Legal Information Manager

Job summary

From healthcare to artificial intelligence, energy to national security, we provide legal advice to government departments on nation-changing subjects.

At Government Legal Department we have a vital, single-minded purpose: to help the Government govern well within the rule of law. This is complemented by our exciting vision to be an outstanding legal organisation, committed to the highest standards of service and professionalism and a brilliant place to work where we can all thrive and fulfill our potential.

Our work touches almost every aspect of public life. We are the largest provider of legal services across government, working on high profile matters.

Our respected professionals are involved in everything from regulation and litigation to advice on drafting legislation. They provide expertise to the full range of government departments. We are at the heart of delivering the government’s priorities and our success depends on our people.

GLD is a non-ministerial government department headed by the Treasury Solicitor, our Permanent Secretary, and employs nearly 4000 people, including nearly 3000 legal professionals. We have offices nationwide, in Bristol, Leeds, inner and outer London and Manchester. Our lawyers can also be located within other departments and overseas.

GLD also depends on a range of cross-functional professionals to provide our corporate services. There are nearly 1000 colleagues playing an essential part in helping GLD to achieve its purpose and truly deliver much more than law.

This is an exciting time to join GLD, with cutting edge legal work on global issues and a transformation agenda which is ensuring the Department exemplifies the Modern Civil Service.

To find out more about what we do you can view our introductory film. On our website you can hear from team members, find out how to apply and learn about the benefits of working for GLD. You can also read more about the future vision for GLD in our GLD Strategy 2024 – 2027.

Job description

About the Legal Knowledge and Learning Division

The Legal Operations directorate is dedicated to enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of GLD's legal services. The directorate includes Legal Knowledge and Learning (LKL), Legal Delivery, the AI Programme and the Bona Vacantia divisions. The directorate focuses on enabling an effective, efficient and engaged GLD that can deliver on its commitment to the highest standards of service and professionalism.

LKL equips government lawyers with the relevant knowledge, skills and tools to provide outstanding legal advice to ministers and officials.

As a multi-disciplinary team, we provide a portfolio of services spanning legal learning, knowledge development, online information services and knowledge systems.

Sitting at the heart of the Government Legal Profession, we develop lawyers’ knowledge and capability, connect lawyers through legal communities and facilitate sharing of knowledge and collaboration across government.

By caring about our lawyers as lawyers, we support their professional development at every stage of their careers through an extensive programme of learning opportunities.

Through our commitment to excellence and innovation across all our activities, we help GLD achieve its vision of being "an outstanding legal organisation, committed to the highest standards of service and professionalism".

The LKL Division is responsible for:

• knowledge development
• knowledge systems
• legal information
• legal knowledge & communities
• legal learning

The Role

The role takes operational responsibility and ownership of GLD’s current Legal Information Services used across the organisation and the wider Government Legal Profession (GLP). The role includes responsibility for managing the relationship with GLD’s subscription services providers including the high value contracts with Thomson Reuters and LexisNexis.

The role reports to GLD’s G6 Head of Knowledge, which sits in the LKL Division, led by Deputy Director and Head of Legal Knowledge and Learning, Helen Barker.

The postholder leads the work of the Legal Information Team, currently a team of two (one EO and one G7), to drive improvements in the quality and cohesiveness of these services, enhancing productivity of lawyers both within GLD and the wider GLP.

The team also contributes to AI initiatives across GLD as well as co-ordinating training to improve skills and share best practice with those using GLD’s legal subscription services.

In addition, the post holder works closely with the Head of Knowledge to support wider engagement with GLD and GLP on the knowledge systems and legal information services and wider knowledge initiatives.

Key responsibilities and deliverables include:

• working with the Director of Legal Operations and key stakeholders to plan for future subscription service’s contracts for GLD’s and GLP’s legal information provision.
• leading the legal information team within GLD including management responsibilities, establishing priorities and setting performance objectives for the team.
• managing and overseeing GLD’s electronic subscription-based services, including building and maintaining strong relationships with the subscription services providers.
• managing GLD’s (limited, distributed) print collections.
• anticipating and responding to the legal information needs of GLD’s lawyers as the legislative and regulatory framework in which we operate continues to evolve.
• co-ordinating with external providers and the internal subscription services liaison group to deliver effective training and guidance for new and current staff.
• effectively planning and managing the legal information budget.
• being a conduit for the department for new opportunities and best practice in legal information.
• managing the department’s legal current awareness and horizon scanning needs and provision including extending the current awareness services to Centres of Excellence and Client Relationship teams.
• providing an expert contribution to departmental projects relating to legal data and information (for example relating to search and data analysis).
• leading and co-ordinating the activities of the GLD Library Champions Network.

Person specification

Behaviours

Below are details of the Success Profiles that make up this role. Demonstrating all the behaviours listed below is essential at either application or interview. You can read more about Success Profiles and how they are used as an assessment method before completing your application.

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Changing and improving
• Communicating and influencing
• Managing a quality service
• Leadership
  

Key Skills & Experience

Essential – must be demonstrated at application and interview

• Experience of working in legal information role in a legal and/or public sector setting.
• Experienc