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The General Dental Council (GDC) is recruiting for 2 Senior Advisory Lawyers to join our team on a full-time, fixed-term contract for 18 months (with the potential to extend to 2 years). This role is Hybrid (2 days per week spent working from the GDC’s office in central London).

About us:

Our primary purpose is to protect the public and maintain public confidence in dental services. To achieve this, we register qualified dental professionals, set standards for the dental team, investigate complaints about dental professionals' fitness to practise, and work to ensure the quality of dental education.

Our work matters and so do our people. We are committed to providing a working environment that embraces and values diversity and inclusion by recruiting and strengthening our teams with team members from different backgrounds, life experiences and viewpoints.

About the role of Senior Advisory Lawyer:

This is an exciting opportunity to take on a wide ranging legal advisory post where you will use your legal expertise to make a real impact, maintaining public confidence in dental services and protecting the safety of patients.

As a Senior Advisory Lawyer, you will play a leading role at the General Dental Council providing legal advice, guidance, direction and instructions to support proportionate and risk-based decision-making. You will advise on matters that fall within the remit of the In-House Legal Advisory Service, keep up to date with changes to case law and help to ensure processes reflect best practice and the GDC’s regulatory strategy.

In addition to being a source of professional legal and regulation expertise, the post holder will provide legal advice across the work of the wider team and supervise junior colleagues in so doing.

Your key responsibilities as our Senior Advisory Lawyer will include:

Provide accurate, timely and risk-based legal advice to GDC colleagues and the Registrar on matters that fall within the remit of the In-House Legal Advisory Service.

Provide advice to the Registrar on the exercise of their statutory decision-making functions, including Interim Order, Voluntary Removal, Rule 9 and Rule 6E applications.

Give advice in relation to and have conduct of legal challenges arising from Fitness to Practise decisions.

Take a pro-active approach to identify, monitor and escalate (as appropriate) areas of risk within the GDC, collaborating with colleagues to develop mitigation and proposed solutions, including via the relevant quality assurance processes.

Support the organisation’s delivery of the Costed Corporate Plan and Corporate Strategy by providing legal advice and proactively identifying opportunities for development and different ways of working, reviewing legislative proposals, and working with colleagues in other teams to assess risks and opportunities.

About you:

A qualified and practising solicitor or barrister or ILEX qualified (essential) with experience of working within a statutory, regulatory or similar framework, in one or more of the following areas: regulatory, public, information, commercial, litigation or criminal law.

Excellent drafting and legal analytical skills with the ability to analyse complex legal issues and present legally sound, risk-based and proportionate advice and instructions.

Proven ability to identify, manage and escalate risk, within established organisational risk frameworks.

Demonstrable ability to manage competing priorities, working flexibly with colleagues and clients to manage fluctuating workloads.

Proven ability to create strong working relationships at all levels of the GDC and with external stakeholders, ensuring trust and confidence in the advice provided.

Demonstrable commitment to the principles of equality, diversity and inclusion.

Benefits:

The GDC is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace, that provides an environment that reflects our values and culture and allows employees to flourish.

To support this we offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, including flexible working arrangements from day one and employee networks that aid growth and development.

Some of our benefits include:

27 days holiday (plus statutory) - rising to 30 days after 2 years’ service

Pension contributions up to 10%

Buy/Sell annual leave

Enhanced Maternity, Paternity and Adoption leave from 1 years’ service.

Life assurance, income protection plan and enhanced sick leave policy

Staff discounts including eye care contributions and discounted gym membership.

We encourage and support the recruitment, retention, and career development of people from as wide a range as possible of ethnic, cultural and social backgrounds. 

Closing date: 23:59 on 30 March 2025

Please relate your supporting statement to the person specification of the job you are applying for expanding on your skills, experience and qualifications.

Please note that a full job description is attached which includes further job responsibilities and specifications.

Please note we reserve the right to bring this campaign to a close early and would therefore advise you to submit your application as soon as possible.

Please no agencies unless instructed otherwise