Senior Legal Adviser

Location: Bristol or London

Salary: £68,720 - £72,004 + £7,500 allowance plus London weighting £3,566 (where relevant)

Generous Civil Service defined benefit pension

Use your regulatory and public expertise in an organisation that’s shaping policy and regulation.

The opportunity:

Make a real difference to the lives of students by bringing your regulatory and public law expertise to the Office for Students (OfS). As the independent regulator of higher education in England, we ensure the best experience and the best value – for students, for taxpayers, for the economy and for the public good. This is a unique opportunity to lead on the provision of complex public law advice across our diverse and rapidly evolving organisation.

The role:

You’ll lead on provision of legal advice for a broad range of legal matters relevant to the functions of the OfS. Key responsibilities include supporting the Legal Senior Leadership Team in tasks relating to the operation of the legal function within the OfS and leadership of specific initiatives. In addition, you will broaden your knowledge of the sector by providing legal advice and support for a broad range of regulatory matters relevant to the functions of the OfS. Expect to work collaboratively with internal legal and policy colleagues, as well as external legal support, owning these key relationships and advising at the most senior level in the organisation. You will lead and manage junior colleagues in the provision of legal complex legal advice in a range of areas, including the OfS’s enforcement and information gathering powers; public law principles, statutory duties and considerations; equalities legislation; Human rights law and consumer protection law.

About you:

This role would suit a qualified solicitor or barrister with strong public law and/or regulatory experience. Excellent written and spoken communication and presentation skills are essential. While your legal career to date may have been in a different sector, you will have significant directly transferable experience in an equivalent public law or regulatory context. We offer a supportive environment that enables you to get up to speed, but you will need experience in at least two of the following areas:

• Public law matters
• Consumer protection law
• Human rights law
• The interpretation of regulatory rules such as licence conditions or equivalent
• The interpretation and application of sector specific legislation which relates to a regulatory body
• Investigation and enforcement in a regulatory context

For the purposes of recruitment to the role, we are measuring the following core competencies:

• Making effective decisions: I empower colleagues to make effective decisions. I recognise my own biases and assumptions and manage them to make better decisions. I actively weigh up information from a range of sources, identifying advantages, disadvantages, risks and impacts to make decisions that take account of the wider organisational, political and regulatory context. I encourage innovative suggestions and challenge from others, to support informed decision making. I use sound judgment in drawing on legal advice and public consultation approaches, wherever necessary and appropriate.
• Delivering at pace: I ensure the delivery of timely, quality outcomes, through providing the right resources for tasks, reviewing and adjusting performance expectations and rewarding success. I maintain my own level of performance in challenging circumstances and support others to do the same. I adjust priorities and focus swiftly, as the OfS’s internal and external context changes, considering how my work impacts other teams across the organisation. I translate strategic priorities into clear outcome-focused objectives for managers and teams. I quickly re-prioritise and formulate plans accordingly as the environment changes.
• Managing a quality service: I use project management skills and techniques to achieve agreed results, including identifying risks and implementing mitigating actions. I understand the financial position of my part of the business and the wider organisation, and maintain good financial and resource discipline. I create regular opportunities for employees and stakeholders to help improve the quality of OfS service. I deliver positive stakeholder service, informed by appreciating the complexity and diversity of their needs and the OfS’s regulatory objectives.
• Communicating and influencing: I actively deploy different methods for influencing others, including making the most of digital resources to respond to different learning styles. I act as a role model to others by communicating with clarity, honesty, and enthusiasm to build trust. I am open-minded and impartial in discussion so I can adjust my arguments to respect the diverse interests and opinions of others. I deliver difficult messages with clarity and sensitivity. I can articulate arguments and reasons in a clear and persuasive manner.

Application process:

There are 4 online application questions to complete, alongside providing a summary of your career to date, which will allow you to demonstrate your relevant experience. For those who progress to interview, the process will include discussing a case study, sent shortly ahead of the interview on the day itself.

Reasonable adjustment:

We are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is accessible to everyone. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support you through the application stage, please contact us at recruitmentteam@officeforstudents.org.uk and we will be happy to help.

Working for us:

The OfS regulates the higher education sector on behalf of all students. We value diversity and the wealth of perspectives, experience and ideas that it brings to our work, and we strive to embed equality of opportunity in everything we do. We recruit based on fair and open competition and welcome applications from candidates regardless of age, disability, race and ethnicity, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. At the OfS, we recognise that flexibility can enable people to work more effectively. A set of organisation-wide principles shape our approach to flexible and hybrid working, which our teams then use as guidance on how they deliver their business goals. This would usually mean working from the office for two or three days in a typical week. To attract the widest possible field of qualified applicants, flexible working, for example job share and part time working, apply to this role.

Closing date for applications: Monday 9 March 2026 at noon

Interviews: weeks commencing 16 and 23 March 2026

For information: the OfS does not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker Sponsor Licence.