General Counsel

Job summary

The Office for Environmental Protection’s (the OEP) mission is to protect and improve the environment by holding government and other public bodies to account. We do this by reporting on progress against environmental targets, advising on proposed changes to environmental law, monitoring and reporting on the implementation of environmental law, and receiving and investigating complaints from the public which may lead to enforcement action.

This is a rare opportunity to shape the legal strategy, legal voice and developing jurisprudence of a nationally significant independent environmental governance body. The role holder will lead the OEP’s Legal Directorate of around 14 lawyers, helping to establish and maintain the OEP’s reputation as an expert, independent and trusted public body.

With a total staff of just over 80, we are a mission-driven, friendly and flexible organisation working across England, Northern Ireland and environmental matters reserved to the UK Government. We offer flexible working arrangements, high profile and dynamic work, and the chance to have a real impact on improving the state of the environment.

To find out more about the OEP, what we do, who we are and our current work, visit the OEP website..

The OEP is a non-departmental public body sponsored by Defra in England and DAERA in Northern Ireland. We operate independently and impartially, while maintaining constructive and appropriate relationships with sponsor departments, government, Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, public authorities and wider stakeholders.

Our employees are public servants and as part of the Benefits package, employees have the opportunity to enrol in the Civil Service Pension Scheme.

Job description

Reporting to the Chief Executive, the General Counsel (GC) is an Executive Director of the OEP, Chief Legal Officer, Head of Legal Profession, and a core member of both the Executive Team and Executive Committee. The GC has direct access to the Board and Chair on matters requiring independent legal advice, including legal risk, propriety, independence, or governance issues. As a senior leader, the GC shapes strategic decision-making, champions organisational values, and leads external engagement with public authority legal officers, legal practitioners, academics, the judiciary, and key stakeholders across environmental and regulatory law.

The GC safeguards the OEP’s statutory independence, ensuring that its advice, governance, and decision-making support the lawful, proportionate, and evidence-based exercise of powers across England, Northern Ireland, and reserved UK matters. Leading the Legal Directorate, the GC upholds professional standards, builds legal capability, and fosters an inclusive, innovative, and high-performing culture. The GC leads the legal team to provide full-spectrum legal, governance, and professional support across all OEP functions. Operating as a centre of excellence, the team enables the effective use of statutory powers by balancing opportunity with legal risk management. They advise on daily matters, strategic decisions, and projects monitoring environmental law, while advising government on proposed legal changes and reporting on progress towards environmental ambitions.

Working closely with the complaints and investigations team and alongside the Chief Regulatory Officer, the GC oversees litigation strategy for enforcement actions, ensuring judicial reviews and environmental reviews are effectively conducted, lawful, proportionate, and impact-focused. The GC also leads interventions in third-party judicial reviews to enhance the OEP’s standing as a credible, independent authority. Additionally, the team handles wider corporate governance—including FOI, data protection, employment, and commercial law—while providing strategic legal insight to the OEP's horizon scanning function.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Strategic Leadership & Governance: Shape and lead the OEP's legal strategy, providing independent, risk-aware legal advice to the Board, CEO, and Executive Committee on high-level decisions, governance, and statutory independence.
• Corporate Management: As Executive Director, drive corporate leadership, business planning, budget-setting, risk management, and the formulation and delivery of the OEP's operating model within a lean, expert organisation.
• Casework & Litigation Oversight: Oversee legal casework, environmental reviews, judicial reviews, and third-party interventions, partnering with the Chief Regulatory Officer to ensure litigation is conducted strategically and effectively.
• Investigations & Systemic Impact: Provide strategic and tactical legal support to the complaints and investigations team to develop evidence-led, proportionate cases that secure systemic environmental outcomes.
• Team Leadership & Excellence: Lead, inspire, and develop the legal team as a centre of excellence, building capability, resilience, professional confidence, and an inclusive, high-performing culture.
• External Ambassador & Stakeholders: Act as a visible ambassador defending the OEP's legal stance under parliamentary, public, media, and legal scrutiny, leading engagement with the judiciary, legal practitioners, and key stakeholders.
• Legal Risk & Professional Standards: Analyse and manage legal risk across the OEP to enable ambitious action, ensuring the legal function operates to the highest ethical, professional, and governance standards.
• Operations & External Services: Provide senior oversight of work programmes, legal compliance, and the efficient commissioning and management of external legal services and counsel to deliver quality and value.

The above list of job duties is not exclusive or exhaustive and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.

Person specification

1. Strategic Legal Leadership & Executive Governance- A track record of acting as a trusted key adviser to Board and Executive levels within complex public, regulatory, or corporate environments. You bring the strategic acumen to contribute beyond the legal function to corporate decision-making, ensuring robust governance, statutory propriety, and institutional independence while managing legal risk pragmatically.

2. Public Law & Regulatory Expertise- Substantial expertise in public, administrative, regulatory, or constitutional law. Environmental law expertise or the ability to demonstrate the capability to quickly gain authoritative command of the OEP’s statutory framework and broader environmental law context. You posses the intellectual agility to rapidly master complex statutory frameworks and provide authoritative, objective, and risk-aware legal guidance on statutory powers, decision-making, and policy implementation.

3. Litigation Strategy & Contentious Practice- Proven experience leading high-profile, complex, or strategically significant litigation, investigations, or judicial reviews. You can oversee litigation strategy, drive enforcement action, and effectively manage external legal commissioning to deliver maximum impact and value for money.

4. Inspiring People Leadership & Cultivating Talent- An inspiring leader who can build, manage, and empower a high-performing legal team. You foster an inclusive, supportive, and intellectually rigorous culture that champions continuous professional development, maintains high ethical standards, and channels te