Senior Counsel - Investigation and Tribunals

In this role, as a member of the Legal Office Advisory Team, you will be providing legal services to the National Institutions of the Church of England, with a particular focus on clergy discipline, including acting as an advocate in the relevant statutory tribunals and courts. While the Clergy Discipline Measure 2003 remains in force you will be responsible for performing the national statutory role of Designated Officer.

About the Department

The Legal Office is the in-house provider of legal services to the national policy-making and governance institutions of the Church of England (the National Church Institutions, "NCIs"), the largest of which are the Archbishops' Council, a national policy and strategic decision-making body, and the Church Commissioners, a substantial endowment fund with assets valued at £10.4bn (2023) which has positioned itself at the forefront of Responsible Investment and which supports the mission of the Church. The Legal Office also advises the General Synod, which is a legislative assembly.

We are a small, inclusive team currently comprising twelve legally qualified staff, with two paralegals and two support staff. Our professional backgrounds are diverse, with members coming to us from private practice in law firms, the Bar, from government, and from regulators.

What you'll be doing

In this role you will:

• Initially, fulfilling the role of Designated Officer under the Clergy Discipline Measure; subsequently leading the Investigation and Tribunals Team, in particular by overseeing and investigating complaints of serious misconduct against the clergy
• Conducting proceedings before the relevant court or tribunal, including acting as advocate and taking all necessary steps to prepare the case for hearing
• Acting as advocate on appeals from the decisions of tribunals and courts to the provincial courts of appeal
• Supporting and advising the Clergy Discipline Commission/Clergy Conduct Commission in the exercise of its statutory responsibilities
• Providing legal advice to the General Synod and its Houses and committees, the Archbishops' Council and its committees and staff (including the National Safeguarding Team) and the other National Church Institutions as appropriate

About You

The Church of England is for everyone and we want to reflect the diversity of the community the Church serves across the whole country. Therefore, while of course we welcome all applications from interested and suitably experienced people, we would particularly welcome applicants from UK Minoritised Ethnicities (UKME)/Global Majority Heritage (GMH) and other under-represented groups. As a Disability Confident employer, we are committed to recruiting disabled people. We offer interviews to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for the role.

To be successful in this role, you will need to be a barrister or solicitor qualified to practise in England and Wales.

In addition, you will need:

• Ideally at least 7 years' experience of advocacy, case management and preparation in courts and/or tribunals
• Proven experience of advising in highly complex, sensitive and contentious matters
• Proven experience of drafting complex legal documentation
• To be a highly effective communicator
• To have strong powers of legal analysis and proven experience of providing appropriate legal advice on complex, sensitive and contentious issues directly to members and other key stakeholders, and the ability to quality assure own work
• Ability to build effective relationships with senior stakeholders

What we offer

Our benefits include:

• A salary of circa. £90,000 per annum plus age-related pension contributions between 8-15% of salary. We will also match any pension contributions you make up to an additional 3% of salary
• 30 days annual leave plus three additional days
• Flexible working hours and location, with an expectation of just 2-3 days per week in our office in Westminster
• Structured induction programme and access to a range of development opportunities including apprenticeships
• Access to Occupational Health, and an Employee Assistance Programme
• Opportunity to the Civil Service Sports & Social Club, and get involved in a range of staff networks, groups and societies

We try to be as flexible as we can in your work pattern to support you with other commitments, and to give a good work-life balance.

The National Church Institutions comprises a wide variety of teams, professions and functions that support the mission and ministries of the Church of England in its vision to be a church, centred on Jesus Christ, for the whole nation - a church that is simpler, humbler, bolder.

We Include. You Belong.

Our Belonging and Inclusion Strategy aims for everyone in the National Church Institutions (NCIs) to feel that they belong, and are valued for who they are and what they contribute. Together, our people contribute in different ways towards our common purpose, whichever NCI they work in and whatever their background.

Living out our values in all that we do, we:

• Strive for Excellence
• Show Compassion
• Respect others
• Collaborate
• Act with Integrity

We believe our commitment to belonging and inclusion fuels our progress and drives us forward. The NCIs are a safe, inclusive workplace for people of all backgrounds and walks of life. We welcome applications from people of all faiths and of no faith. We want to encourage applications from a diverse group of people who share our values. Even if you have never thought about working for us before, if you have the skills and experience we're looking for then we would like to hear from you.