General counsel

Band 9 · Head of legal services · 733 job evaluation points

General counsel are the organisation's most senior lawyer, with corporate responsibility for legal services and legal risk, and often also lead corporate governance as board secretary.

Responsibilities

Hold corporate responsibility for the organisation's legal affairs and legal risk.
Advise the board and chair on the organisation's powers, duties, and governance.
Make sure major strategies, partnerships, and data programmes are lawful.
Lead the response to the most serious legal threats, such as judicial reviews and regulatory action.
Lead legal services, and often corporate governance and the board secretariat.
Represent the organisation with regulators, partners, and government bodies.

Skills

Skill	Expected level	What this level means
Legal adviceThis reference	Expert (4)	You can: advise the board and executive on the organisation's most significant legal risks give definitive advice on novel, contentious, or high-value matters set the organisation's appetite for legal risk assure the quality of legal advice across the organisation, including external advice
Health and care lawThis reference	Expert (4)	You can: advise the board on the organisation's statutory duties and governance lead legal work on public inquiries, judicial reviews, and major incidents shape the organisation's response to new health and care law
Information and data lawThis reference	Expert (4)	You can: set the organisation'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 organisation with regulators on information law
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	Expert (4)	You can: change organisational structures to fixable and sustainable designs lead on the strategy for the whole organisation, marrying business needs with innovative analysis make and justify decisions characterised by high levels of risk, impact and complexity build consensus between organisations (private or public) or highly independent and diverse stakeholders solve and unblock issues between teams or departments at the highest level understand the psychology of a team and have strong mediation skills coach the organisation on team dynamics and conflict resolution
People managementThis reference	Expert (4)	You can: lead managers and shape the culture of a large area design workforce plans and organisational change coach leaders and resolve complex people issues
Corporate governance and complianceThis reference	Expert (4)	You can: design the governance framework and advise the board lead annual governance reporting and assurance
Organisational risk managementThis reference	Expert (4)	You can: design the organisation's risk management framework and appetite advise the board on strategic risks
Budget managementThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: hold and manage a budget, forecasting and explaining variances build a business case with costs and benefits

Typical qualifications and experience

A qualified lawyer admitted to practise, with extensive experience at executive or board level.

Band 9 outline

Knowledge: Strategic expertise and system-wide leadership.
Autonomy: Sets organisation strategy with the executive team.
Scope: The organisation, and its partners across the system.
Leadership: Leads a profession or directorate.
Accountability: Organisation-wide outcomes, budgets, and risks.

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 judgemental skills	5	Judgements on highly complex facts or situations needing analysis, interpretation, and comparison of options.	60
Planning and organisational skills	5	Forms long-term strategic plans, with uncertainty and effects across the organisation.	60
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	6	Corporate responsibility for major policy or service development across or beyond the organisation.	60
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	5	Line manages several departments, or manages training or a large part of HR across the organisation.	45
Responsibility for information resources	6	Manages and develops information systems across the organisation as the main duty.	46
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	6	Interprets overall policy and strategy to set goals and standards.	60
Physical effort	1	Sitting, standing, and walking, with little physical effort.	3
Mental effort	4	Frequent prolonged concentration, or occasional intense concentration.	18
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 9: 721 to 765)			733

Financial resources is level 4 because the job holds the budget for legal and governance services, not the organisation's finances.