LSB has partnered with Nurole for this vacancy. Please apply via their website: Office for Legal Complaints - Legal Services Board — Non-Executive Director, Lay Member (nurole.com)
Office for Legal Complaints – Board Member
Contents
Summary
- Organisation
- Office for Legal Complaints
- Sponsor department
- Ministry of Justice
- Location
- West Midlands
- Sectors
- Judicial, Prisons & Policing
- Skills
- Business, Marketing, Legal, Regulation
- Number of vacancies
- 1
- Time commitment
- 2 day(s) per month
- Remuneration
- £10,000 per annum
- Length of term
- OLC Board members are appointed for periods of between two and five years
- Application deadline
- 11:59pm on 30 August 2023
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Timeline for this appointment
-
Opening date
27 July 2023
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Application deadline
11:59pm on 30 August 2023
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Sifting date
11 September 2023
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Interviews expected to end on
16 October 2023
Timeline dates are only an estimate and can change
About the appointment
Introduction
Those who use legal services do so at some of life’s most significant milestones. The Office for Legal Complaints (OLC), an arm’s length body of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), overseen by the Legal Services Board (LSB), administers an independent ombudsman scheme to resolve complaints by consumers about legal services - the scheme is known as the Legal Ombudsman (LeO).
People contact the Legal Ombudsman when something has gone wrong. The people who use the scheme have experienced disappointment and possibly distress when accessing legal services and attempts to resolve the matter with the legal services provider have failed. It is incumbent on the Legal Ombudsman to apply effort, energy, and focus to deliver the highest-quality service, in reasonable timeframes, professionally and with transparency.
The Legal Ombudsman is independent and impartial. The service is free to consumers and costs are recovered from legal service providers.
The Legal Service Board (LSB) and the OLC were established under the Legal Services Act 2007. The relationship between OLC, LSB and MoJ is a complex one in public sector governance terms. The Board of the OLC (Chair and Members) is appointed by and accountable to the LSB, which can set performance targets, and which approves its annual budget. There are further accountabilities to the MoJ.
The OLC currently comprises five lay and two non-lay members and a lay Chair. The Legal Ombudsman service has over 250 staff and a budget of £16.8m for 2023 / 24. The OLC’s costs are met by a combination of a levy paid by approved regulators and case fees charged to legal services providers.
Working with the approved regulators - and with the OLC - the LSB is responsible for ensuring that the highest standards of competence, conduct and service in the legal profession are maintained for the benefit of individual consumers and the public generally.
Appointment description
As a member reporting to the Chair of the OLC Board, Non-Executive Directors work with the Chair and other members of the OLC Board to set the strategic direction of the Legal Ombudsman scheme and drive performance, to provide strong governance, and to safeguard the independence of the scheme in relation to decisions on complaints about legal services.
The successful candidate will help the Legal Ombudsman scheme improve performance and provide the valuable information it holds to regulators, consumers and legal services providers in ways they find most helpful. This reflects the important role that the Legal Ombudsman scheme plays in underpinning consumer confidence.
Non-Executive Directors will also need to be aware of the opportunities and challenges of the changing market for legal services – and the implications of the changing nature of regulation.
As a member of the OLC Board individuals have individual and collective responsibility to:
- Ensure high performance and an excellent level of service in the administration of the Legal Ombudsman scheme, having regard to the generally accepted principles of good practice in the administration of such schemes
- Ensure high performance and an excellent level of service in the handling of complaints, and raising the standards of that service
- Support the OLC Chair in providing strategic direction to the Legal Ombudsman scheme
- Ensure that the OLC and the Legal Ombudsman scheme are organised and managed in a way that is as far as practicable compatible with the regulatory objectives set out in the Legal Services Act 2007
- Work effectively with the Chief Ombudsman to ensure adherence to the principles of good governance and that proper accounts are kept
- Ensure compliance with relevant general guidelines laid down by the government relating to all non-departmental government bodies and
- Ensure positive relationships are maintained with OLC’s stakeholders.
Person specification
Essential criteria
This Board member will be lay, that is a member who is - and has never been - a legal professional or legally qualified. Full details can be found in the Legal Services Act here.
The OLC is looking to recruit a new Board Member to support the diversity of skills on the Legal Services Board. The OLC is particularly keen to hear from individuals with some combination of the following set of experiences:
- Dispute resolution and the administrative justice landscape: individuals will bring experience of working in a relevant organisation in either an executive or non-executive capacity (eg. Ombudsman or Regulator), bringing an understanding of the legal landscape including the experience of either complaint handling or the experience of complainants.
