ofgem

Influence how we shape the legal future of the energy sector

Ofgem works on behalf of energy consumers to ensure that every household and business in the UK can rely on a safe and environmentally sustainable energy supply. The record increase and volatility in global gas prices in recent months, has put the energy market under severe strain. The Office of the General Counsel (OGC) is responsible for providing all legal advice for Ofgem and its governing body and managing the organisation’s exposure to legal risk.

As a Senior Lawyer you’ll be joining a team that plays a key part in a number of significant policy and legal matters during a time of massive change. Your work will focus on a range of legal areas within Ofgem. You’ll support the Deputy Legal Director in ensuring the continued delivery of a first-class legal function before quickly taking on more responsibilities.

Your role plays a critical part in ensuring the delivery of high quality, effective legal advice across the organisation. You’ll autonomously delivery complex work for the highest priority legal projects across Ofgem. You’ll quickly adapt into a leadership function within a broad range of areas from public law to competition, commercial to information law, energy regulation to PPP/PFI. Once established, you’ll act as a role model and ‘go to’ lawyer for this area of expertise.

With impressive legal knowledge and analysis, you’ll have experience of autonomously leading highly complex legal matters. Your ability to demonstrate a deep technical specialism, combined with a strong, broad knowledge of legal and associated risk will ensure your success. Your pragmatic, innovative approach makes you comfortable working at pace. Your excellent communication skills give you the ability to clearly present findings when addressing both technical and non-technical audiences. Resilient and flexible, your adaptable mindset and ability to multitask will ensure you thrive in this dynamic, diverse work environment.

Ofgem relies on having a workforce that reflects the society we serve, so we welcome candidates from all backgrounds, and especially those from underrepresented groups. While this is a full-time role, flexible working patterns and job shares are welcome. We will also support you with excellent training and development opportunities, plus a competitive benefits package.

Ofgem’s legal function sits in the Office of the General Counsel (OGC). The OGC is responsible for the provision of all legal advice and management of all legal risk required by OFGEM and its governing body the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority and for managing the organisation’s exposure to legal risk.

The energy sector is going through an unprecedented transformation to a net zero and data-enabled future. Furthermore, the record increase and volatility in global gas prices, has put the energy market under severe strain. You will be joining Ofgem OGC to advise on how to solve these and other policy and legal matters all under development at a time of increasing change in the energy sector.

The OGC supports Ofgem’s activities through hubs focused on the following areas:

Consumer & Competition Legal

Enforcement and Emerging Issues Legal

Delivery and Schemes Legal

Networks RIIO Legal

Networks Commercial Legal

Systems Legal

You will initially be posted to work in one hub, where you will support the Deputy Legal Director responsible for that hub in ensuring the continued delivery of a first class legal function, but you can expect to work in a number of hubs over time which means that you will be working in a diverse culture with like minded people. Some of the projects cut across more than one hub.

Those in our expert roles play a critical role in ensuring the delivery of high quality and effective legal advice across the organisation. They will autonomously deliver the highest priority, high risk and complex legal projects across Ofgem. Working in different areas of Ofgem, they will be quickly adaptable and deliver significant leadership in OGC (that may be outside their area of expertise). They are our role models and the “go to” lawyers within their areas of expertise. The expert roles in this recruitment broadly relate to public law, competition, commercial, information law, complex and high value public procurements, energy regulation, PPP/PFI, infrastructure transactions and insolvency expertise. They are each responsible for developing and maintaining capability in these areas across OGC. There may be more than one expert in the same area.

The work is meaningful with a real impact on the lives of energy consumers and energy and environmental policy. You will find the work interesting, intellectually challenging and varied, you will be involved in advising on a wide range of public law issues in a regulatory context. You will enjoy the role if you are a lawyer who is pragmatic and solutions driven, can manage competing demands and deliver at pace to provide advice to policy colleagues at all levels.

We welcome candidates from all backgrounds, and especially welcome individuals from underrepresented groups.

Key Responsibilities

• Autonomously deliver the highest priority, high risk and complex legal projects across Ofgem.
• Deliver significant leadership in OGC including mentoring more junior staff and leading on corporate matters including cross OGC working groups.
• Although these Expert positions may not include direct line management, they may be expected to lead multi-disciplinary teams in a specific work area in the context of operating in a Professions and Flexible Resourcing model for example if they are the lead lawyer on a particular area or project.
• Plan, oversee and deliver a set of work deliverables on time and to a high standard through effective project management and support of multidisciplinary team members.
• Provide inclusive team leadership by supporting and coaching team members particularly in their area of expertise and demonstrating commitment to Ofgem values.

Key Outputs and Deliverables

Communications

• Exemplar communication style and technique (written and verbal), with an ability to lead and tailor communications to persuade an audience and senior stakeholders, to resolve tensions and ambiguity.
  
  

Leadership

• Actively support General Counsel and other members of legal management team in the leadership of the Legal Profession within Ofgem.
• Exemplar leadership skills, behaviours and team participation.
• Ability to proactively develop and implement cross-cutting initiatives to successfully build capability.
• Ability to lead cross-cutting and complex projects that involve senior stakeholders.
• Ability to coach individuals and teams in a highly engaging way, pro-actively developing people using their expert knowledge and skills.
• Innovating and driving forward wide-ranging improvements to OGC’s service offering, delivering noticeable efficiencies and value for money.

Legal advice

• Deliver strategic, solutions-focused, high-quality, timely and succinct legal advice, working effectively with minimal supervision on complex matters, drawing on their varied subject matter expertise in particular.
• Exercise sound legal judgement including the effective management of legal risk.
• Proactive development of subject-matter expertise and capability across OGC.
  

Key Stakeholder Relationships

Internal

• Deputy Legal Directors and Legal Team Managers
• Policy clients
• Experts/Technical Specialists
• Corporate services

External

• Other Government Departments
• Other Regulators
• Regulator counterparts, consultants, academia, and think tanks (as appropriate)
• Energy Sector

We are hosting a virtual recruitment event on Thursday 16th of March from 5pm - 6pm to discuss this vacancy in more detail. This event will be a great opportunity for you to learn more about the roles available and you will also have the opportunity to hear all about what it's like to work for Ofgem's Office of the General Counsel and ask questions of the panel.  

To register for this free event, please follow this link: https://bit.ly/3ZdjljR

To Apply for this role click HERE