Deputy Principal (Legal Officer)

Deputy Principal Legal Officer

Pay Rate: £24.59 per hour
Location: Downpatrick
Hours: 9:00am - 5:00pm, Monday to Friday
Contract: Temporary ongoing
Working Pattern: Full-time, 37 hours per week

Benefits

• Competitive hourly pay of £24.59
• Monday to Friday working pattern
• Standard office hours supporting work-life balance
• Flexi time available
• Office-based role in Downpatrick
• Opportunity to gain high-level experience within a public sector legal environment
• Temporary ongoing opportunity
• Involvement in significant legislative, policy and governance work
• Opportunity to lead on complex legal and policy matters
• Valuable senior-level experience within the Northern Ireland Civil Service

Deputy Principal Legal Officer Job in Downpatrick

Staffline Recruitment Ireland is currently recruiting for a Deputy Principal Legal Officer on behalf of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, based onsite in Downpatrick.

This is an excellent opportunity for a qualified solicitor or barrister in Northern Ireland to step into a senior legal role focused on legislation, policy development, governance and stakeholder engagement.

The successful candidate will play a key role in leading legal and policy-related activity, including the interpretation of EU and domestic legislation, drafting regulations, responding to legal queries, supporting legislative processes through the Northern Ireland Assembly and/or Westminster, and overseeing project management and good governance.

This Deputy Principal Legal Officer job in Downpatrick is ideal for a legal professional with strong leadership ability, public sector awareness, and experience managing complex legislative and policy work.

Key Responsibilities

• Interpret EU and domestic legislation to assess legislative and operational compliance and compatibility
• Work with DSO officials and legal colleagues in response to legal and legislative queries
• Support the introduction of regulations or primary legislation through the Northern Ireland Assembly and/or Westminster
• Draft regulations and support legislative development activity
• Transcribe and interpret EU legislation where required
• Lead or support policy and legislation development
• Manage stakeholder engagement, co-design activity and evaluation processes
• Maintain and strengthen relationships with key internal and external stakeholders
• Lead on project management activity and promote good governance
• Work independently while keeping management and colleagues updated on progress, risks and issues
• Provide strong communication, leadership and presentational support across the function

Essential Criteria

To be considered for this Deputy Principal Legal Officer role, applicants must meet all of the following essential criteria:

• Qualified solicitor or barrister, entitled to practise in Northern Ireland
• Experience leading a team delivering policy and/or legislation
• Strong project management experience
• Ability to work independently and provide feedback on ongoing progress and issues to management and staff
• Experience interpreting EU and domestic legislation to assess legislative and operational compliance and compatibility
• Experience of working with DSO officials and/or lawyers and responding to legal queries
• Experience maintaining and building relationships with key internal and external stakeholders
• Strong communication and presentation skills

Important Information

To be shortlisted for this role, all applicants must meet the essential criteria in full.

Please note that this role may be filled quickly. If you are not successful on this occasion, your CV may be kept on file for future similar opportunities. Due to the high volume of applications, unsuccessful candidates may not be contacted.

Successful candidates may be required to apply for an Access NI Certificate through Staffline, regardless of whether they already hold a valid certificate. The cost will be between £16 and £32, depending on the level of clearance required.

How to Apply

If you are interested in this Deputy Principal Legal Officer job in Downpatrick and available for the position, please apply now by uploading your CV through the application link provided.