Chair

Bar Standards Board

Chair

Remuneration: £103,085 for approximately 112 days per year - 0.5 FTE

Location: London

The Bar Standards Board (BSB) is the statutory regulator for barristers in England and Wales. Established by the Legal Services Act 2007 and with responsibility for the regulation of over 18,000 professionals, the BSB works with the profession, industry and the public to set and apply standards for qualification and practice and handles complaints against the profession. We play a critical role in advancing the public interest in the legal services market and our vision is to be a proactive, consumer-focussed and modern regulator and to ensure that we regulate the Bar in the public interest by promoting high standards, equality and access to justice. As legal services in the UK continue to face intense pressure, including the opportunities posed by Artificial Intelligence, the BSB has a pivotal role to play in protecting the consumers of legal services and in promoting the wellbeing of the profession.

This is an exciting time to join the BSB. We are changing and changing fast. Our Reform Programme, is moving at pace, but there is more to do. We have recently completed an initial consultation on our new 5-year strategy which will set the Bar Standards Board's priorities to the end of the decade. It will be for the new Chair to oversee the development of a strategic plan for consultation in the Autumn.

The successful applicant will lead our Board, which comprises 11 members, of whom six are lay, including the Chair, setting the strategic direction of the Bar Standards Board and holding the Executive Team to account. The Chair will represent the BSB with a range of key stakeholders, including the General Council of the Bar, the Legal Services Board - our oversight regulator - the profession and with the public. This is a high-profile, influential role and your personal credibility, strong diplomatic skills and ability to command confidence will be core to your work for us. You must have demonstrable and substantial board-level experience as Chair in a complex organisation, the ability to chair effectively within the context of an environment which is subject to intense external scrutiny and a demonstrable commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.

With the ability to influence at the most senior level, you will have experience of developing, maintaining and leveraging a wide range of relationships to drive positive outcomes, as well as experience in leading organisational change and development.

You will be politically aware, a capable strategic thinker, able to inspire and motivate a diverse and ambitious organisation, as well as being an excellent communicator to varied audiences. Your ability to quickly grasp a complex regulatory and policy environment is also critical.

To be eligible for this role, the Chair must be a lay person as defined in Schedule 1 to the Legal Services Act 2007, specifically you must never have held a qualification as a legal services professional as defined in the Act.

We are committed to being a diverse and inclusive organisation; one that reflects the profession we work with and the public that we protect. We actively encourage those with diverse backgrounds and experiences to apply to work with us.

For further information including how to apply, click on the button below and for an informal confidential discussion contact Duncan Ewart at GatenbySanderson at

Closing date: 5pm on Monday 19 May 2025