Legal Services Officer
Job Description
Job summary
A challenging but rewarding role as part of an established and busy team delivering a comprehensive and effective in-house legal service to clinical and non-clinical staff within the Trust. No legal experience or knowledge within or out with an NHS setting is essential as full training will be provided, however it would be beneficial.
The post holder will require excellent IT, organisational and communication skills and will provide an effective administration, case handler and personal assistant service to the team.
The post holder will be promoted to work autonomously with minimal supervision with advice and training available from team members when required.
The post holder will be required to process complex information and use their initiative in all aspects of their role to assist the team in prioritising work and meeting the demands and deadlines of the service.
This is an exciting, diverse and rare role for someone who wishes to broaden their autonomy and legal experience in an in-house environment, or for someone who is keen for a challenge in a new environment.
Main duties of the job
To provide senior administrative and ad-hoc personal assistance support in the day to day management of all legal cases on the caseload. The post holder under supervision will:
o Log and process cases from inception to conclusion
o Liaise with relevant internal and external key stakeholders
o Collate and distribute relevant information and documentation
o Request and proof read witness statements
o Draft documents and correspondence
o Record information and maintain robust electronic records, ensuring that all information and documentation is maintained to a high standard.
It is essential that the post holder is able to exercise initiative suitable to the role in respect of any legal case. The post holder will support the team's inputting of data and quality reporting and monitoring of related data within Ulysses, and undertake general office duties. The post holder will also provide a range of personal assistant duties to the management within the team on an as required basis. Whilst the role is supervised, the post holder is expected to work autonomously, prioritising work and ensuring deadlines and agreed timeframes are met.
About us
At NCIC, we have an ambition to deliver outstanding healthcare services to the population of North Cumbria. The Trust is committed to creating a centre of excellence in providing rural and remote healthcare and provides a wide range of community and acute services throughout our county.
Our 5 key principles demonstrate our belief in the delivery of 'safe, high quality care every time':
- Being a clinically led organisation
- Quality and safety at the heart of our Trust
- A positive patient experience every time
- A great place to work
- Managing our money well
As an organisation we are serious about supporting a diverse workforce that reflects our local community and are very much focused on being an inclusive and compassionate place to work.
Across the North East and North Cumbria we are working together to deliver our ambition to be the greenest region in England by 2030. All staff are expected to support sustainability.
Job responsibilities
Please see attached job description and person specification for further information regarding the role and the essential and desirable criteria required to be met by applicants.
CERTIFICATE OF SPONSORSHIP
Please note, due to changes implemented by the Government to the UK immigration policy, individuals who require a Health and Care Visa or a Skilled Worker Visa may no longer be eligible for sponsorship where the UKVI salary threshold is not met or if the occupation is not included in the updated Immigration Salary List (ISL). Applicants must check their eligibility to be employed in any role they are interested in applying for, prior to completing an application for employment.Any applicants who do not meet the eligibility criteria will not be progressed. For further information visit theUK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
If you are applying under the Disability Confident Scheme or Armed Forces Covenant and you meet all the essential criteria for a post, you will be guaranteed an interview.
Relocation assistance may be available for successful applicants moving to the region for certain posts. Please see our Policy for eligible vacancies.
Disclosure and Barring Service:
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
The cost of the DBS must be met by the successful candidate(s) through salary deduction. DBS charges are as follows if applicable to the post:
Standard Check: £21.50 + Administration cost of £6.50 = £28.00 Deducted from salary over a 4 month period or a one-off payment.
Enhanced Check: £49.50 + administration cost of £6.50 = £56.00 Deducted from salary over a 4 month period or a one-off payment.
NCIC can offer successful future employees the following benefits:
27-day holiday scheme rising to 33 after 10 years
Flexible working Scheme
NHS Discounts*
Salary Sacrifice schemes including lease cars and Cycle to Work*
Excellent opportunities for development*
Competitive NHS Pension scheme
Vivup is a free, confidential counselling and information service to assist with personal or work-related problems
*Subject to eligibility
Important Information
Please ensure that you document evidence of meeting all the essential criteria in the supporting information.
If sufficient response is received this post could be closed earlier than the specified closing date, please apply as soon as possible to ensure that your application is considered.
Candidates who have been successfully shortlisted for interview will be asked via an email notification to log on to their Trac account to select an interview time. This will usually be within 2 weeks of the closing date
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- 5 GCSE's including English and Mathematics or equivalent
- NVQ Level 3 or relevant experience
Desirable
- A qualification in law and/or a degree in a relevant or transferable discipline
Knowledge and Experience
Essential
- Experience of working within an office administration environment
- Recent personal assistance and administrative experience with the ability to undertake associated tasks ensuring adherence to defined procedures and guidelines
- Experience of dealing with internal and external stakeholders and a range of different queries, some of which may not be routine
- Ability to maintain robust complex files
- Experience of case handling/coordination
- Liaison with external agencies on specialist risk management and legal processes, or equivalent
- Coordination of multiple and complex multi-stranded activities
- Computer literate with experience of Microsoft Office Suite and use of complex database management systems
- Working to deadlines
- Knowledge of a wide range of law, legislation and legal practice and terminology, or a willingness to learn
- Knowledge of secretarial and administrative procedures and systems
- Understanding of NHS structures and how the Trust operates, to include governance processes, or willingness to learn
Desirable
- Experience of working within the NHS
- Experience of managing legal cases/processes
Skills and Aptitudes
Essential
- Proficient IT user, conversant with Microsoft family of programmes and NHS IT packages required to effectively carry out the role
- Ability to identify and escalate any potential issues so as to avoid any Trust reputational issues
- Ability to manage and coordinate multiple and complex cases, tasks and activities in a timely and accurate manner
- Ability to work independently and manage own workload, and to the required timescales
- Ability to decipher and read legal documentation
- Efficient in time management
- Be able to critically analyse multi-faceted information
- Ability to recognise, propose and implement change within own area of activity
- Be able to analyse and problem solve
- Be able to communicate effectively with all disciplines of staff and external organisations/individuals in a clear and effective manner, including face-to-face, telephone and email contact and at internal and external meetings
- Ability to deal with complex/difficult/sensitive situations and/or people and resolve conflict. ...
