Senior Lawyer, General Counsel Team
Senior Lawyer, General Counsel Team
Our vision is for safe and effective nursing and midwifery practice across the four countries of the UK – regulated and supported by the NMC – a fit for the future organisation, with fairness and equity at the heart of everything we do.
Our role is to protect the public and maintain confidence in the nursing and midwifery professions. As the largest independent regulator in Europe of more than 860,000 nursing and midwifery professionals, we have a crucial role in making this a reality.
We do this by setting and promoting high education and professional standards for all future and registered nurses and midwives in the UK and nursing associates in England.
We also ensure every nurse, midwife and nursing associate on our Register meets clear standards of conduct and practice which protects the public and the reputation of our professions.
We have a duty to investigate concerns and to take steps to protect the public in the relatively rare instances where we need to limit or restrict a nurse, midwife or nursing associate’s right to practise.
We are building a new NMC with integrity, fairness, respect, equity and effectiveness at its core.
We are determined to improve and modernise our culture and ways of working. This will ensure that the public and professionals feel confident in our work.
About the team
The General Counsel (GC) Team sits at the heart of the organisation, within the Office of the Chair and Chief Executive. We provide high-quality, strategic legal advice that supports public protection and underpins confident, effective decision-making across the organisation.
You’ll join a collaborative and high-performing team of legal professionals, working closely with Principal Legal Advisers, senior lawyers, a paralegal, and colleagues across the wider “One Legal Community.” The team leads on litigation, legal risk management, and organisational learning—ensuring that insight from legal challenges drives continuous improvement.
This is an environment where expertise is valued, development is supported, and your contribution will directly influence how the organisation responds to complex legal issues.
Your role and impact
As a Senior Lawyer, you will play a central role in managing and shaping the organisation’s response to legal challenge. You’ll oversee a varied and high-profile caseload, including pre-litigation, litigation, and other external challenges, ensuring matters are handled in a way that is legally robust, proportionate, and aligned with organisational values.
You’ll lead on corporate litigation—drafting legal documents, conducting advocacy, and working closely with external counsel and insurers to deliver high-quality, cost-effective outcomes. You’ll also support colleagues across the organisation, providing clear, practical legal advice to senior stakeholders and ensuring witnesses are well-prepared and supported through legal proceedings.
Beyond casework, you’ll drive learning and improvement. You’ll help shape the team’s knowledge management approach, identify emerging legal risks, and lead on sharing insight from case law developments. You’ll also play a leadership role within the team—supporting colleagues, contributing to team development, and deputising for Principal Legal Advisers when required.
Your work will have a direct impact on protecting the public, strengthening organisational resilience, and ensuring the organisation continues to learn and evolve.
What you’ll bring
You’re a qualified solicitor or barrister with a current practising certificate and the ability to conduct litigation in England and Wales. You bring strong experience of managing litigation and advising on complex or high-profile legal matters, ideally within a regulated or politically sensitive environment.
You combine excellent legal analysis and advocacy skills with the ability to communicate clearly and persuasively to a wide range of stakeholders. You’re confident navigating complex legal issues, making sound, defensible decisions, and balancing risk with organisational priorities.
Highly organised and proactive, you can manage a busy and varied caseload while meeting tight deadlines. You build strong, collaborative relationships and work effectively across teams and with external partners.
Above all, you act with integrity and purpose—committed to delivering high-quality legal work that supports public protection and drives continuous improvement.
Tuesday 21st and Wednesday 22nd April.
Tuesday 21st and Wednesday 22nd April.
Benefits
- 30 days annual leave
- Enhanced Pension Contributions via our attractive Pension Scheme – with a basic 8% employer contribution as standard which increases up to 14% with optional added Employee Contributions
- Life Insurance – 4 x current salary
- Hybrid working
- Enhanced Maternity and Paternity Leave
- 24 Hours Employee Assistance Programme
- Cycle to Work Scheme
- Perkbox membership
- Subsidised restaurant in our Portland Place office
- Season ticket loans
Additional Information
The role you are applying for is a flexible role, and whilst you will be posted initially to a team, this may require movement between teams as the flow of work dictates. You will of course understand that this flexible approach enables us to provide the best possible service to our registrants and reach the outcomes to our cases quickly and within a reasonable timeframe. This will not change your terms and conditions and will be discussed with you prior to you taking up the post.
We are currently working to a policy of office attendance for two days per week with the rest of the time working from home. Before submitting your application, please ensure you are able to commit to working in one of our office locations twice per week. If you are applying for a part-time role, please pro-rata office attendance based on the number of days you would be working.
Our Pay Policy
Salary Scales
London £65,460 - £72,733
Salary Scales
Edinburgh £61,023 - £67,803
It is expected that staff new to the NMC will ordinarily be appointed to the bottom of the relevant pay band. However in exceptional circumstances, it may be possible to offer a salary above the bottom of the relevant pay band but we may request proof of current earnings. Please note that we offer an annual review of salaries and adopt a generous progressive pay approach. Further details of which are available on request.
For our internal colleagues, you will be paid in accordance to our internal pay policy.
Reasonable adjustments
We will provide reasonable adjustments to support disabled candidates throughout the recruitment process. Please let us know if you need any additional support to enable you to make an application with us.
Screening and vetting
All of our roles are subject to pre-employment checks. We are in the process of introducing a vetting policy, and it is possible that this role may become subject to DBS and further vetting checks in future.
About The Nursing and Midwifery Council
Documents
Our Hiring Process
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