Assistant Counsel (Commercial)

Job summary

The House of Commons Administration supports parliamentary democracy by delivering excellent services to the UK Parliament. At the heart of this work is the Office of Speaker’s Counsel which provides legal advice to Mr Speaker, the Clerk of the House and teams across the House. The Office comprises of both solicitors and barristers and delivers work across three key areas: general legal advice, scrutiny of domestic legislation, and support for House of Commons Committees.

Find out more about working at the House of Commons.

Job description

We are seeking an Assistant Counsel who is experienced in commercial law. They will play a key role in our General Advice Team, providing advice and guidance to departments of the House on construction contracts, other commercial contracts and procurement. The general advice team as a whole covers a very wide range of work including issues of Parliamentary privilege, freedom of information, data protection, employment, health and safety, personal injury litigation, copyright and broadcasting. The postholder will also be required to support other members in the team in the provision of legal advice on other matters as necessary

This role is offered on a hybrid working basis, with an expectation of you spending 40% of your time in the office.

Person specification

• Qualified solicitor or barrister in England and Wales with sound knowledge of contract and commercial law

• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with the ability to provide clear and concise legal advice on complex issues
• Strong powers of research and analysis, including the ability to familiarise oneself with a new area of law

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £60,180, House of Commons contributes £17,434 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

In addition to your salary, we offer an attractive range of benefits including but not limited to:

• Generous annual leave starting at 30 days and increasing to 35 after one full working year.

• Enrolment in the excellent Civil Service pension scheme with an average employer contribution of 28.97%
• Flexible working options that help you find a balance including enhanced maternity, paternity, shared parental and adoption leave, caring leave and alternative working patterns.

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

How to Apply

If you would like to apply for this role, please submit your CV and provide evidence against criteria 1-5 in the Job Description.

More information on the application process can be found here: Application process - UK Parliament

Additional Information

Please ensure that you anonymise your application by removing any identifiable factors from your CV or Supporting Statement.

Please note that most job offers will be made at the minimum of the salary range, other than in exceptional circumstances.

We may close the vacancy prior to the closing date stated due to a high volume of applications.

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

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).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

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction.