Legal Services Manager

East of England Ambulance Service; Bedford; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare trust in Bedford is seeking a legal expert to provide advice on healthcare law and manage clinical negligence claims. The role requires strong advocacy skills and the ability to communicate complex legal information. The ideal candidate will have a relevant law degree and at least 3 years of experience in health law or litigation. This position offers the opportunity to lead a legal services department and contribute to patient care.

Qualifications

• Minimum 3 years of experience in Health Law and litigation.
• Ability to provide advice on complex legal matters.
• Experience in managing legal claims and inquests.

Responsibilities

• Provide expert legal advice on healthcare law.
• Manage clinical negligence claims for the Trust.
• Lead the legal services department effectively.

Skills

Legal advisory service

Strong advocacy skills

Communication in contentious situations

Management of staff and budgets

Personal resilience

Education

Relevant law degree

Job description

EEAST is a great place to work, great people, great career opportunities and a career that can take you anywhere. No two days are the same, if you are looking for a varied and supportive environment EEAST can offer you that and more!

Hear why our employees think it is such a great place to work:

• Great employee benefits:
• Our equality networks:
• Our vision & values:

Before you apply, please visit our how to apply page for full guidance:

#Careerforlife

Job overview

Providing the Trust’s executive, senior management and clinical/non-clinical staff with expert legal and practical advice in the area of healthcare law, specialist litigation, and Coronial legal work.

Main duties of the job

Coroners Inquests

Be accountable for the effective legal conduct of all inquests involving the Trust, including adherence to professional standards of all Legal staff and compliance with evidentiary and Coronial rules.

Legal Advice

To ensure the provision of the highest level of prompt and accurate expert legal advice by: Providing advice on matters including, but not limited to, patient consent, capacity, confidentiality, access to patient information, medical ethics, mental health law, trust law, small claims court issues, criminal law, dealings with the police, child protection, occupier’s liability, interpretation of relevant legislation, legal principles and case law.

Clinical Negligence Claims

Manage the conduct of all claims against the Trust with a view to protecting the Trust’s legal and reputational interests, by: Managing clinical negligence claims to ensure compliance with the relevant protocols, legislation and NHSR guidelines.

Personal Injury Claims

Provide expert legal advice with respect to, all personal injury claims against the Trust,

Ensuring compliance with the relevant protocols, legislation and NHSR guidelines.

General claims responsibilities

Promote opportunities to identify potential claims early and ensure the necessary risk management systems are in place to allow the Trust to defend the case with relevant information and evidence.

Undertake regular analysis of claims and inquests including trends, provide reports of analysis to the appropriate forums

Financial Management

Responsible for managing, monitoring and contributing to the annual budgetary planning for legal services.

Responsible for endorsing solicitor fee payments and NHSR contributions prior to sign off by the Chief Executive’s Office and the Deputy Director of Clinical Quality. Approving staff expenses.

Staff Management

To lead the legal services department ensuring that all Trust requirements relating to staff

Working for our organisation

You'll have the opportunity to work in one of the most diverse regions in the country, with the vibrant capital city just a stone's throw away and the invigorating North Sea coast to the east.

The East of England offers a unique blend of innovation and opportunity, surrounded by picturesque countryside, historic towns, and quick access to both the bustling capital and serene coastlines.

At EEAST we bring together all our skills to provide 24 hour, 365 days a year urgent care to those in need of emergency and non-emergency medical treatment and transport in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.

We are always looking to innovate our approaches and work together to offer the best possible patient care across our counties.

We aim to represent and value the diversity of our local communities through our workforce and service provision. We therefore positively encourage applications from under-represented groups, such as Black, Asian, or other ethnic groups, individuals with a Disability, or LGBTQ+ individuals who meet the specific criteria.

We at EEAST want to support our employees achieve a balance between work and other priorities, such as caring responsibilities, family commitments, further learning, and other interests. We therefore welcome flexible working requests.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For a thorough and comprehensive understanding of the role, including all its specific requirements and responsibilities, please consult the attached Job Description and Person Specification. This document provides an in-depth overview that will give you a clear and detailed picture of what the position entails.

Please note, should you be successful in your application, you will be required to undergo pre-employment checks, prior to receiving an unconditional offer, if full employment checks cannot be achieved (this will include existing and unserved disciplinary sanctions), then your offer may be withdrawn.

How to apply

Step 1 - Read the advert and the Job Description and Person Specification (attached)

Step 2 - Complete the Supporting Statement - Your statement needs to indicate how you meet each of the criteria contained within the Person Specification.

Step 3 - Complete the online application and upload your statement. Please note, CVs are not accepted.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Evidence of relevant law degree with minimum 3 years experience in related area.

Experience

Essential criteria

• Advanced theoretical and practical knowledge within the specialised field of Health Law, including litigation, inquests and general advice on protection of interests of medical staff and organisations
• Strong advocacy skills, including the ability to take evidence from witnesses, cross -examination, presentation of evidence and making complex legal submissions in courts.
• Experience of managing staff and budgets.

Skills

Essential criteria

• Able to communicate highly contentious, sensitive and complex information (both written and oral) often within an antagonistic atmosphere in order to provide a legal advisory service and associate specialist litigation.
• Ability to plan and organise complex activities or programmes, requiring formulation and adjustments, including planning and preparation for legal hearings involving a number of witnesses over a considerable period of time and assisting in the development of long term service provision through advice to clients.
• Able to make judgements in relation to legal practices and highly complex clinical negligence file with regard to negotiation and advising on the settlement of claims and litigation.

Desirable criteria

• Ability to engender trust and to develop and maintain constructive relationships with staff at all levels within the Trust.

Personal Qualities

Essential criteria

• Personal resilience when faced with exposure to information relating to distressing or emotional circumstances such as death, and injuries as a result of clinical negligence.
• Autonomous decision making and ability to prioritise work within an environment with frequent conflicting demands and pressures.

Desirable criteria

• Flexibility to work outside of normal office hours.

Candidates who require a Skilled Worker visa to work in the United Kingdom can determine the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship for this position by assessing their circumstances against the criteria specified on the Check if you need a UK visa - website. We encourage all applicants to review these criteria carefully to understand their eligibility for sponsorship.

References and Employment History

All references from current and previous employers, will be sought via their Human Resources Department and must cover a minimum of 3 years employment. Therefore, when completing the reference section of your application form, please give the address, telephone number and email address of the Human Resources Department and indicate your current/previous line manager and their departmental details.

All appointments will be subject to currently having a clean disciplinary record.

Please be advised that a No Smoking Policy is in operation throughout the Trust.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme

Under the Trust's commitment 'Positive about Disabled People', if you consider yourself as having a disability and you meet the minimum selection criteria for any post, you will get an automatic interview. By minimum selection criteria we mean that you must provide us with evidence in your application form which demonstrates the essential requirements as set out in the person specification and advertisement for a post.

We aim to represent and value the diversity of our local communities through our workforce and service provision. We therefore positively encourage applications, regardless of age, race, religion & belief, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, marriage & civil partnership, pregnancy & maternity or disability.