Senior Lawyer (Criminal)

Job available in these locations:

Leeds, United Kingdom
London, United Kingdom

Grade A - £50,466 (National Framework) or £55,484 (London Framework) per annum

Contracted Hours: Full time 37 hours per week

Contract Type: Permanent

Location: Leeds or London Office

Are you committed to helping us regulate health and social care within England?

We are looking for individuals who are caring, demonstrate integrity, work well as part of a team and always strive for excellence in everything they do. Help us make sure health and social care services provide people with safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care and encourage care services to improve.

Let us tell you a little bit about the role

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the regulator for health and social care services in England and prosecuting authority under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and its subordinate legislation. CQC’s criminal principal prosecution powers were established with the transfer of enforcement responsibility for health and safety incidents in the health and social care sector from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and local authorities to the CQC.

The Criminal Litigation and Inquests Team is recruiting a Senior Lawyer.  The work of the Criminal Team involves conduct of cases where you are expected to provide robust, responsive legal advice and support to the CQC, covering all areas of criminal law that potentially impact on the organisation and its work.

In the Criminal Team you’ll be responsible for analysing and reviewing evidence, deciding whether to take criminal proceedings through to the court prosecution stage and preparing cases for court and conducting prosecutions. Responsibilities will include dealing with case preparation and progression, providing legal advice to our Inspection directorates in the conduct of all criminal proceedings. You’ll be expected to have up-to date knowledge of criminal law and procedure and experience of advising clients on cases presented in both the Magistrates and Crown Courts.

The role involves supporting the Legal Manager and managing and supporting the Criminal Team in its day to day functions and ongoing development. Senior Lawyers handle complex cases and directly line manage and provide strategic direction to members of the team.

Senior Lawyers within the Criminal Team also make a wider corporate contribution in terms of helping to develop CQC legal priorities, identifying trends and feeding back to Directorates.

What we're looking for from you

A qualified solicitor, barrister or CILEX fellow entitled to practise in England and Wales with at least 5 years post qualification experience.

You’ll have significant litigation experience involving Magistrates’ Courts and Crown Courts, knowledge of Inquisitorial Proceedings and experience of managing caseloads and advising on complex legal matters as well as managing enforcement activity.

A strong leader, with experience as a line manager, you’ll have excellent communication, presentation and relationship building skills required to secure and maintain the confidence of a range of internal and external stakeholders, such as magistrates’ courts, coroners, defence lawyers and counsel.

What we can offer you

Your health and wellbeing are important to us and are supported through generous annual leave, a cycle to work scheme, discounted gym vouchers and access to a free employee assistance service 24 hours a day. We also understand the importance of financial health and offer membership of the NHS pension scheme, contributing about 14% of basic salary. You will also be able to access discounts to supermarkets, high street stores, electronics, and fleet cars.

Closing date: Thursday 7th October 2021 at 11.59pm