gym discounts and meditation.
• NHS pension scheme, with around 14% employer contribution.
• Discount schemes (including eligibility for a Blue Light card, at a cost of £4.99 and valid for 2 years), reward vouchers, car leasing and more!

Please see our benefits page for the full list.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

To apply for this job, please click the button at the bottom of this page. This will direct you to the CQC Jobs website, where you can complete and submit your application

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

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

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Jessica Franklin, Deputy Director of Advisory Legal Services
• Email : [email removed]

Recruitment team

• Email : [email removed]

Further information

https://www.cqc.org.uk/