Recruitment Pack: Advice and Information Manager
Liberty is a high-profile campaigning organisation that has been fighting for human rights and civil liberties for over eighty years. Liberty works on a diverse array of issues, including non-discrimination, migrants’ rights, protest, privacy, digital rights, free speech, police misconduct and access to justice. We are a uniquely multi-disciplinary team, working to achieve change through a powerful combination of lobbying, strategic litigation, public campaigning, member activism, and providing free advice and information to the public. Liberty has been standing up for people and holding the powerful to account since 1934, and it is needed now more than ever.
Liberty is currently recruiting an Advice & Information Manager to lead its Public Advice and Information Team. This is an exciting new position which will develop Liberty’s legal advice and information service into a more robust, strategic and effective service for access to justice. The Advice & Information Manager will be responsible for a team of staff and volunteers who process and respond to requests for advice and assistance from members of the public. The A&I Team provides direct legal advice, currently under the supervision of Liberty’s in-house lawyers, identifies queries suitable for strategic litigation, and refers queries to other lawyers or services where appropriate. They track and analyse the inquiries Liberty receives in order to identify trends and support Liberty’s campaigning work. They recruit and train volunteers to assist in these responsibilities. They give talks to community groups, schools and other organisations on Liberty’s campaigning objectives. They conduct trainings for other front-line service providers on Liberty’s core issues.
Liberty is looking for a candidate who will lead this team and help develop a vision for its future growth – transforming the quality and quantity of our advice provision and access to justice work. Successful candidates will be legally trained, holding at the very minimum an LLB, PGDL or equivalent qualification. Their research and critical thinking skills must be of a very high standard. They will have significant prior experience with the provision of legal advice and with project management, and at least some experience with direct line management and/or volunteer management. They will have a strong commitment to Liberty’s issues. They will have strong written and oral communications skills and the ability to manage Liberty’s relationships with pro bono partners and other members of the legal community. And they will be interested in developing innovative approaches to the provision of legal advice and information, including through the development of web-based services.
Position DescriptionPosition title: / Advice & Information Manager
Position reports to: / Advocacy Director
Position works closely with: / Advice & Information Officers, Head of Casework, Lawyers
Salary band: / £37,226 – 42,952[1]
Employment status: / Permanent
Appointment Start Date: / To start spring 2018
Hours: / 35 hours per week plus occasional out of hours work
Location: / Liberty House, Westminster, London
Closing date for applications: / 9am Friday 2nd February 2018
Interview dates: / First Round: Monday 12th February 2018
Second Round: Tuesday 20th February 2018
Role purpose
The Advice and Information Manager is responsible for managing Liberty’s public advice and information service, supervising Advice and Information Officers, managing Liberty’s legal volunteer system, and expanding Liberty’s profile as a leader in field of human rights advice provision and access to justice work.
Key responsibilities
· Ensure the provision of timely, legally correct responses to the legal queries that Liberty receives and ensure that they are appropriate to the needs of the enquirer, working closely with Liberty’s lawyers and Head of Casework.
· Identify queries suitable for referral to Liberty’s in-house lawyers or to external lawyers or services.
· Develop and provide training programs for other providers of legal services on Liberty’s core issues, including protest, police complaints, immigration detention and other issues.
· Develop a new, web-based system for the delivery legal advice and information and work with Liberty’s Senior Management Team and Head of Casework to develop other innovative approaches to legal assistance.
· Prepare and supervise the preparation of web content, fact sheets, FAQs and guides on areas of law that are the subject of frequent enquiries.
· Manage Liberty’s relationships with pro bono partners and other members of the legal community.
· Undertake public speaking and education on human rights, including to school and community groups.
· Line-manage the work of Liberty’s Advice and Information Officers.
· Oversee the system for recruiting, training, coordinating and supervising volunteers for both the written and telephone advice services.
· Ensure accurate records of all queries are maintained.
· Prepare regular analysis of Liberty’s advice and information services for internal evaluation purposes and, where appropriate, for funders.
· Keep abreast of developments in human rights law and policy in the UK.
Selection criteria / Essential / Desirable
Technical expertise & qualifications / Legal training (minimum standard LLB/PGDL or equivalent) / ü
Legal training beyond this minimum standard (LPC or BPTC) / ü
Knowledge & Experience / Experience in giving legal advice / ü
Experience in operating a casework database or an online information platform / ü
Experience with project management or organisational management / ü
Experience of delivering training and presentations / ü
Experience of supervising volunteers or direct line management of staff / ü
Good grounding in domestic human rights law and an understanding of Liberty’s broad campaigning objectives / ü
Good grounding in one or more of the following areas of law: policing, privacy, equality/discrimination, immigration and migrants’ rights, and protest rights. / ü
Skills & Abilities / Critical thinking - Excellent legal research and critical thinking skills. / ü
Communication - Ability to communicate complex legal arguments and principles clearly and succinctly to a legal and non-legal audience, both orally and in writing. / ü
Creativity & Planning: Demonstrates creative thinking and sound decision making, with the ability to take initiative, think and problem solve effectively.
Delivery & implementation: Ability to manage multiple and competing priorities, meet deadlines, solve problems and move from concept to implementation. Works well under pressure.
Management and leadership: Demonstrates interest in leadership and takes responsibility for line management and employees performance by tracking progress against goals, giving constructive feedback and addressing performance issues effectively.
Learning & reflection: Takes an evaluative approach to own work and that of others.
Values / Commitment to human rights, civil liberties and the core values of Liberty / ü
Commitment to working collaboratively with team members, other staff at Liberty and other organisations / ü
Commitment to building a fair, respectful and diverse working environment / ü
Important information
1. Completed application forms should be returned by email (with job title in the subject line) as a Word or PDF document to no later than 9am on Friday 2nd February 2018.
Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
2. You will receive an automatically generated response confirming receipt. If you DO NOT receive this response within one to two hours of sending, please call 020 7403 3888 to check whether your application has been received - be sure to do so before the closing date.
3. First round interviews are scheduled for Monday 12th February and will involve a second stage on Tuesday 20th February. Shortlisted applicants will be contacted by phone to arrange interview times. Details of the interview (location, members of panel etc.) will be confirmed by email.
4. Applicants who have not been short listed will be notified by email. Due to our limited resources we are unable to provide feedback on applications.
5. Interview panels will be made up of two to four people who will each ask the candidates questions. The questions are intended to allow you to expand on your application and to demonstrate to the panel how far you meet the essential and desirable requirements of the post. All candidates are asked a uniform set of questions (usually 5 or 6) and may also be asked follow up questions to clarify or expand on individual answers. At the end of the interview candidates will also have an opportunity to ask questions about the job, conditions of service, etc.
6. Shortlisted candidates will be asked to complete pre-interview tasks.
7. Once all interviews have taken place, shortlisted applicants will be contacted and informed of the outcome either by email or phone and offered the opportunity to receive feedback.
8. Liberty’s offices are wheelchair accessible. If you have a special requirement for completing a task or attending an interview due to a disability, please contact us on 020 7403 3888
[1] This range represents the bottom and top points of a five point pay scale. As a matter of policy Liberty appoints new starters on the bottom point.