Head of Legal - NIPSO

Lawsoc Ni; Belfast; Hybrid; GBP 49,000 - 53,000; Full time

Job summary

An office providing legal oversight in Belfast is seeking a legal support professional to assist the Ombudsman and operational teams. This role includes providing strategic legal advice, managing legal responsibilities related to public law, data protection, and more. The position offers hybrid working arrangements with a minimum of 2 days in the office each week. Salary ranges from £49,282 to £52,413, with applications due by 12 noon on 15 December 2025.

Qualifications

• Experience in public and administrative law.
• Knowledge of data protection and employment law.
• Ability to provide strategic legal advice.

Responsibilities

• Provide legal support to the Ombudsman and NIPSO teams.
• Act as NIPSO Data Protection Officer.
• Manage the NIPSO legal team.

Job description

Salary: NJC Scale PO5 - £49,282 to £52,413

Reference: NIPSO/HL/08/26

Company: NIPSO

Location: Belfast

Contract type: Full time

Main purpose of job

The postholder will be responsible for providing legal support to the Ombudsman, Deputy Ombudsman, the NIPSO SMT and NIPSO operational teams to ensure that NIPSO delivers its statutory functions and responsibilities across a range of areas including public and administrative law, freedom of information, data protection and employment law. This will include providing strategic advice, liaison with external solicitors or counsel when required, acting as the NIPSO Data Protection Officer, providing support to the Ombudsman in her role as the Northern Ireland Local Government Commissioner for Standards and fulfilling the role of team manager for the NIPSO legal team.

Working Arrangements

We operate hybrid working arrangements i.e. a mix of working from home and from the office which offers employees additional workstyle choices.

Candidates should note that whilst we do have a flexible approach, the operational requirements are likely to require office based working a minimum of 2 days per week.

Completed application and monitoring forms are to be completednolaterthan12noonon 15 December 2025.