Closing Date:

17/06/2024

Group:

Legal Group

Management Level:

Senior Associate

Job Type:

Permanent

Job Description:

Please note this role will close at 0.01 on the 17th June so we advise making your application by midnight on the 16th June.

How to apply

Please send us a short CV and a covering letter. The covering letter should be no more than two pages and should explain why you are interested in working for Ofcom, and why you would be suitable for the role.

Salary: £70-80k with an excellent benefits package.

Are you looking for a senior associate role in a growing organisation?

Ofcom is currently recruiting for a qualified lawyer to join our growing legal team at either our Manchester or London Office. This is an exciting opportunity to be able to continue building your career with a flexible and supportive employer. We are welcoming applications for both full time and part time hours for this role.

About Ofcom

As the UK’s communications regulator, we’re delivering vital work that helps keep the UK connected and shapes the future of how we’ll stay connected with each other.

Our work covers everything from phones and broadband, through to TV, radio, the postal service and wireless devices. We’re also taking on the challenge of making the online world a safer place.

And we need people of all backgrounds, skill sets, and experiences to help us achieve our goal of making communications work for everyone.

About the Team

The legal team is part of Ofcom’s Legal & Enforcement Group. We are a friendly and diverse team, based in London and Manchester, bringing together each of our own strengths and specialisms to provide first-class, proactive, and focused legal advice and support across the whole organisation. We help Ofcom create and implement communications policy and regulation and advise on all its key decisions. The team consists of around 60 qualified lawyers, from associate level to senior management, with a range of legal backgrounds, experience and expertise.

Purpose of the Role

As a senior associate legal advisor, you will provide expert legal advice across the full spectrum of Ofcom’s work. You will work on complex and high-profile matters which are often the subject of political and public interest and debate, and which have the potential to raise new and significant points of law.

You will have the opportunity to work on projects throughout their life cycle, including helping with the early-stage policy development, advising on consultation processes, decision-making and any subsequent litigation or enforcement.

You will work as part of a team of lawyers on a big project, or independently with a senior lawyer acting as a peer reviewer. You may also peer review more junior lawyers.

Ofcom has a range of statutory duties which are designed to protect people in the UK from harmful material, including on TV, radio and on-demand programming, and our new role protecting citizens from harm presented by content on regulated online services. As a result, applicants should be aware that this role may involve work with potentially distressing content and material and/or themes. Ofcom is committed to safeguarding our colleagues who undertake this type of work and offers a range of tailored support options, including annual psychological assessments for those in high risk roles and 24-hour access to counselling services.

Key responsibilities

• Advising on a portfolio of legal work across diverse projects in a range of sectors, including assessing and resolving legal risk in the context of Ofcom’s overall strategy

• Developing knowledge in new areas, including advising on areas of law that are new to you and learning about new industry sectors and technologies

• Providing analysis and support for Ofcom’s policy and programmatic work

• Addressing matters which raise new and significant points of law

• Working with other lawyers in the team to assess and resolve legal risk

• Liaising with external stakeholders, including central government, other regulators and regulated industries

• Helping to conduct litigation

• Contributing to the strengthening of Ofcom as an organisation by engaging actively in internal initiatives

Skills, knowledge and experience

We welcome applications from qualified lawyers (solicitor, barrister or equivalent) with post-qualification experience (private practice, in-house or at a public authority) advising on one or more of the following areas: regulatory or competition matters, consumer issues, media, technology, data protection or public law issues.

We’re interested in people who can:

• Communicate clearly and effectively in writing and orally

• Analyse new areas of the law, identify key risks and solve problems by thinking strategically and creatively

• Work on their own or as part of a team of lawyers

• Collaborate with others by building relationships with colleagues from a range of disciplines, such as policy specialists, technical experts and economists

• Handle and prioritise competing demands on their time.

Ofcom has a flexible hybrid working policy, and you should be within a reasonable commuting distance from our London office or our Manchester office.

Ofcom has a clear mission: to make communications work for everyone. To be able to deliver on this, we want our organisation to reflect the diversity of background, experience, upbringing and thought that exists across the UK. We aim to recruit from the widest pool of candidates possible – no matter your social background, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender or disability.

Where positions are listed as full-time, we remain open to reduced hours, part-time arrangements, job shares, and other flexible working options. From day one, we champion flexible work arrangements to accommodate individual needs.

We also warmly welcome applicants who are returning to the workforce after a break – for whatever reason. If you have taken time away and are ready to rejoin, we look forward to reviewing your application.

Our recruitment processes prioritise accessibility and inclusivity. If you need information in an alternative format or have specific preferences, please contact our recruitment team at resourcing@ofcom.org.uk or call 0330 912 1378.

As a Disability Confident employer, we offer interviews to disabled applicants who meet essential criteria for advertised roles. Learn more about this scheme here. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/jobs/disability-confident-scheme