Senior legal adviser

Band 8a · Legal adviser · 551 job evaluation points

Senior legal advisers are experienced lawyers who lead on complex, high-value, or high-risk matters in a specialist area, such as technology and data, information law, procurement, employment, or claims.

Responsibilities

Lead on complex agreements, such as major system implementations, data platforms, and partnerships.
Advise senior managers on novel questions, such as AI, data use for research, and software as a medical device.
Advise on employment law for workforce change, contractors, and employment disputes.
Lead on significant disputes, procurement challenges, and liaison with clinical negligence schemes.
Write templates, playbooks, and guidance for the organisation.
Manage and develop legal advisers and paralegals.

Skills

Skill	Expected level	What this level means
Legal adviceThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: give independent legal advice in your areas of practice explain legal risk in plain English and recommend practical options advise on decisions with legal effect, such as contract awards, data sharing, and changes to services decide when to instruct external lawyers or counsel
Contract drafting and reviewThis reference	Expert (4)	You can: set the organisation'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	Practitioner (3)	You can: advise on data protection, the duty of confidentiality, and information access law for digital services draft and negotiate data sharing agreements and data processing terms, including international transfers advise on data protection impact assessments for new technology, such as AI and analytics platforms advise on data breaches, regulator enquiries, and complaints
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
Litigation and dispute resolutionThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: manage a caseload of disputes and claims from first notice to settlement or hearing assess the merits and value of claims and recommend strategy negotiate settlements and use alternative dispute resolution make sure lessons from claims feed into safety, contract, and service improvements
Intellectual propertyThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: advise on who owns software, data, and content made by staff, suppliers, and partners draft licences and intellectual property terms, including open source release of the organisation's code advise on commercial use of the organisation's data and software, and on sharing benefits
Employment lawThis reference	Working (2)	You can: help prepare documents for employment claims and hearings review employment contracts and policies against templates
Health and care lawThis reference	Working (2)	You can: support legal work on incidents, inquests, or clinical claims explain the regulatory framework that applies to the organisation's services
Stakeholder relationship managementUK GDaD PCF	Practitioner (3)	You can: work with the team to develop and maintain an understanding of stakeholders work with the team to develop and implement stakeholder communications strategies identify and resolve issues, influence stakeholders and manage relationships effectively build long-term strategic relationships and communicate clearly and regularly with stakeholders
People managementThis reference	Working (2)	You can: supervise day-to-day work and give feedback take part in recruitment and induction hold regular one-to-one conversations

Typical qualifications and experience

A qualified lawyer admitted to practise, with substantial post-qualification experience in a relevant specialism.

Band 8a outline

Knowledge: Expert knowledge of a discipline and its management.
Autonomy: Interprets organisational policy for a service; sets the team's direction.
Scope: A service area or a discipline across the organisation.
Leadership: Manages a team, or leads a discipline without line management.
Accountability: A service area, its staff, and its budget.

Job evaluation (illustrative)

Factor	Level	Level summary	Points
Communication and relationship skills	5	Gives highly complex or contentious information needing developed persuasion and negotiation, presents to large groups, or communicates where there are significant barriers to acceptance.	45
Knowledge, training, and experience	7	Highly developed specialist knowledge across the range of the specialism (master's level or equivalent).	196
Analytical and judgemental skills	5	Judgements on highly complex facts or situations needing analysis, interpretation, and comparison of options.	60
Planning and organisational 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	4	Implements policy and develops policy or services for a service or several areas.	32
Responsibility for financial and physical resources	2	Handles cash or valuables, looks after equipment used by others, controls stock, or authorises small payments.	12
Responsibility for people	3	Manages a group of staff day to day, teaches core or specialist training, or gives core HR advice.	21
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 8a: 540 to 584)			551

Financial resources is level 2 because the job does not hold a budget, though it controls spending on external lawyers for its matters.