Lawyers

Job title: Lawyers

Permanent and Full time but open to Part time and flexible working

Salary: £55,125

Location: London based and Remote based - but must be prepared to attend London offices when required

The Electoral Commission is the independent body which oversees elections and regulates political finance in the UK. We work to promote public confidence in the democratic process and ensure its integrity.

As a statutory body, the Commission relies on its Legal & Governance Team for high quality legal advice and support to advance its objectives and keep it within the law.  It is directly accountable to the UK Parliament, Scottish Parliament and Senedd. The Legal Team has a crucial role to play within the Commission.

This is a very interesting time to be joining the Commission. It has a growing public profile and it operates in the full glare of the public spotlight in an increasingly contested regulatory environment.

The role might involve work on:

• Advising on electoral law during major political events, including UK Parliamentary General Elections, local elections, referendums, and elections for the devolved legislatures.
• Advising on high profile regulatory decisions affecting political parties and campaigners.
• Working on proposed legislation for constitutional reform, such as tackling electoral fraud.  

In the past ten years the Legal & Governance Team has grown to reflect the Commission’s developing needs for legal and governance support.  The Team is responsible for legal advice to the Commission and for governance through supporting the Board of Commissioners. The current structure under the leadership of General Counsel is three Senior Lawyers, six Lawyers, two Legal Officers, and one  Senior Governance Adviser.

The Legal Team is committed to flexible working and achieving a good work-life balance, with a mix of office and homeworking available.  The Commission is also committed to increasing the diversity of its staff.

We are currently seeking three junior lawyers to join the Team. Since the Commission operates in a niche area, we do not necessarily expect candidates to have experience of electoral law, but experience of advisory work, statutory interpretation, litigation, public and administrative law, devolution, regulatory law, policy and drafting will all be highly relevant.  The recently enacted Elections Act will result in substantial new work to implement measures on voter ID, voting rules, digital campaigning, and political finance.

This is an exciting time to be joining both the Team and the Commission. The Commission’s profile has never been higher and, while it is not possible to predict the future, it is safe to say that whatever happens in UK politics over the next few months, the Commission will definitely need a strong Legal & Governance Team.

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Binnie Goh, General Counsel - bgoh@electoralcommission.org.uk or Adrian Fryer, Senior Lawyer _ afryer@electoralcommission.org.uk.

Closing Date: 29 June 2022 at 23.59

Interviews will be held shortly thereafter and shortlisted candidates will also be asked to undertake a written assessment.