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Job Description Job Title Department Reports to Location Direct Reports Purpose Head of Legal Advice Service Legal Advice Service (LAS) CEO Remote, with up to bi-monthly visits to London Senior Rights Adviser Rights Advisers Senior Benefits Advisers Benefits Advisers Supervising Solicitor Trusts & Foundations Manager Working Families is the UK’s national charity for working parents and carers. Our mission is to remove the barriers that people with caring responsibilities face in the workplace. This is a new role managing the Legal Advice Services. This is a full time role (37.5 hours per week) Weare willing to talk flexible working including a job share This is a Senior Leadership role, responsible for developing and leading Working Families legal advice services to working parents and carers. This will ensure Working Families is positioned as the leading expert and place to go on families, work, and work life in the workplace for the UK’s 13 million working parents. You will set the strategy for Legal Advice Services. Working Families legal advice services (LAS) team works at the forefront of access to justice for parents and carers at work, equipping the parents and carers who access the service with the tools they need to thrive at work and balance their caring responsibilities. The team advises individual working parents and carers on their rights at work and provides comprehensive online advice pages. This ranges from advice on pregnancy and sex discrimination and unfair dismissals; to negotiating flexible working; dealing with childcare emergencies; advice on maternity, adoption and shared parental leave and pay; redundancy; and in-work benefits. The Head of Legal Advice manages the LAS team, overseeing the effective and efficient delivery of the service and driving its development to meet the needs of the charity. Key Responsibilities Legal Advice Service • Oversee the advice pages of Working Families website, ensuring this is timely, appropriate, and fit for purpose • Oversee the effective and efficient delivery of legal advice to working parents and carers • Manage the LAS team (currently 8 direct reports) • Manage the wider team of pro bono volunteers 20260408 jd head of legal advice service 26.docx 1 • Keep abreast of changes in employment, financial or other relevant support for parents and carers, incorporating these into the service as appropriate • Support increasing brand awareness of the service, working with the charity to increase the engagement and number of working parents and carers accessing Working Families website and bespoke advice Stakeholders & Partners • Manage, and enrich the partnership with pro bono network • Manage and build the partnership with solicitors and law firms • Delivery of specific projects to analyse and develop the work of the LAS and partnering with other organisations • Fully participate in the Parents & Carers Panel, as invited • Ensure funders’ requirements are met, provide feedback, and contribute to the improvement of feedback Strategic Involvement • • Identify and manage strategic judicial interventions Identify policy, legal and strategic issues and collaborate with colleagues to develop policy relevant to employment legislation • Support Employer Services with best practice for employers Governance & Finance • Manage all quality standards relating to the legal advice service • Manage the legal, ethical, budgetary, risk management and other compliance needs of the legal advice service • Manage all monitoring of service users, in line with the charity’s needs Senior Leadership Team • Key contributor to the SLT, sharing accountability for collective decision making and supporting the effective running of the charity • As part of the SLT, focus on Safeguarding Other • Comply with, and fully participate in, all Working Families policies and processes • Represent Working Families externally • Support and participate in fundraising activities for Working Families • Contribute to the wider Working Families team, undertaking any other reasonable duties as directed Person Specification Essential • Legal qualification as a solicitor or barrister with at least 5 years PQE with a reputable organisation • Expertise in and experience of providing autonomous advice on employment law and discrimination • Ability to identify policy issues arising from advice work • Ability to identify own training and development needs and commitment to keeping up to date with all relevant changes in benefits and employment rights • Ability to represent the organisation externally as subject matter expert • Ability to set priorities and training needs and manage own workload • Ability to manage, motivate and sustain advisers and a wider team of volunteers • Ability to manage a budget 2 • Ability to work as part of the Senior Leadership Team of the Charity • Proven experience of establishing rapport, credibility and collaborative relationships with key customers, partners, and stakeholders at the highest level both internally and externally • Ability to manage a budget • Ability to work as part of the Senior Leadership Team of the Charity Desirable • Experience working in the charity or not-for-profit sector • Experience of working with public bodies to shape policy and law • Experience of planning and writing advice publications for members of the public • The ability to read, write and communicate data in context, including an understanding of data sources • Understanding of benefits and other support available to families • Experience of providing training 3