About us

We are the Equality and Human Rights Commission. We are Great Britain’s national equality body and a United Nations accredited National Human Rights Institution. We were established by the Equality Act 2006 and our role is to protect and promote equality and human rights across England, Scotland and Wales. As a statutory non-departmental public body, we are funded by HM Treasury via the Cabinet Office, but we operate independently of governments.

We pride ourselves on being a flexible and inclusive employer. We celebrate difference, embrace diversity and support all our people to thrive at work. If this sounds interesting - apply to join us!

Our Vacancy

This is an exciting time to join the Legal Team. A vital part of our remit is using our legal powers to uphold and advance equality and human rights. We work strategically, using our legal powers selectively to protect people against serious and systemic abuses of their rights and to clarify equality and human rights law. Currently we are working on ensuring that:

• strong equality and human rights laws protect people, and data shows what is happening to people in practice.

• people in Britain have equal access to the labour market and are treated fairly at work.

• people can access redress when they are wronged and have a fair trial in the criminal justice system.

• the education system promotes good relations with others and respect for equality and human rights.

• treatment in institutions and detention settings respects people’s rights

If you are looking for a challenge, enjoy working in a flexible and supportive team, and you like a role where you will be able to have an impact – then we may have just the vacancy for you.

Key Responsibilities

We are recruiting for a Principal: Legal, to join the team in a leadership role. Reporting to the Senior Principal Legal, you will;

• lead as an authoritative Commission legal expert on a range of human rights and discrimination law issues.

• hold a key role in leading legal engagement with internal and external employment stakeholders

• lead strategic litigation and complex legal policy/advisory work which fulfills the Commission’s aims and mandate.

What we are looking for

The role will be focused on litigation at all levels of court and complex legal policy/advisory work, so you will need:

•  to be a qualified solicitor or barrister entitled to practise in England and Wales with substantial post-qualification experience in ·       human rights and discrimination law.

• critical analysis and evaluation skills with a view to making practical recommendations and be solution orientated to improve practices, policies and legislation

• a clear focus on delivery of consistent, high quality legal work with impact and on budget to enable the Commission to achieve it strategic aims and objectives

• excellent communication skills to ensure complex legal concepts and advice are conveyed in a clear, concise, accessible and user friendly way for both internal and external audiences

• the ability to engage effectively with both internal and external stakeholders to build and maintain successful relationships,  establish a flow of strategic referrals, gather intelligence, work collaboratively and represent the Commission in its legal work with officers from public authorities, business, Government, international and other bodies

You will be assessed against our core skills (Leadership, Delivery Management and Stakeholder Engagement) and the knowledge, skills and experience required for the role set out in the application form. Please provide evidence and examples from your work history or other aspects of your life to demonstrate how you meet the criteria required. Full criteria details can be found in the candidate pack.

Benefits

In addition to a competitive salary, we offer a range of benefits including flexible working patterns, 30 days annual leave plus 8 bank holidays (full time FTE), access to the Civil Service Pension Scheme and partnership pension schemes, and enhanced parental leave benefits. More information can be found in the candidate pack.

How to apply

If this sounds like the role for you, please review the attached Candidate Pack for more information and submit your application today!

Guaranteed Interview Scheme

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is an accredited Disability Confident Leader and operates a Guaranteed Interview Scheme (GIS) for candidates with a disability.

Should you wish to apply under our Guaranteed Interview Scheme or request a reasonable adjustment, please indicate this in your application.  

If you require an alternative accessible version of the application form or wish to discuss your application or reasonable adjustment  – please contact us by email at recruitment@equalityhumanrights.com or by telephone on 0161 829 8100.

Diversity in our workforce

At the Commission, we are proud of our inclusive workplace where we celebrate difference, value everyone’s contribution and where people of all backgrounds can thrive.  We do not accept discrimination or harassment, and all our recruitment decisions are based on fair and open competition, with appointment on merit. We are committed to further growing our workplace by making sure that the talent pipelines for our most senior roles are as diverse and inclusive as they can be. We welcome applications from everyone and encourage disabled people and people from an ethnic minority background to apply. This is to ensure we are taking positive action in order to achieve our legitimate aim of a balanced representation in our workforce at senior grades.