Assistant Counsel (Commercial)

House of Commons

The House of Commons is a unique and exciting place to work right at the heart of the UK's thriving democratic system.

Behind the scenes, the House of Commons Service is made up of more than 3,000 employees who support and facilitate the smooth day to day running of the House. They provide professional services to Members of Parliament, their staff, and the wider parliamentary community. More information on what it's like to work at the House of Commons can be found here: Be at the heart of the House of Commons - UK Parliament

Staff Benefits

In addition to your salary, we offer an attractive range of benefits including:

• 30 days' annual leave (increasing to 35 days after first full leave year).
• Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 28.97%.
• Access to training and development.
• Flexible working.
• Interest free season ticket loan and bicycle loan.

Introduction

The Office of Speaker's Counsel provides legal advice to Mr Speaker, the Clerk of the House and all the staff teams in the House.

The Office consists of 25 qualified lawyers (a mixture of solicitors and barristers) with the support of a full-time executive assistant and a part-time paralegal. Its work falls into three main areas: general legal advice, scrutiny of domestic legislation and advice to House of Commons Committees.

This post is in the general advice team, primarily advising the Parliamentary Commercial Directorate.

The Role

This is primarily a commercial advisory post, working as part of the general advice team and in particular providing advice and guidance to departments of the House on construction contracts, other commercial contracts and procurement, during a period when the Procurement team expect to be particularly busy. The post-holder will be advising, in particular, on the application of the Public Contract Regulations 2015 and Procurement Act 2023, and on bespoke provision for the two Houses of Parliament in construction and other contracts, particularly the NEC3 and NEC4 forms of construction contract. The general advice team as a whole covers a very wide range of work including issues of Parliamentary privilege, freedom of information, data protection, employment, health and safety, personal injury litigation, copyright and broadcasting. The post-holder may be expected to assist with other areas of advice from time to time as needed.

Some of the responsibilities for this role include:

• As part of the Office of Speaker's Counsel, to provide clear, accurate, practical and timely legal advice to the Speaker, the Clerk and staff in all departments of the House, particularly in relation to construction and other commercial contracts and procurement matters, working closely with the Procurement team and the In-House Services and Estates team and with senior members of the Office.
• To draft contracts for the Procurement and other teams as and when required.
• To support other members of the team in the provision of legal advice on other matters as necessary.

Skills and Experience

To be successful in this role you will demonstrate:

• Essential qualification: Qualified solicitor or barrister in England and Wales.
• Sound knowledge of contract law.
• Strong team working and interpersonal skills, including demonstrable ability to work in a diverse team and commitment to inclusive behaviour, adapting personal and working styles to accommodate the needs of others.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with the ability to provide clear and concise legal advice on complex issues in a comprehensible and appropriate format.
• Strong powers of research and analysis, including the ability to familiarize oneself with a new area of law, assimilate a wide range of information and reach sound judgements under pressure.

Next Steps and Additional Information

• Application Form - If you would like to apply for this role, please submit an application providing evidence against criteria 2-5 in the Job Description.

More information on the application process can be found here: Application process - UK Parliament.

More information on the role and the full criteria can be found in the Job Description.

Please note that most job offers will be made at the minimum of the salary range, other than in exceptional circumstances.

We may close the vacancy prior to the closing date stated due to a high volume of applications.