Paralegal Officer

Grade D - £28,504 (National Framework - if you are Leeds office based) or £34,176 (London Framework - if you are London office based)

Contracted Hours: Full time 37 hours per week

Contract Type: 18 Month Fixed Term or Secondment Opportunity

Location: Office-based (Leeds of London Office)

Closing date: Sunday 13 April 2025 at 11.59pm

Potential Interview Date: w/c 28 April via MS Teams

This role is NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points-based system. Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected, and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

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

When thinking about what drives you every day in your job, what keeps you motivated and passionate about your work what comes to mind? For 3000+ people at the CQC we end each day knowing that we have made a difference to the lives of those most in need in our communities. We make sure health and social care services provide people with safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care and encourage care services to improve. We are looking for people who are caring, demonstrate integrity and work well as part of a team to join with us and share in this sense of achievement. If you would like to help us make a positive impact to health and social care within England, then read on.

Why this could be a great role for you....

We are recruiting a Paralegal within Legal Services to undertake case management duties and assist in conducting civil and criminal litigation and inquests and inquiries. Working within the Litigation, Prosecutions, Inquests and Inquiries team, you will be responsible for assisting with the preparation and progression of cases by working independently, in partnership with other lawyers in the team, with external partners, other regulators and counsel. You will be responsible for managing and maintaining accurate case files and ensuring papers and bundles are prepared in good time and order for court/tribunal/inquest and inquiries hearings.

You will act as the initial contact within CQC or external contacts such as First-tier Tribunal, Magistrates Court, Coroners Officers.

What we can offer you...

Your health and wellbeing are important to us and are supported through our benefits scheme:

• 27 days of leave per year, rising to 32.5 days with length of service, plus bank holidays (usually 8 days per year).
• Opportunities and support for in house and external training and development.
• Free, unlimited access to Headspace meditation app.
• Sports and gym discounts.
• Free employee assistance service 24 hours a day.
• NHS pension scheme, with around a 14% employer contribution.
• Discounts to high street stores, supermarkets, restaurants and more.
• Eligibility to apply for a Blue Light Card, which cost £4.99 and are valid for 2 years.
• Fleet home electronics and car leasing salary sacrifice scheme.
• Cycle to work scheme up to the value of £5,000.
• Internal reward scheme where you could win a voucher or two!

We want to make working for CQC a great experience for everyone, and to role model a diverse and representative culture. To support an inclusive environment where colleagues feel empowered to bring their whole self to work, we support a variety of staff networks, including the Race Equality Network, LGBT+ Equality Network, Carers Equality Network, Disability Equality Network and Gender Equality network.

What you will bring...

Educated to degree level or with relevant experience in providing legal support in a health and social care regulation setting or within the Public Sector. You will have proven experience of case management, case progression and working with lawyers. You must be able to quickly adapt to and be able to investigate and interpret complex legal information and understand and interpret relevant guidance, policies and procedures. Excellent communication and organisational skills, along with a focus on delivery ensuring that case deadlines are met are essential to this role.

If you have valuable experience in criminal prosecutions, regulatory advisory work, civil litigation (including defending judicial review claims) or experience of undertaking cases before the First-tier Tribunal we would love to hear from you.

To access the full Job Description, please click the link below:

Paralegal Job Description

For an informal discussion or further information on the role, please contact Carrie Shotton Legal Manager - Civil Litigation (LPI Team) at carrie.shotton@cqc.org.uk

Individual adjustments...

We are committed to being open and transparent around our processes and we endeavour to offer every candidate the opportunity to perform at their best throughout the recruitment process. We seek to support candidates to identify potential challenges and work with them to identify and facilitate reasonable adjustments as appropriate. Should you require assistance and/or would like to request a reasonable adjustment at any stage of the recruitment process, please contact a member of the team via email: recruitment@cqc.org.uk

Note for internal candidates:

As this is a secondment/fixed term opportunity it is important that you read our recruitment and selection policy relating to secondments and you must discuss your application with your line manager before applying. Your line manager will need to consider the implications of the release, agree whether you can be released for a specific time and that the secondment represents a development opportunity/meets business needs.

Note for external candidates:

CQC are currently working through an organisational transformation programme which includes the creation of a new target operating model. This role is offered as a fixed term contract as part of the transition process to that new model. For further information on this please visit https://www.cqc.org.uk/about-us/jobs/information-applicants

CQC is committed to promoting a fair and inclusive workplace where all our people can flourish and reach their full potential. We know diverse teams allow for a more creative and productive environment and therefore encourage applications from everyone regardless of: age, gender/sex, gender identity or expression, religion or belief, disability, ethnicity or sexual orientation.

Candidates must ensure that all information provided in their application is detailed in their own words and is factually accurate. Any examples provided must be taken from personal experience. CQC abides by honesty and integrity as part of its core values, if evidence of plagiarism or generating answers from other sources is found, applications may be withdrawn.

Our Values

Excellence - Meeting our challenge to be a high-performing organisation

Caring - Treating everyone with dignity and respect

Integrity - Demonstrating our passion for 'doing the right thing'

Teamwork - Enabling us to be the best we can