Data Lawyer (4506981)

The Role and Our Team  

Hays are delighted to be partnering with the Office for Product Safety Standards (OPSS) to recruit a key role within their highly regarded legal team – Data lawyer. This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced lawyer who is looking to work for a national regulator and join a friendly, inclusive and diverse in-house legal team. They have offices in Birmingham, London and Teddington and the role can be based at any of these locations.

The opportunity:

The Legal team are from a mixture of public sector and private practice backgrounds and from the Criminal Bar.  The team provides legal advice across all of OPSS’s functions. These are exciting opportunities for a highly motivated lawyers with strong interpersonal skills who is able to work well within a team. This post reports directly to the Head of Regulatory Legal Advice. 

You will work closely with teams across the OPSS to provide pragmatic, solution focussed and high-quality legal advice. The scope of the role, reflecting the breadth of OPSS’s functions, is broad. We do not expect applicants to have existing expertise in all areas of OPSS’s work but you must be willing to advise on a wide range of matters including our data transformation programme, development of policy, enforcement across a range of civil and criminal legislation, and statutory decision-making. In doing so, you will liaise with both Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and other government departments’ legal advisors (GLD) as well as other regulators and commercial entities as appropriate.​ 

Key Responsibilities: 

​​You will have responsibility for a stimulating, wide-ranging portfolio of work which includes: 

• ​Advising on compliance with relevant laws in respect of data sharing, data handling and data security, advising on data protection and FOI issues. 
• ​Providing timely and high-quality legal advice to colleagues on a wide range of issues, both in respect of discrete requests for legal assistance and on more significant matters. 
• ​Managing, with appropriate supervision, your own caseload and working collaboratively with others on larger matters. 
• ​Providing strategic legal advice when OPSS is considering, or has committed to, taking on new regulatory functions on behalf of other Government departments. 
• ​Understanding policy perspectives and confidently presenting delivery solutions. 
• ​Highlight to senior colleagues any significant legal risks, particularly in your practice areas, on a timely basis. 
• ​Liaising with legal teams/advisers of stakeholders and other government departments/regulators as appropriate.  
• ​Contributing to the learning and development of the OPSS Legal Advice and Practice team, as well as to the OPSS more broadly.​ 

What you will need to succeed:

Skills & Experience 

​​We are interested in hearing from applicants who feel that they can demonstrate the following attributes: ​ 

• ​An ability to assimilate complex information and provide pragmatic, delivery-focused advice on the back of it, underpinned by well-reasoned analysis. 
• ​An aptitude for problem solving in a way that takes account of the ‘bigger picture’, particularly where there are uncertainties at play. 
• ​A trusted advisor and advocate, able to listen and understand needs through open, structured and productive conversations. 
• ​Capable of exercising sound judgment, even when balancing conflicting pressures and interests. 
• ​Excellent communication skills with the ability to express sophisticated concepts clearly and concisely and to influence colleagues. 
• ​An ability to work at pace, recognising the need to prioritise or to adopt a flexible approach when appropriate. 
• ​Ability to establish and maintain positive working relationships with a range of colleagues at all levels across a number of organisations. 

​ 

​What you'll get in return

Alongside your salary of £57,026 (London), you will also be entitled to the below benefits:

• Career development - Learning and development opportunities
• An environment with flexible working options
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day per year up to a maximum of 30
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with employer contributions of at least 20% of your salary

Selection process

A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Provide employment history that relates to the essential criteria.

A Personal Statement of 500 words explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role in reference to the essential criteria below:

Essential criteria:

• ​Applicants must be qualified to practice as a Solicitor, Barrister or Chartered Legal Executive in England and Wales. You must have completed a training contract/pupillage/qualifying employment or have been exempted from this by the Law Society, the Bar Council or CILEX. 
• ​​A sound knowledge of public law principles.  
• Experience of advising on data protection and security, information law, FOI and / or data governance

Desirable criteria:

• Experience of working within the Regulatory sector and advising on regulatory law

Interviews for this vacancy will be conducted virtually and will include a written exercise. We will, consider in-person interviews with exception.

Sift will take place week commencing 13^th May 2024

Interviews will take place week commencing 27^th May 2024

Hays have been retained by OPSS to manage the recruitment of this role. 

Contact information

Department Business and Trade

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