- Digital consumer expertise and Digital innovation: those who bring a modern understanding of Artificial Intelligence (AI), have high digital literacy and understand how to engage and service digital customers are highly valuable to the Board, along with those who will bring exposure and understanding of operating in a technology or tech-enabled B2C business.
- Business and Marketing: individuals will bring senior-level commercial expertise. This experience could come from expertise in a wide-range of sectors, with particular interest in those who understand engaging with multiple stakeholders. Expertise and awareness in communications and marketing gained through this experience would also be of interest.
Individuals will also bring:
- A sound understanding of and exposure to corporate governance at a senior level, gained through participation on Boards, committees or similar structures – either as an executive or as a non-executive
- A strong and demonstrable commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion
- An approachable style, excellent communication, influencing and relationship management skills
- Ability to constructively challenge and show independence of view, whilst having the ability to establish collaborative relationships
- Strong intellect and sound judgement, and a high level of probity and integrity
- An ability to develop and sustain constructive and complex relationships with senior-level stakeholders
- Financial and economic awareness gained from familiarity of operating in a complex environment
- A solid commitment to high ethical standards of integrity and honesty and the Seven Principles of Public Life
Although prior non-executive experience is welcome, applications are welcome from individuals who have not held such roles before.
Application and selection process
Gary Kildare – Chair (LSB Board Member)
Elisabeth Davies – OLC Chair
Paula McDonald – Independent MemberAdvisory Assessment Panels (AAP) are chosen by ministers to assist them in their decision-making. These include a departmental official and an independent member. For competitions recruiting non-executive members of a board (apart from the Chair), the panel will usually include a representative from the public body concerned.
AAP’s perform a number of functions, including agreeing an assessment strategy with ministers, undertaking sifting, carrying out interviews in line with the advertised criteria and deciding objectively who meets the published selection criteria for the role before recommending to ministers which candidates they find appointable. It is then for the minister to decide who to appoint to the role.
In general, you should have the right to work in the UK to be eligible to apply for a public appointment.
There are a small number of specialist roles that are not open to non-British citizens. Any nationality requirements will be specified in the vacancy details.
The Government expects all holders of public office to work to the highest personal and professional standards.
You cannot be considered for a public appointment if:
you are disqualified from acting as a company director (under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986);
have an unspent conviction on your criminal record;
your estate has been sequestrated in Scotland or you enter into a debt arrangement programme under Part 1 of the Debt Arrangement and Attachment (Scotland) Act 2002 (asp 17) as the debtor or have, under Scots law, granted a trust deed for creditors.
When you apply, you should declare if:
you are, or have been, bankrupt or you have made an arrangement with a creditor at any point, including the dates of this.
you are subject to a current police investigation.
You must inform the sponsor department if, during the application process, your circumstances change in respect of any of the above points.
When you apply you should also declare any relevant interests, highlighting any that you think may call into question your ability to properly discharge the responsibilities of the role you are applying for. You should also declare any other matters which may mean you may not be able to meet the requirements of the Code of Conduct of Board Members (see Outside interests and reputational issues section below)The successful candidate will be required to undertake Baseline Personnel Security Standard checks in line with the Civil Service guidelines. Additional Security Clearance may also be required for certain roles. However, where this applies, candidates will be notified during the appointment process. Further information on National Security Vetting can be found on the Gov.uk website here.
Additional information for candidates
We encourage applications from talented individuals from all backgrounds and across the whole of the United Kingdom. Boards of public bodies are most effective when they reflect the diversity of views of the society they serve and this is an important part of the Government’s levelling up agenda.
We collect data about applicants’ characteristics and backgrounds, including information about people’s educational and professional backgrounds, so that we can make sure we are attracting a broad range of people to these roles and that our selection processes are fair for everyone. Without this information, it makes it difficult to see if our outreach is working, if the application process is having an unfair impact on certain groups and whether changes are making a positive difference.
When you submit your application, your responses are collected by the Cabinet Office and the government department(s) managing your application. The data is used to produce management information about the diversity of applicants. You can select “prefer not to say” to any question you do not wish to answer. The information you provide will not be seen by the Advisory Assessment Panel who review applications against the advertised criteria and conduct interviews.
We are a member of the Government’s Disability Confident scheme. We use the Disability Confident scheme symbol, along with other like-minded employers, to show our commitment to good practice in employing people with a disability. The scheme helps recruit and retain disabled people.
As part of implementing the scheme, we guarantee an interview for anyone with a disability whose application meets the essential criteria for the role, set out in the advert, and who has asked that their application is considered under the scheme. Indicating that you wish your application to be considered under the scheme will in no way prejudice your application. By ‘minimum criteria,’ we mean that you must provide evidence which demonstrates that you meet the level of competence required under each of the essential criteria, as set out in the job-advert.
