Are you an experienced leader in the field of law looking for your next challenge? Do you enjoy working in a high performing, aspirational organisation? If so, you could be our next Trust Lawyer.

As the Trust Lawyer you will be responsible for leading the Legal Services Team at KCHFT. You will coordinate the work of the Legal Services Team and work closely external stakeholders with the aim of providing a holistic legal service. You will provide support, guidance and advice to Trust staff of all levels by way of training, written policies and ad-hoc legal advice on a variety of clinical and non-clinical law issues.

It is important to us that all our staff are aligned to our Values and in particular the behaviours we expect from KCHFT managers. With this in mind as part of the selection process for this position you will be asked to complete two other activities in addition to the competency-based interview that you will invited to. This extended selection process is designed to assess your management style and the specific details of the exercises will be given if you are successfully shortlisted.

Main duties of the job

• To provide and further develop a proactive Legal Services function and to provide guidance and professional supervision to the Trust's Legal Services team, to build and maintain close and effective relationships with clinical and non-clinical staff across the Trust including directors and senior managers, and also with external bodies.
• To provide the Trust's Executive, senior management and clinical/non-clinical staff with expert legal and practical advice on a wide range of clinical and non-clinical issues and policies within your knowledge and expertise, including but not limited to healthcare and coronial law, data protection and privacy law, equality and diversity, criminal law, clinical governance and NHS healthcare, general litigation, health and safety, public liability and any other area of law as required from time to time, and to seek advice from external legal advisors where appropriate.
• To provide supervision and support to the Legal Services Team to ensure the provision of high quality, robust investigations of claims (clinical and non-clinical) and to identify opportunities for learning.
• To manage own caseload of claims and Inquests and to provide inquest advocacy (including examination of witnesses and legal submissions to HM Coroner on Inquest scope and conclusions), and representation and other court/tribunal hearings.
• To obtain legal and practical advice in the area of commercial/contract law and any other area of law when required.

About us

One of the largest community NHS trusts in the UK, KCHFT are rated 'outstanding' by the CQC. We've got a passion for delivering high standards of care to patients and deliver excellent services to improve the health of our communities. To do this we need outstanding people who share our values Compassionate Aspirational Responsive Excellent

We're committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, which leads to better patient care and a happier workforce. So, all our colleagues have equal access to career opportunities.

We've signed up to be a real UK living wage employer. The real Living Wage is the only UK wage rate voluntarily paid by 7,000+ UK businesses who believe their staff deserve a fair wage. Committing to the real UK Living Wage is one way we're delivering our pledge to be the best employer

Flexibility is another way we do this. In the NHS, we're reminded every day how important life is. As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want you to be able to work in a way that is best for us, for our patients and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement without having to sacrifice time for personal interests or family commitments. We'll support you to work flexibly in a way that will suits us both

Looking for professional development? We can support that too! Our career pathways will help you achieve your aspirations

Job description

Job responsibilities

The job description and person specification gives you all the information you need about this role. Please look carefully at the criteria in the person specification and tell us what you have done that shows you meet this.

Still have questions? The recruiting manager would love to hear from you, their contact details can be found in the job advert.

We can get a lot of applications for some roles so to be in with the best chance of being shortlisted please make sure you apply as soon as possible. A vacancy may close early if there is a lot of interest in the job.

If you need an application form in an alternative format please let our recruitment team know so they can help you with this.

All information you supply on your application should, to the best of your knowledge, be true and accurate.

Find out more about the community difference here.

Good luck! We cant wait to meet you and welcome you to #teamKCHFT, #cometocommunity

Although vaccination against COVID-19 is not mandatory, we are strongly encouraging colleagues in clinical and non-clinical roles who have direct or social contact with patients to be fully vaccinated. In this way we will be doing all we can to ensure your safety and that of your colleagues and the patients we serve.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• The post-holder will be a practicing solicitor or barrister with post-qualification experience and substantial experience working in an in-house position within a healthcare setting defending claims
• Coroner's Court advocacy experience

Desirable

• Experience of working within a Community Trust

Knowledge

Essential

• Specialist knowledge and experience of general healthcare law, coronial law, data protection and privacy law, criminal law, general litigation, health and safety, employers' liability and occupiers' liability.
• Specialist claims management knowledge and experience, including practical application of pre-action protocols for clinical and personal injury claims and civil procedure rules.
• Knowledge of Coronial law and practice

Desirable

• Experience of regulatory investigations (NMC, GMC, HCPC)
• Experience of budgetary management

Skills & Abilities

Essential

• Able to make judgements in relation to legal practise and highly complex medical negligence claims, negotiating and advising on the settlement
• Ability to understand, analyse and interpret complex and sensitive clinical information (i.e. medical records) and other data from different resources and make sound reasoned decisions in relation to matters of law
• Advocacy (including examination of witnesses, presentation of evidence and making legal submissions) legal drafting legal writing interviewing and advising legal research conducting litigation and investigations presentation skills analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to develop and maintain constructive relationships with staff at all levels within the Trust including the senior management and clinicians
• Competence in the use of Westlaw, Lawtel and Lexis Library

Personal Attributes

Essential

• Good working relationships with staff and patients in a variety of situations. Has positive attitude and good work ethic. Exhibits emotional intelligence and willingness to learn
• Demonstrates Trust Core values: Compassionate, Aspirational, Responsive, Excellent
• Line management and supervision
• Dealing with difficult situations and working in an antagonistic atmosphere and while under pressure in order to provide timely and clear legal advice

Qualifications

Essential

• Degree in Law
• PG Dip Legal Practice
• 2-year traineeship

Employer details

Employer name

Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Home base with travel to site as required

Ashford

TN25 4AZ

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

846-5623540-TS