Legal Counsel & Advisory

Lambeth Palace Library; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 73,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent legal advisory office in London seeks a qualified barrister or solicitor focused on delivering legal services to the Church of England's National Institutions. This hybrid role offers the opportunity for career advancement while working closely with senior stakeholders. Candidates should have strong legal expertise in contracts or advisory roles, along with exceptional communication skills. The position includes legal advice on governance, legislation support, and involvement in significant change management initiatives.

Benefits

Salary circa £73,000 per annum

25 days annual leave plus bank holidays

Flexible working arrangements

Access to health cash plan

Employee Assistance Programme

Responsibilities

• Provide legal advice to the Church Commissioners and related bodies.
• Support the work of the General Synod and national board-level committees.
• Advise on legal questions regarding re-organization and maintaining historic buildings.
• Work on national change-management programmes and training development.

Skills

Strong experience in contracts, commercial, or advisory

Excellent communication and drafting skills

Ability to provide clear, pragmatic advice on complex issues

Ability to understand and apply wide ranges of law

Education

Qualified barrister or solicitor (England & Wales)

Job description

Join Our Legal Office

The Legal Office is the in‑house provider of legal services to the national policy‑making and governance institutions of the Church of England (the National Church Institutions, “NCIs”), which are some of the largest charities in the UK (including statutory corporations and a Royal Charter corporation), the largest of which are the Archbishops’ Council, a national policy and strategic decision‑making body, the Church Commissioners, a substantial endowment fund with assets valued at £11.1bn (2024) which has positioned itself at the forefront of Responsible Investment and which supports the mission of the Church, and the Church of England Pensions Board which stewards a £3.4bn fund. The Legal Office also advises the General Synod, which is a legislative assembly which makes primary and secondary legislation subject to the approval of Parliament.

We are a small, inclusive team which will comprise 17 legally qualified staff, with three paralegals and two support staff. Our professional backgrounds are diverse, with members coming to us from private practice in law firms, the Bar, from government, and from regulators.

Our work is firmly values‑led and requires the provision of advice on diverse and intellectually stimulating points of law at the intersection of public and private law. The work is high quality, groundbreaking, engaging, and rewarding. We are a collegiate and supportive team, and we are proud of the work we do.

The team works on a hybrid basis. Most team members work 1 – 2 days per week in the office depending on business need. You will need to be available in person for some items of committee and legislative business including two weeks each year for the sittings of the General Synod for which plenty of notice will be given.

About the role

As a member of the Legal Office Advisory Team, you will be providing legal services to the National Institutions of the Church of England, focused on giving legal advice across a diverse and interesting range of subjects which bear on the operations of the Church Commissioners and owed parts of the national Church of England.

You will be joining us at an exciting time for the organisation and the role will offer you the opportunity for genuine career growth and development in a supportive environment, including interaction with some of the most senior stakeholders in the organisation. You will be able to take a leading and meaningful role in existing and new projects.

You will also be a member of the Legal Office’s advisory team, undertaking as appropriate a wider range of duties as a legal adviser within the National Church Institutions.

In this role you will:

• Work with senior colleagues and stakeholders to provide advice to the Church Commissioners, Archbishops’ Council, and Church of England Pensions Board, their committees and departments on legal and procedural issues including constitutional and governance matters, legal powers, and statutory interpretation.
• Work with colleagues to support the work of the Church of England’sARSER legislative and deliberative assembly, the General Synod, including the passage of legislation.
• Support senior colleagues and stakeholders to support the work of a national board‑level committee that adjudicates on proposals for the re‑organisation of the Church of England and the future of its historic and unique buildings (similar in nature to a planning committee), including advising on legal questions, drafting statements of reasons, and appeals.
• Support senior colleagues and stakeholders to support the Church Commissioners’ co‑regulation of cathedrals along with the Charity Commission.
• Work with stakeholders and senior colleagues to support several national change‑management programmes, including the establishment of a national redress scheme.
• Support the development and rollout of training and knowledge management across the national Church of England.

Key role requirements

• The team works on a hybrid basis. Most team members work 1 – 2 days per week in the office depending on business need. You will need to be available in person for some items of committee and legislative business including two weeks each year for the sittings of the General Synod for which plenty of notice will જેમ.

About You

The Church of England is for everyone and we want to reflect the diversity of the community the Church serves across the whole country. Therefore, while of course we welcome all applications from interested and suitably experienced people, we would particularly welcome applicants from UK Minoritised Ethnicities (UKME)/Global Majority Heritage (GMH) and other under‑represented groups. As a Disability‑Confident employer, we are committed to recruiting disabled people. We offer interviews to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for the role.

To be successful in this role, you will need to have/be:

• Qualified barrister or solicitor (England & Wales)
• Strong experience in your chosen area (contracts, commercial, or advisory)
• Excellent communication and drafting skills
• Ability to provide clear, pragmatic advice on complex issues
• Ability to understand and apply wide ranges of law.

Please refer to the Job Description for more information about the role and person specification.

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What we offer

Your Salary

• A salary of circa £73,000 per annum, plus age‑related pension contributions between 8‑15% of salary. We will also match any pension contributions you make up to an additional 3% of your salary.

Your Benefits

• 25 days المد annual leave (increasing to 30 days within 5 years) plus eight bank holidays and three additional days (pro‑rated if working part‑time).
• We welcome all flexible working arrangement requests. This is looked at in a case‑by‑case scenario and if this fits within the department’s needs. dyond|
• We offer many services and initiatives under our Family Friendly Programme, some of these include enhanced Maternity Leave initiative, Adoption Leave, Paternity Leave, & Shared Parental Leave. Structured induction programme and access to a range of development opportunities including apprenticeships.
• Automatic enrolment and access to Medicash (one of the UK’s leading health cash plan providers), providing you with many services including reimbursements of routine dental treatment, optical, specialist consultations, and therapy treatments. Unlimited access to virtual GP & Private prescription service and health & Stress related helplines.
• Access to Occupational Health, and an Employee Assistance Programme
• Access to the Department of Education Restaurant and Westminster Abbey with a plus‑one guest.
• Apply for eligibility for an Eyecare voucher.
• Opportunity to join the Civil Service Sports & Social Club, and get involved in a range of staff networks, groups and societies.

ABOUT NATIONAL CHURCH IN ڪو ISUTIONS

The National Church Institutions comprises a wide variety of teams, professions and functions that support the mission and ministries of the Church of England in its vision to be a church, centred on Jesus Christ, for the whole nation – a church that is simpler, humbler, bolder.

We Include. You Belong.

Our Belonging and Inclusion Strategy aims for everyone in the National Church Institutions (NCIs) to feel that they belong, and are valued for who they are and what they contribute. Together, our people contribute in different ways towards our common purpose, whichever NCI they work in and whatever their background.

Living out our values in all that we do, we:

• Straphandle for Excellence
• Show Compassion
• Respect others
• Collaborate
• Act with Integrity

We believe our commitment to belonging and inclusion fuels our progress and drives us forward. The NCIs are a safe, inclusive workplace for people of all backgrounds and walks of life. We welcome applications from people of all faiths and of no faith. We want to encourage applications from a diverse group of people who share our values. Even if you have never thought about working for us before, if you have the skills and experience we’re looking for then we would like to hear from you.

Please note: You must have the right to work in the UK to be considered for the role.

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