Deputy head of legal services

Band 8c · Head of legal services · 654 job evaluation points

Deputy heads of legal services lead a major area of the legal function, such as commercial, technology, and data law, and deputise for the head of legal services.

Responsibilities

Lead a major area of legal work, such as commercial, technology, and data law, or disputes and employment.
Advise directors on high-risk matters, including major procurements and data programs.
Manage the panel of external lawyers and the budget for external legal advice.
Set legal standards, templates, and training for the organization.
Lead and develop several legal teams or specialists.
Deputise for the head of legal services.

Skills

Skill	Expected level	What this level means
Legal adviceThis reference	Expert (4)	You can: advise the board and executive on the organization's most significant legal risks give definitive advice on novel, contentious, or high-value matters set the organization's appetite for legal risk assure the quality of legal advice across the organization, including external advice
Contract drafting and reviewThis reference	Expert (4)	You can: set the organization's contracting standards and risk positions lead negotiations on the most valuable or high-risk agreements advise senior leaders on strategic commercial arrangements, such as partnerships and joint ventures
Information and data lawThis reference	Expert (4)	You can: set the organization's legal position on the use of health and care data lead on high-risk or novel uses of data, such as research, data platforms, and AI represent the organization with regulators on information law
Public procurement lawThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: advise on routes to market, including frameworks, direct awards, and competitive procedures advise on evaluation, award decisions, and changes to contracts after award respond to supplier challenges and complaints advise on subsidy control and competition risks in partnerships
Health and care lawThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: advise on the organization's powers and duties, including when it can provide or commission a service advise on the regulation of digital health products, such as software as a medical device liaise with clinical negligence schemes and external lawyers on claims involving digital services advise on consent, capacity, and patient rights in digital services
Legal administrationThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: run the legal team's administration and improve its processes report on workload, spending on external lawyers, and turnaround times administer legal technology, such as matter management and e-signature tools
Stakeholder relationship managementUK GDaD PCF	Expert (4)	You can: direct the stakeholder relationship strategy for your teams ensure stakeholder's objectives are set and support teams to meet them influence and negotiate with senior stakeholders to resolve issues and enable progress
Leadership and guidanceUK GDaD PCF	Practitioner (3)	You can: make decisions characterised by medium levels of risk and complexity and recommend decisions as risk and complexity increase build consensus between services or independent stakeholders identify problems or issues in the team dynamic and rectify them engage in varying types of feedback, choosing the right type at the appropriate time and ensuring the discussion and decision stick bring people together to form a motivated team and help create the right environment for a team to work in facilitate the best team makeup depending on the situation
People managementThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: line manage a team, setting objectives and running appraisals support wellbeing and manage attendance, performance, and conduct plan the team's development and succession
Budget managementThis reference	Working (2)	You can: track spending against a small budget and raise variances authorize spending within your limit

Typical qualifications and experience

A qualified lawyer admitted to practice, with extensive post-qualification experience, including leading a legal team.

Band 8c outline

Knowledge: Expert knowledge, and wide organizational and sector understanding.
Autonomy: Sets strategy for a function; accountable to a director.
Scope: A function or department.
Leadership: Leads a function through several management layers.
Accountability: A function's performance, workforce, and budget.

Job evaluation (illustrative)

Factor	Level	Level summary	Points
Communication and relationship skills	6	Gives highly complex, highly contentious information where there are significant barriers to acceptance, using the highest level of communication skills.	60
Knowledge, training, and experience	8	Advanced knowledge (doctorate plus further training or equivalent), or specialist knowledge across more than one discipline built over a long period.	240
Analytical and judgmental skills	5	Judgments on highly complex facts or situations needing analysis, interpretation, and comparison of options.	60
Planning and organizational skills	4	Plans a broad range of complex activities or strategies, adjusting them as needed.	42
Physical skills	2	Skills gained through practice, such as standard keyboard use or driving.	15
Responsibility for patient and client care	1	Helps patients, clients, or relatives during incidental contact.	4
Responsibility for policy and service development	5	Implements and develops a range of policies or services for a directorate.	45
Responsibility for financial and physical resources	4	Holds or sets the budget for a department or service, or buys or maintains its assets.	32
Responsibility for people	4	Line manages a function or department, designs training programs as a main duty, or delivers a full range of HR services.	32
Responsibility for information resources	5	Designs and develops major information systems, or runs information systems for several services as the main duty.	34
Responsibility for research and development	2	Regularly does research, development, trials, or equipment and system testing as part of the job.	12
Freedom to act	5	Works within general policies, and in most cases decides how to interpret them.	45
Physical effort	1	Sitting, standing, and walking, with little physical effort.	3
Mental effort	3	Frequent concentration on unpredictable work, or occasional prolonged concentration.	12
Emotional effort	2	Occasional exposure, or frequent indirect exposure, to distressing circumstances.	11
Working conditions	2	Occasional unpleasant conditions, frequent travel or outdoor work, or near-continuous screen use on most days.	7
Total (Band 8c: 630 to 674)			654

Knowledge is level 8 for expert knowledge across several areas of law. Information resources is level 5 rather than 6, because the job does not manage organization-wide information systems.