Job summary
- Main area
- Legal Services
- Grade
- Band 9
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 164-6863964
- Employer
- Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Queens Medical Centre
- Town
- Nottingham
- Salary
- £105,385 - £121,271 pa
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 26/01/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Director of Legal Services
Band 9
Job overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Director of Legal Services to join Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. The post holder will be responsible for leading and managing all aspects of the Legal Services Department, ensuring that there is a high performing, effective legal service that delivers best practice Trust wide and when engaging with external organisations.
The post holder will provide strategic leadership and direction for the team to maximise learning and quality improvement in line with the Trust’s long-term strategy. The post holder will have overarching responsibility and accountability for all work carried out in the Legal Services Department and will deputise for the Director of Governance as required in respect to legal services.
Main duties of the job
To work with and advise the Director of Governance in respect to the long term strategic planning of legal services at the Trust, using specialist knowledge of the law and best practice.
To deputise for the Director of Governance as required in respect to legal services.
To have final professional and managerial responsibility for all advice given within the Legal Services Department.
To act as the legal expert for the Trust, managing all aspects of the Legal Services Department, providing legal advice across a broad range of areas including clinical negligence, Coroner’s Inquests, Insurance, employer’s and public liability, consent, Powers of Attorney, Wills and other healthcare law issues. To ensure that the legal service provided is effective and provides value for money for the Trust.
The post holder will ensure the provision of a dedicated legal service within the Trust, developing and expanding the service to meet the Trust’s changing strategic needs.
To monitor and scrutinise all legal activity and spend across the Trust to develop a clear understanding of the needs of the Trust and costs involved, making recommendations where necessary to rationalise service.
To ensure that the Legal Services Department acts with the appropriate level of urgency, sensitivity and responsibility, in preparation of High Court/Court of Protection applications.
Working for our organisation
With over 19,000 staff, we are one of the biggest employers in the city with a central role in supporting the health and wellbeing of our local population. We play a leading role in research, education and innovation.
Come and join our wonderful team at NUH. We are big believers in diversity and welcome new ideas to help develop our team in order to deliver world class healthcare to the vast patient populations we serve. With endless personal development opportunities available, at NUH we will endeavour to turn your job into a career!
We particularly welcome applications from people who identify as Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, or Disabled, as we are striving to be better represented at NUH.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
For more details please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification or please contact us for a discussion
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- • Educated to Masters level in legal practice
- • A qualified and practising solicitor, significant post qualification experience successfully managing a substantial case load, advance specialist knowledge, expertise and experience in this field or similar (related) field (work experience equivalent of doctorate level education)
- • Significant additional role related and personal development training and evidence of the SRA required ongoing continued professional development.
- • Awareness of national and local policy, legislation and regulations and the latest developments in healthcare law
Desirable criteria
- Leadership qualification / training
- Project management training / qualification
Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience of managing, leading and building teams
- • Ability to demonstrate strategic vision as well as a track record of leading a team through a change process
- • Significant experience advising at a senior level on the full range of health and/or regulatory law issues
- • Demonstrate extensive experience of delivering across an organisation
- • Specialist legal knowledge across a wide range of legal disciplines
- • Evidence of resilience and diplomacy to lead and support change within the service
- • Demonstrable skills in planning over the short, medium and long term, with the ability to constantly assess, adjust plans and resource requirements accordingly.
- • Ability to provide clear and informative reporting information in relation to the Trust’s legal position, cases and risks.
- • Appreciation of the context of in house NHS legal services regulation and legislation and the context of how they apply within organisations.
- • Experience of undertaking advocacy in court and/or at inquests. The post holder must have rights of audience to allow them to appear before Coroners and Judges.
- • Extensive experience of analysing highly complex information and producing reports to tight deadlines. Experience presenting this information within a large, complex organisation
- • Experience developing and delivering training on a variety of legal topics to a wide range of recipients.
- • Extensive experience of managing sensitive issues within sometimes hostile or emotional situations
- • Wide range of experience of working under pressure to agreed time-scales.
- • Demonstrated capabilities to manage own workload and make informed decisions in the absence of required information, working to tight and often changing timescales
Desirable criteria
- Be a registered Law Society Training Principal and be responsible for the training
- Experience of working in an in-house legal team in an Acute NHS Trust
- Legal knowledge to include clinical negligence, Coroner’s inquests, employers’ and public liability, statutory/regulatory law and general healthcare advisory.
- Experience of working in a complex healthcare / NHS environment
Communication
Essential criteria
- • Excellent and highly effective communication and interpersonal skills at all levels, a highly credible leader with experience of building relationships with a wide range of stakeholders.
- • Post holder must be able to communicate confidently and effectively at all levels – the role involves receiving and providing highly complex, sensitive, emotionally charged and contentious information. They must have the ability to negotiate, persuade and influence in order to bring about change. Includes communication to Board members and senior individuals within the organisation and external stakeholders.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
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Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Gilbert George
- Job title
- Executive Director of Corporate Governance
- Email address
- [email protected]
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