Assistant Director (Crime)

The Insolvency Service is a leading government agency which plays a crucial role in providing essential services to the public and to business. The work we do is important to the proper functioning of markets, the economy in general and support for thousands of people each year who are in financial difficulty.

Inclusive and diverse teams are important to us. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including groups underrepresented in our workforce. The Insolvency Service strives to ensure that the agency is a safe, inclusive, and welcoming place for everybody to bring their true self to work and to help the agency to achieve its diversity objectives. We have 9 active employee network groups available to join or become an ally, these include, Carers Network, Disability network group, Employee Assistance, Representatives, FACES Network Group, LGBT+, Mind Matters, Part Time Workers, The Shed - Mens Network Group and Womens Network Group.

We offer full-time, part-time, job share and flexible ways of working. We value capability, technical skills and experience and we place great emphasis on lifetime development to support our people. We encourage our employees to become more involved in areas they feel strongly about, whether it be for the benefit of the agency, through our Engagement network or in their own local communities via volunteering opportunities.

The Insolvency Service is a great place to work, learn and grow your career!

Insolvency Enforcement Group Legal Services

Legal Services, which sits within the Agency's Enforcement Group, delivers a range of enforcement activities, both civil and criminal in nature, to support fair and open markets. We do this by effectively enforcing the statutory company and insolvency regimes, maintaining public confidence in those regimes, and reducing the harm caused to victims of fraudulent activity and to the business community.

This is a high-impact senior leadership role leading the Agencys criminal prosecution capability. As Assistant Director (Crime), you will help shape and deliver a strategic, intelligence-led approach to criminal enforcement, ensuring the Agency maximises its deterrent effect against economic crime. You will operate at the centre of the Services ambition to increase its impact through stronger collaboration with partners, including Companies House and wider government, and through innovation in investigative and prosecutorial practice.

You will be a visible and influential leader, responsible for setting direction, building capability, and ensuring high-quality, effective delivery across a complex and evolving portfolio of criminal cases. The role combines strategic leadership, operational oversight, and professional authority within the Government Legal Profession.

As Assistant Director (Crime), you will be a key member of the Legal Services senior leadership team, accountable for leading the Agencys criminal prosecution function.

You will define and deliver a clear strategy for criminal enforcement, aligned to the Investigation and Enforcement Strategy, ensuring resources are prioritised to areas of greatest risk and harm. You will oversee a portfolio of complex and high-profile prosecutions, ensuring legal quality, consistency, and value for money.

Working closely with senior leaders across Enforcement Group and the wider Agency, you will integrate criminal enforcement into a broader, outcomes-focused approach to tackling economic misconduct. You will also play a leading role across government, contributing to cross-Whitehall initiatives and strengthening partnerships to improve the collective response to economic crime.

You will lead and develop a high-performing team of senior lawyers, building capability, fostering innovation, and embedding a culture of continuous improvement.

Responsibilities

You will be an intellectually capable, highly motivated lawyer, with at least 10 years post qualification experience in the field of criminal prosecutions, with powerful leadership and communication skills. You will lead, inspire and motivate teams, welcoming feedback and championing continuous improvement both in operational delivery and personal professional development.

You will play an active role as part of the Legal Services senior team in delivering against our investigation and enforcement strategic aims, advocate innovation and use of technology to drive performance, provide inspiring, proactive, and positive leadership to a team of criminal prosecuting lawyers, working collaboratively across the agency to help deliver agency wide strategic objectives, promoting a culture of high performance, efficiency, and continuous improvement.

The ideal candidate will have:

• very strong legal technical knowledge and experience of criminal prosecution work
• strong leadership skills with ability to both see the strategic picture and focus on effective and efficient operational delivery
• the ability to provide well-articulated and evidenced advice and recommendations on complex technical matters
• the ability to influence others and communicate clearly both orally and in writing, to a wide range of stakeholders including presenting papers to Directors and other members of the Agency Executive team
• the vision to create joined-up strategies and influence the direction and culture of Legal Services and the wider Enforcement Group to increase effectiveness and engagement

Responsibilities may also include:

• undertaking the role of value stream lead for any one of the Enforcement Group's value streams, coordinating efforts across the various capabilities within the Enforcement Group to deliver enforcement outcomes against prioritised threat areas, accounting to the Group's Directors and the Executive Committee Delivery Group
• attending regular senior level meetings at Legal Services, Enforcement Group, and wider Agency level, and providing oversight and assurance of the delivery of our criminal prosecution work, the team's training and development, and its spend against allocated budget

This is a senior leadership role with responsibility for other Grade 6 lawyers and wider teams. The role requires regular engagement at senior levels across the Agency and with external partners.

Experience in insolvency is not essential; however, an interest in economic crime and public service impact is critical.

Insolvency Service policy is that a minimum 60% of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace. Requirements to attend other locations for official business will also count towards this level of attendance.

This is a key leadership role within Legal Services and the wider Insolvency Service. We are looking for an exceptional senior lawyer and leader who can operate confidently at scale and pace in a complex enforcement environment. You will be required to manage other Grade 6 lawyers, some of whom manage teams of G7 lawyers.

You will demonstrate:

• Strategic thinking: Ability to see the big picture, anticipate emerging risks, and translate strategy into impactful delivery.
• Leadership excellence: A strong track record of leading senior professionals, building capability, and delivering through others.
• Legal expertise: Deep and credible experience in criminal prosecution work, with the ability to provide authoritative advice on complex matters.
• Influencing and communication: Ability to engage and influence senior stakeholders, clearly articulating complex issues and driving decisions.
• Collaboration: Experience of working across organisational and professional boundaries to deliver shared goals.
• Delivery focus: Strong operational grip, with the ability to balance strategic priorities and day-to-day delivery.
• Judgement and resilience: Sound decision-making in high-profile, sensitive or ambiguous situations.

Essential Criteria

• Proven experience of leading and managing legal teams in a complex environment.
• Strong track record of delivering high-quality outcomes across a complex legal caseload.
• Demonstrable experience of influencing at senior levels and working across organisational boundaries.
• Professionally qualified as a Solicitor, Barrister or Chartered Legal Executive in England and Wales. You must have completed a training contract/pupillage/qualifying employment or have been exempted from this by the Law Society, the Bar Council or CILEx, and have a minimum of 10 years PQE in criminal prosecution work.

Applicants qualified in a jurisdiction outside England and Wales will be subject to the rules of the professional bodies (where applicable). Barristers and Solicitors qualified in a jurisdiction outside of England and Wales will be required to complete the Bar Transfer Test or Qualified Lawyer Transfer Scheme within an agreed period of time (this is likely to be within 12 months of appointment).

Professional entry criteria for Chartered Legal Executives (i.e. Fellows): Chartered Legal Executives are eligible to apply where (i) a Qualifying Law Degree (QLD) is held; or (ii) the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL)/CPE has been completed; or (iii) where exams ...