Housing Solicitor
SKILLS
FULL DESCRIPTION
As a member of [Employer hidden — view at passion-project.co.uk]’s Law Centre Team, this role is responsible for providing high-quality advice, assistance, and representation to users of the Law Centre in the field of housing law. The role also contributes to the development of [Employer hidden] as a multi-purpose voluntary organisation addressing a range of community needs in flexible and imaginative ways.
Job Description
Job title: Housing Solicitor
Reportsto: HeadofService
Responsiblefor: N/A
Contract: Permanent
Location: CambridgeHouse,UnitF,22AmeliaStreet,London,SE173PY
Salary: Upto£49,000perannum(dependinguponexperience)
Workinghours: 35(FT)hoursperweek(MondaytoFriday)
Holiday: 30daysperannumplusbankholidays
Specialconditions: - EnhancedDBScheck. - QualifiedasaSolicitororBarrister(England&Wales) - Tomaintainappropriatequalificationsincludinglegalaidsupervisory requirements - Flexibleremoteandofficeworkingarrangementsbyagreement
JobPurpose
AsamemberofCambridgeHouse’sLawCentreTeam,ledbytheHeadofService,thisroleis responsible:
i) Toprovidehighqualityadvice,assistanceandrepresentationtousersoftheLawCentreinthefield ofhousinglaw.
ii) TocontributetothedevelopmentofCambridgeHouseasamulti-purposevoluntaryorganisation addressingarangeofcommunityneedsinflexibleandimaginativeways.
KeyDuties
1. TodeliverspecialisthousinglawservicesfortheLawCentreincompliancewithLegalAidAgency andLexcelstandards,andincludingadviceandcaseworkinvolving:
a) Complexcaseswhichbreaknewgroundand/orrequirerepresentationattheCountyCourt.
b) ProvidingadviceandsupporttoothermembersoftheLawCentreTeamtodeliveraneffective andefficientserviceandimprovethequalityofsupporttoserviceusers.
c) Undertakingoutreach,adviceandcommunityeducationpolicy-relatedwork.
2. GeneratingincomefortheLawCentrefromhousingcasestomeetannualfinancialtargetsand objectives.
3. Toworktofinancial,timeallocationandcasetargetsasrequiredbytheHeadofServiceincluding effectiveuseoftheLegalAidAgencyCostandCaseManagementSystemandpromptbillingof files.
4. TomaintainadministrativeandcaserecordsincompliancewithLawCentrePolicies,Procedures andQualityAssuranceManual,externalaccreditingandfundingbodies,andCambridgeHouse’s internalreportingandfinancialmanagementrequirements.Thisinvolvesmaintenanceof comprehensive,accurateanduptodaterecords,including:
a) Caserecordsandfiles
b) Timerecordingsystems
c) Casestudies
5. Submissionofactivityandperformancereportsasrequiredandincompliancewithinternal quarterlyreportingandfunder’srequirements.
GeneralResponsibilities
1. TokeepabreastoftheoverallworkofCambridgeHouse.
2. Tobeself-servicingandcompetentintheuseofITsoftware.
3. Toparticipateinregularsupervisionsandanannualappraisal,andtobecommittedtoone’sown professionaldevelopment.
4. Toparticipateininternal/externalmeetingsasrequired,toattendconferencesandotherfunctions, andtocontributetogeneralmanagementdecisionmakingasnecessary.
5. TocomplywithallofCambridgeHouse’scorporatepoliciesandprocedures.
6. Tocarryoutanyotherdutiescommensuratewiththerole.
Thisjobdescriptionisprovidedasaguidetotherole.Itisnotintendedtobeanexhaustive descriptionofdutiesandresponsibilities.Itwillbesubjecttoperiodicrevisionastheemphasison andwaysofworkingwithintherolechanges.
