Practice Manager – Legal Service Full time/Part Time Salary: £55,591 - £62,793 pa, with potential for further progression to £70,907 pa with our pay progression scheme. Location: Hybrid Contracted to our Wilmslow, London, Edinburgh, Belfast or Cardiff office, however, through hybrid working we offer flexible home and office-based working opportunities. There will be times when you will be expected to attend the office to collaborate with colleagues or travel due to business need. Why work for the ICO? Pay progression scheme. Hybrid and flexible working options. 25 days paid holiday per year, plus privilege and public holidays. Flexi leave (up to 24 additional days leave per year). Pension (employer contribution around 28.9%). Online discount scheme to save money at major supermarkets, retailers, gyms, restaurants, insurance providers and many more. Health Cash Plan. Fantastic development opportunities to learn and progress. Further details can be found on the benefits section of our website. About us The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the independent regulator of information rights. In a data-driven world, we provide advice, guidance, and support to organisations enabling compliance with their obligations, as well as protecting individuals and their personal data. As an employer, we are passionate about making a positive difference to the lives and careers of our people, and we empower you to be curious, impactful, collaborative and respectful. Job Summary The post holder will be responsible for enabling the smooth and efficient running of the ICO Legal Service. Reporting to to the General Counsel and working closely with the Legal Directors and Heads of Legal Service, the Practice Manager’s role is to optimise the efficacy and efficiency of the delivery of the ICO Legal Service. Working closely with senior managers across the organisation, the Practice Manager will be responsible for effective internal control and management of the governance arrangements and corporate responsibilities of the Legal Service. This will be achieved through a well-crafted and defined set of processes and procedures, developed and owned by the post holder. Job Description The Practice Manager will maintain records of engagement and contractual arrangements with law firms and chambers to measure performance and take steps to ensure the ICO is receiving good value for money. The Practice Manager will provide the General Counsel and Legal Leadership Team with relevant briefings and analysis on significant corporate risks, including resourcing and budgets, and develop strategies on how to improve efficiency in the way the ICO delivers its legal services. The postholder will be required to undertake their role responsibilities with a significant degree of autonomy; therefore strong interpersonal and management skills with the ability to provide leadership across the ICO’s Legal Service are required. The post holder will also need to be highly organised with the ability to prioritise their work under pressure across a range of tasks, to deliver high quality standards in a timely manner to senior internal and external stakeholders. Previous experience of working in a legal environment in an operational role and/or knowledge of the law would be an advantage but is not essential. Key Responsibilities Provide day to day operational support to the Legal Service directorates in delivering effective, efficient and timely legal services to the ICO. This includes leading on measuring, reporting and making recommendations on the key performance indicators of the department and of external law firms and chambers. Develop and maintain a knowledge bank for the ICO Legal Service, to record, for example, key legal decisions and summaries of case results and liaise with colleagues in other Directorates to share relevant knowledge; responsible for ensuring consistency across internal communications and branding, including intranet sites and briefing and advice templates. Manage, track and monitor the ICO Legal Service budgets and expenditure, ensuring value for money and effective financial controls are in place; develop and provide reports and briefings on risks and trends to the General Counsel and Legal Leadership Team. Lead on cross-departmental and cross-office corporate initiatives and projects, such as business reporting and resource planning, acting as the point of contact for Legal Service; track and co-ordinate resource allocations across the Legal Service, consulting with the Heads of Legal Service and others as appropriate. Source, organise and manage specialist training and professional development for the lawyers to ensure their needs are met effectively and within budget. Monitor and report on departmental performance against KPIs and make recommendations, identifying possible performance improvement measures, with a view to achieving continual departmental performance improvement and efficiency; this will include drafting business cases for new project or work initiatives as appropriate. Ensure effective records and information management processes across the Legal Service; design and implement effective systems to manage the production and dissemination of ICO Legal Service corporate policies and governance information; support line managers and staff with performance management where needed. Monitor and regularise the rates paid to Counsel and external legal suppliers across the Legal Service. Maintain a list of preferred Counsel, with a note of their speciality and relevant experience. Liaise with external law firms, chambers, negotiating and managing contracts with external suppliers to ensure that value for money is achieved. Keep up to date with developments across ICO departments and functions, retaining a breadth of knowledge across the work of the ICO; represent the Legal Service at cross-departmental meetings, and share relevant information in a timely manner; act as an ambassador for the Legal Service and seek out and coordinate opportunities to promote the work of the Legal Service internally. Manage legal support duties, identifying and implementing ways of working to ensure the smooth running of the legal function as well as freeing up lawyers’ time from these tasks to allow them to concentrate more of their resources on legal work. Provide leadership and support to administrative and support staff within the Legal Service to ensure consistency of approach and drive operational efficiencies Essential criteria assessed at application stage Substantial experience relevant to the role requirements, as described in the role responsibilities and person specification, and accumulated through any combination of academic or vocational qualifications or experience Significant relevant work experience including administration and finance; in a legal or other context Ability to track and deliver varied tasks to tight deadlines Excellent judgement and decision- making skills Personally effective – excellent organisational, planning and management skills, including work- stream, delegation, budget and performance Ability to analyse operational/ statistical and financial information and produce accurate plans and reports. Essential criteria assessed at interview stage Experience of interpreting, summarising and communicating complex information quickly Excellent interpersonal and verbal communication and presentation skills Ability to negotiate with internal and external stakeholder and suppliers Excellent written, verbal and presentational communication skills Strong leadership skills with the ability to seek out, manage and influence opportunities for continuous improvement and change Equality, diversity and inclusion The ICO is committed to promoting and enhancing equality, diversity, and inclusion. We are focused on developing a workforce that is representative of the communities we serve and together we are building an inclusive workplace where all of our colleagues have the opportunity to make a real difference. We are championing this through our Equality Diversity and Inclusion Board together with a number of staff networks. Read more about our commitment on our website. Candidates with a disability who meet the minimum criteria for this vacancy will be invited to interview as part of the ICO’s commitment to the Disability Confident Scheme. If you have a disability or impairment and require an alternative application method, please email the HR team at recruitmentico.org.uk. Closing Date Please submit your CV and cover letter by 23:59, Sunday 9th March 2025 We reserve the right to close this vacancy before this date should we receive sufficient applications. Please apply as soon as possible to ensure your application is considered.