The Electoral Commission is the independent body which oversees elections and regulates political finance in the UK. We work to promote public confidence in the democratic process and ensure its integrity.
As a statutory body, the Commission relies on its Legal & Governance Team for high quality legal advice and support to advance its objectives and keep it within the law. The Commission is directly accountable to the UK Parliament, Scottish Parliament and Senedd. The Legal Team has a crucial and integral role to play within the Commission. The team is led by General Counsel and reports to the Chief Executive.
This is a very interesting time to be joining the Commission. It has a growing public profile and it operates in the full glare of the public spotlight in an increasingly contested regulatory environment.
The role might involve work on:
- Advising on electoral law during major political events, including the UK Parliamentary General Elections, local elections, referendums, and elections for the devolved legislatures.
- Advising on high profile regulatory decisions affecting political parties and campaigners.
- Working on proposed legislation for constitutional reform, such as tackling electoral fraud.
In the past ten years the Legal & Governance Team has grown to reflect the Commission’s developing needs for legal and governance support. The Team is responsible for legal advice to the Commission and for governance through supporting the Board of Commissioners. The current structure under the leadership of General Counsel is three Senior Lawyers, six Lawyers, two Legal Officers, and two Senior Governance Advisers.
The Commission is committed to increasing the diversity of its staff and is committed to flexible working and achieving a good work-life balance, with a mix of office and homeworking available. Staff are employed on a flexi-time basis. The Legal Team is based in London but we would be open to successful candidates operating out of one of our offices based in Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff.
We are currently seeking three Lawyers to join the Team. Since the Commission operates in a niche area, we do not necessarily expect candidates to have experience of electoral law, but experience of advisory work, statutory interpretation, litigation, public and administrative law, devolution, regulatory law, policy and drafting will all be highly relevant. You would be reporting to one of the Senior Lawyers and would receive training in role. We would welcome applications from NI or Scottish qualified lawyers who are able to practise in England & Wales..
The Elections Act 2022 has resulted in substantial new work to implement measures on topical issues such as voter ID, voting rules, digital campaigning, and political finance. This is an exciting time to be joining both the Team and the Commission. The Commission’s profile has never been higher and, as the past six months have shown, it is not possible to predict what will happen in UK politics. However it is safe to say that whatever happens over the next few years such as a NI Assembly election or UK General Election, the Commission will definitely need a strong Legal & Governance Team.
For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Binnie Goh, General Counsel - bgoh@electoralcommission.org.uk or Adrian Fryer, Senior Lawyer -afryer@electoralcommission.org.uk.
Closing Date: 3 February 2023 at 11:59pm
Interviews will be held shortly thereafter and shortlisted candidates will also be asked to undertake a written assessment.
To apply click HERE