Person Specification
Criteria Essential Desirable
Qualifications QualifiedasaSolicitororBarrister(England&Wales),with: Traininginadditionalareas andtraining a) acurrentpractisingcertificate oflaw. b) atleast21years’postqualificationexperiencein housinglaw c) anabilitytomeettheLegalAidAgencysupervisor requirementsforHousinglawortoattainthisstandard within6monthsofstartinginthepost
Knowledgeand 1. 1years’experienceinprovidinglegaladviceinhousing 1. Experienceof experience lawandcasework. recoveringLegalAid 2. Experienceofpossessionproceedings,homelessness Agencycostsand mattersanddisrepaircasework. inter-partiescosts. 3. Soundgeneralknowledgeofthelawandabilityto 2. Experienceoffulfilling developotherareasofthelaw/legalexpertise. theLegalAidAgency 4. Excellentworkingknowledgeandcomprehensionof contractsupervisory writtenEnglish requirements. 5. ProficiencyinuseofMicrosoftOfficeincludingExcel 3. Workinginasmall andWord. team. 6. Experienceofsuccessfullycompletingtasksina 4. Workingina fast-pacedenvironmentandtodeadlines. charity/notforprofit 7. Experienceofworkingpro-activelyandwithminimal organisation instruction. 5. Demonstrable 8. Experienceofworkingwithconfidentialdata. experienceofworking totheLEXCELquality standardmark.
Skills,abilities, 1. Abilitytoreactappropriatelytoshortandlong-term Proficiencyinother and issuesandtobedecisive. languages competencies 2. Abilitytoprioritiseconflictingtasksandmanagea challengingworkload. 3. Confidentandadeptcommunicatorwithstrong interpersonalandpresentationskills. 4. Abilitytoundertaketraining. 5. Beingself-servicing 6. Tokeepuptodatewithlegalandsocialpolicy developmentsandchangesinhousinglaw.
Personal 1. Honesty,reliability,andexcellenttimekeeping. Attributes 2. LoyaltyandacommitmenttoCambridgeHouse’swork. 3. Positive,enthusiastic,andfriendlyattitude. 4. Problemsolvingand‘can-do’approach. 5. Listeningskills. 6. Flexible,motivated,andadaptabletochange. 7. Discretion. 8. Customer-focused. 9. Inclusiveteam-player.
How to Apply
1. Pleaseprovide:
a) Anevidenced-focusedSupportingStatementofnomorethantwosidesofA4explainingwhy thisappointmentinterestsyouandhowyoumeettheessentialcriteriaintheperson specification.
b) YourCurriculumVitaewithyour: i) Fulladdress,email,mobile,workandhometelephonenumbers. ii) Educationandprofessionalqualifications. iii) Fullemploymenthistoryanddetailsofyourlatestsalaryandyournoticeperiod. c) Thenames,positions,organisations,andcontactdetailsoftworeferees.Theserefereesmust includeemployersand/oracademicsupervisorscoveringthelastfiveyears.Referenceswill onlybetakenonceyourexpresspermissionhasbeengranted.
2. AcompletedDiversityMonitoringForm
Theformwillnotbetreatedaspartofyourapplicationandtheinformationyouprovidewillbe treatedasconfidentialandusedforstatisticalpurposesonly.
3. AcompletedCriminalRecordsDeclarationForm
ThepostyouareapplyingforisexemptfromtheprovisionofSection4(2)oftheRehabilitationof OffendersAct1974(Exceptions)(Amendment)Orders1975and2001andthereforeallconvictions, cautionsandbind-overs,includingthoseregardedas‘spent’,mustbedeclaredonCambridge House’sCriminalRecordDeclarationFormandsubmittedwithyourapplication.
4. AsaDisabilityConfidentemployer,wewillgenerallyofferaninterviewtoanyapplicantthatdeclares theyhaveadisabilityandmeetstheminimumcriteriaforthejobasdefinedbytheperson specification.Ifyouhaveadisabilityorlong-termcondition(suchasdyslexia,diabetes,arthritis,a heartconditionormentalhealthcondition)andwanttoapplyundertheDisabilityConfident SchemepleaseletusknowintheemailtowhichyouattachyourCV,supportingstatementand EqualOpportunitiesMonitoringForm.Ifyouareinvitedtointerviewandrequireadjustments,don’t worry,wewillaskyouaboutthiswithinyourinvitationtointerview.
RecruitmentTimetable
ClosingDateforapplications Open
Interviews Tobeadvised
Theinterviewdatesmaychangebutwewilladviseyouinadvance.
Successfulapplicantswillbeaskedtotakeuptheirappointmentsassoonaspossible.
Pleaseemailcompletedapplicationsto:[contact hidden]
AllapplicationsMUSTincludethefollowing:
1. SupportingStatement 4. DiversityMonitoringForm
2. CV 5. CriminalRecordsDeclarationForm
3. Contactdetailsof2professionaland/or academicreferees
Ifyoudonothearfromuswithin14daysoftheclosingdate,pleaseassumeyourapplicationhas beenunsuccessfulonthisoccasion.Pleasenotethatweonlyprovidefeedbacktoshortlisted candidates.