ASSISTANT LEGAL ADVISORS

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

Location: London

Total Package at D6 (Civil Service Grade 7) is £56,000

Total Package at D7 (Civil Service Grade 6) is £65,705

Hours: Full-time, substantial part-time, flexible (including job-share)

Permanent

The newly created Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) united development and diplomacy in a new department. The FCDO brings together the best of the Britain’s international effort and demonstrates the UK acting as a force for good in the world.

The FCDO’s Legal Directorate supports our strategic priorities and advises on all legal matters affecting our work, both domestic and international. This is a diverse portfolio including questions of international law, public law, commercial law, EU and human rights law. The role encompasses advisory work, primary and secondary legislation and litigation.

This is an exciting opportunity to join our new Development, Corporate and Operations (DCO) team as an Assistant Legal Adviser.  The DCO team’s purpose is to provide accurate, prompt and policy-friendly legal advice to Ministers and colleagues responsible for delivering the department’s development agenda and central operational functions. The team supports the FCDO in its commercial, corporate and public law decision-making. It is also maintaining and building on DFID’s specific legal expertise in UK aid.

The team advises on a wide variety of fascinating and strategically significant initiatives to enable the new department’s international development and foreign policy objectives. All of the work comes with a strong international dimension, and with an emphasis on supporting our colleagues in building a new department that leverages the development expertise of DFID through the reach of the FCO’s global network.

You will be a fully qualified barrister or solicitor in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, or an advocate or solicitor in Scotland. Alternatively, you could be a fully qualified Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx). We are looking for experience of commercial, procurement or public law plus either a 2.1 degree, or a 2.2 degree together with a LLM (or equivalent post-graduate degree in Law).

In return, you can look forward to a package that includes a high-quality pension scheme, 25 days’ holiday (rising with service), flexible working and excellent long-term career development and training.