When you apply you will have the opportunity to select if you would like your application considered under this scheme.
We are committed to making reasonable adjustments to make sure applicants with disabilities, physical or mental health conditions, or other needs are not substantially disadvantaged when applying for public appointments. This can include changing the recruitment process to enable people who wish to apply to do so.
Some examples of common changes are:
- ensuring that application forms are available in different or accessible formats;
- making adaptations to interview locations;
- allowing candidates to present their skills and experience in a different way;
- giving additional detailed information on the selection / interview process in advance to allow candidates time to prepare themselves;
- allowing support workers, for example sign language interpreters;
- making provision for support animals to attend.
When you apply you will have the opportunity to request reasonable adjustments to the application process.
Holders of public office are expected to adhere to and uphold the Seven Principles of Public Life. These are:
- Selflessness - Holders of public office should act solely in terms of the public interest.
- Integrity - Holders of public office must avoid placing themselves under any obligation to people or organisations that might try inappropriately to influence them in their work. They should not act or take decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or their friends. They must declare and resolve any interests and relationships.
- Objectivity - Holders of public office must act and take decisions impartially, fairly and on merit, using the best evidence and without discrimination or bias.
- Accountability - Holders of public office are accountable to the public for their decisions and actions and must submit themselves to the scrutiny necessary to ensure this.
- Openness - Holders of public office should act and take decisions in an open and transparent manner. Information should not be withheld from the public unless there are clear and lawful reasons for so doing.
- Honesty - Holders of public office should be truthful.
- Leadership - Holders of public office should exhibit these principles in their own behaviour and treat others with respect. They should actively promote and robustly support the principles and challenge poor behaviour wherever it occurs.
The Government expects all holders of public office to work to the highest personal and professional standards. In support of this, all non-executive board members of UK public bodies must abide by the principles set out in the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies. The Code sets out the standards expected from those who serve on the boards of UK public bodies and will form part of your terms and conditions of appointment.
Holders of public office are expected to adhere and uphold the Seven Principles of Public Life and the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies. Before you apply you should consider carefully:
- any outside interests that you may have, such as shares you may hold in a company providing services to government;
- any possible reputational issues arising from your past actions or public statements that you have made;
- and/or - any political roles you hold or political campaigns you have supported;
You will need to answer relevant questions in relation to these points when making an application. Many conflicts of interest can be satisfactorily resolved and declaring a potential conflict does not prevent you from being interviewed. If you are shortlisted for an interview, the panel will discuss any potential conflicts with you during that interview, including any proposals you may have to mitigate them and record that in their advice to ministers. Alongside your own declaration, we will conduct appropriate checks, as part of which we will consider anything in the public domain related to your conduct or professional capacity. This may include searches of previous public statements and social media, blogs or any other publicly available information. The successful candidate(s) may be required to give up any conflicting interests and their other business and financial interests may be published in line with organisational policies.
Details of declared political activity will be published when the appointment is announced, as required by the Governance Code (political activity is not a bar to appointment, but must be declared).
As this is an office holder appointment, you will not become a member of the Civil Service. You will not be subject to the provisions of employment law.
Appointments are for the term set out in this advert, with the possibility of re-appointment for a further term, at the discretion of Ministers. Any re-appointment is subject to satisfactory annual appraisals of performance during the first term in the post. There is no automatic presumption of reappointment; each case should be considered on its own merits, taking into account a number of factors including, but not restricted to, the diversity of the current board and its balance of skills and experience. In most cases, the total time served in post will not exceed more than two terms or serve in any one post for more than ten years
Remuneration for this role is treated as employment income and will be subject to tax and National Insurance contributions, both of which will be deducted at source under PAYE before you are paid.
You can claim reimbursement for reasonable travel and subsistence costs which are properly and necessarily incurred on official business, in line with the travel and subsistence policy and rates for the organisation to which you are applying. However these payments are taxable as earnings and will be subject to tax and national insurance, both of which will be deducted at source under PAYE before you are paid.
This is an office holder appointment and does not attract any benefits under any Civil Service Pension Scheme. You will not be eligible for redundancy pay as you are not an employee. No other arrangements have been made for compensation upon the end of your term of appointment because an office holder who is appointed for a limited duration would have no expectation of serving beyond that period.
We will notify you of the status of your application. We regret that we are only able to offer detailed feedback to candidates who have been unsuccessful at the interview stage.
We aim to process all applications as quickly as possible and to treat all applicants with courtesy.
Please contact Ethan Fleming in the first instance if you would like to make a complaint regarding your application at Ethan.Fleming@legalservicesboard.org.uk. They will acknowledge your complaint upon receipt and respond within 15 working days.
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