Law Commission - Law Reform Team Manager Commercial and Common Law (Ref: 22904)

Law Commission: Law Reform Team Manager Commercial and Common Law Job description

The Law Commission is recruiting a Grade 6 Law Reform Team Manager within the Commercial and Common Law Team on a 12-month fixed-term appointment. There may be an opportunity for the role to be extended or made permanent, subject to business need and the relevant approvals.

This vacancy is being advertised externally and is open to candidates who consider themselves suitable for the role and meet the eligibility criteria set out in the Civil Service Jobs advert, including civil servants from across government departments.

Location:

Successful candidates will be based at:

1. 102 Petty France, London

In order for Law Commission to meet its evolving business needs all Law Commission staff are expected to attend their base location (102 Petty France) at least 2 days a week. This hybrid working arrangement is not contractual and as a result staff could be asked to attend their base location more frequently.

Ways of Working

At the Law Commission we believe and promote alternative ways of working, these roles are available as:

• Full-time, part-time or the option to job share
• Flexible working patterns
• Flexible working arrangements between base locations, MoJ Hubs and home.

If we receive applications from more suitable candidates than we have vacancies for at this time, we may hold suitable applicants on a reserve list for 12 months, and future vacancies requiring the same skills and experience could be offered to candidates on the reserve list without a new competition.

We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce and pride ourselves as being an employer of choice. To find out more about how we champion diversity and inclusion in the workplace, visit: Diversity and inclusion Law Commission

Salary

This role is graded at Grade 6.

We will consider applications from staff on promotion, but candidates will need to be able to demonstrate the ability to work at a high level on complex matters with senior stakeholders.

Duration of Appointment

This is a 12-month fixed-term appointment. There may be an opportunity for the appointment to be extended or made permanent, subject to business need and the relevant approvals.

The successful candidate will also be eligible to apply for vacancies advertised internally across the Civil Service during the period of their appointment.

Summary:

• This is an opportunity to make a real difference to the law in England and Wales, leading a team of specialist law reformers working on challenging and high-profile law reform.
• You will be someone who can manage both detail and the bigger picture, taking people with you to drive delivery of a complex and varied programme of law reform work.
• Law Reform Team Managers (of which there are four posts) hold a key leadership role at the Law Commission and are essential in the delivery of our high-profile law reform work. We are looking for a talented new leader of our Commercial and Common Law Team. This is an exciting opportunity to work with the Law Commissioner, Professor Solène Rowan, across all the teams law reform projects.
• The postholder will work closely with the Law Commissioner and CEOs in the leadership and management of the team and its work, delivering law reform for the benefit of the public.
• The key challenges are:
  • overseeing a complex set of law reform projects, with varying timelines and to budget, in the context of Ministerial and stakeholder interest;
  • ensuring that high-quality delivery nonetheless takes account of the Law Commissions independence, commitment to integrity and quality in its work, staff wellbeing and prioritisation;
  • strengthening and developing a culture to use evidence, data and information in an iterative and innovative way to steer law reform development and delivery; and
  • recruiting and motivating a team of expert and specialist lawyers and researchers, many of whom will not previously have worked in the public sector.
• The postholder will provide advice, challenge and offer expertise to lawyers and staff in their team and the Commissioner on law reform practice, including on robust legal policy analysis and development, stakeholder relations, Parliamentary handling, financial planning and negotiations for securing new projects.
• They will be line managed by the Head of Legal and will work closely and collaboratively with other Law Reform Team Managers and senior leaders in the organisation.
• They will engage with the CEOs and will be a member of the Law Commissions Senior Management Team to support the maintenance of a high-performing organisation and delivery of high-quality law reform.
• The postholder will lead a team of approximately 12 staff, with direct line management of the Grade 7 Law Reform Lawyers and overall responsibility for the leadership, management and development of the wider team of eight staff through the line management structure.

The Law Commission: over half a century of cutting-edge law reform and legal expertise

The Law Commission is the statutory body set up under the Law Commissions Act 1965 to keep the law of England and Wales under review and to recommend reform where it is needed. It has a judicial Chair, four Commissioners, and around 80 members of staff. Its work is organised into four areas: Commercial and Common Law; Criminal Law; Property, Family and Trust Law; and Public Law and the Law in Wales. It operates as an independent non-departmental body sponsored by the Ministry of Justice.

The Law Commission offers an unrivalled opportunity to work on some of the most complex legal and policy questions facing our society. It offers stretching, highquality work, and the chance to make a positive difference to our society.

The Commission has, for 60 years, had a unique role independent, but at the heart of Government. Its aims are:

• To ensure that the law is as fair, modern, simple and as cost-effective as possible
• To conduct research and consultations in order to make recommendations for reform for consideration by Parliament
• To codify the law, eliminate anomalies, repeal obsolete and unnecessary enactments and reduce the number of separate statutes

Much of our work is high-profile and secures significant interest from MPs, the public and the media. Over the past half century, more than two-thirds of our recommendations have been implemented in whole or in part.

About our staff

We recruit brilliant, innovative and creative legal staff from a wide range of backgrounds to join our teams. But our lawyers are not just lawyers. They engage in policy making, legislative procedure, project management and leadership. They examine legal and policy issues from every angle, engage closely with a huge range of stakeholders from all walks of life, draft clear and compelling consultation papers and reports, and work with Government officials to take our work forward in Parliament. While most lawyers apply the law to individual cases, lawyers at the Law Commission have freedom to consider what the law should be , for everyone.

About the Commercial and Common Law team

The Commercial and Common Law team undertakes projects that cover a wide range of issues that have a significant impact on individuals, businesses and wider society. In recent years, Parliament has passed laws based on our recommendations relating to crypto-assets and other digital assets, arbitration, electronic trade documents, and consumer savings clubs.

Our ongoing and future areas of focus include product liability, trust law arbitration, consumer class actions, the law of deeds, and objects in museum collections. Our work on co-operatives and on digital assets in the context of private international law is due to be completed in early 2027.

We are now seeking an innovative, delivery-focused leader to head the Commercial and Common Law team. This is a great opportunity for an experienced legal leader.

We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where ...