Job Title & Grade: Chief of Staff to the Chief Executive G6
Contract Type: Permanent
Salary range (depending on location): National - £71,381 - £80,419 London - £75,674 - £85,257
Please note that unless you are currently employed by the Civil Service and are earning more than the minimum above, if successful you will be offered the minimum for the grade depending on your location.
Location: London
While the standard expectation is attendance in the workplace for a minimum of 40% of working time, the successful candidate may be required to attend more frequently w business needs dictate.
Minimum Working Pattern:
This role is full-time for 37 hours per week. It is reasonable to expect that work will occasionally need to be undertaken outside of normal business hours including evenings and weekends, due to the nature of the role and the demands of the office. This role is tfore not suitable for part-time or job share candidates.
The Legal Aid Agency
We are an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). We are responsible for operationally administering the criminal and civil legal aid schemes in England and Wales.
Our people are at the heart of achieving excellence. Employing around 1,200 colleagues across England and Wales, we feel proud to have some of the best People Survey results in the Civil Service.
The Office of the Chief Executive
The Chief Executive Officer’s (CEO) Office sits within the Corporate Services Directorate at the LAA. The postholder will lead the CEO's Office – a small cluster of corporate teams focussed on direct support to the CEO, Deputy CEO (DCEO) and Director of Transformation, and protecting and furthering the Agency’s reputation.
The CEO's Office is made up of the LAA Private Office (CEO, DCEO and Director of Transformation support function), the CEO’s Correspondence and Parliamentary Engagement Team, Publications and Commissioning and the External and Internal Communications teams. The CEO reports to the MoJ Director General for Policy.
We are a friendly and supportive team, working with colleagues and stakeholders across the LAA, MoJ and its agencies as well as colleagues across the wider government and legal sector.
Job Summary
We are looking for an outstanding leader with excellent personal judgement to directly support the CEO and to head up the busy and high-performing teams that sit within the CEO’s Office. As Chief of Staff to the CEO, you will thrive in a fast-moving, varied and reactive environment, leading and operating with discretion, conscientiousness and political awareness as the key point of contact between the CEO and the wider organisation.
You will ensure the CEO’s, DCEO’s and DT’s priorities are understood and driven forward, communicating these effectively at the highest levels across the LAA, MoJ Policy, MoJ Communications and across the wider department. You will also be the interface between the CEO and staff at all levels across LAA and MoJ, as well as with stakeholders across the Civil Service and externally. Cross-MoJ and justice systems collaboration, and prioritisation of reform and transformation, are pressing central priorities for senior leaders working in legal aid - you will support them to deliver this effectively through teams across the Agency.
As CoS, you will provide overall leadership of the corporate teams that sit within the CE’s Office, and which are responsible for agency reputation (External and Internal Communications, Publications and Commissioning and the CEO’s Correspondence and Parliamentary Engagement Team). You will have direct line management of approximately five members of staff, and will provide development and pastoral support to them in addition to management cover for those reporting to you. You will also ensure robust contingency and succession plans are in place across the cluster to prevent any disruption to our corporate services, and will use your excellent interpersonal skills to keep the CEO, Deputy CEO and LAA senior leaders informed of potential change.
This is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate your ability to lead with confidence, contribute to the wider corporate agenda, and build a cohesive and supportive working culture across all of the teams delivering for the CEO, with high visibility across the LAA and MoJ.
Key Responsibilities:
The successful candidate will be required to undertake the following duties and responsibilities:
Maintaining an overview of key issues requiring the CEO’s, DCEO’s and DT’s attention, acting as a conduit for and working
- ly with the LAA’s Executive Leadership Team (ELT), MoJ Policy and functional leadership Deputy Directors and with MoJ Press Office and Private Offices across the Department;
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Actively anticipating problems and solving issues as they arise, providing the CEO, DCEO and DT with early warning and the support and guidance they need. Adjust and develop plans accordingly, including horizon scanning and working with multiple stakeholders to manage and mitigate risks and maximise opportunities;
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Inspiring and shaping the CEO’s Office and all its constituent parts to be an inclusive, high-performing and innovative team. Foster a culture of continuous improvement, ensuring team members understand roles and responsibilities and are able to take advantage of training and development opportunities which enhance the capability of the team, and in doing so, enhance the reputation of the LAA;
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Leading the CEO's Office to deliver a high-quality service, ensuring the CEO's, DCEO's and DT's time is properly prioritised and used effectively, and that they are well briefed on both existing and emerging issues;
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Support the CEO in their responsibilities associated with being Accounting Officer and Director of Legal Aid Casework, ELT Chair, LAA Board Member and member of other senior governance groups across the MoJ and wider Civil Service;
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Developing and maintaining strong stakeholder relationships across the MoJ - including with the offices of ministers, Group and other Directors General, CEOs and MoJ senior leaders – and employing effective communication skills to share and gather key information to support delivery of the LAA agenda;
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Supporting the CEO’s cross-Whitehall work as appropriate, building relationships with key stakeholders and flagging emerging issues or priorities to the CEO with recommendations as appropriate;
Communicating the CEO’s views and decisions, and w- appropriate, make evidence-based decisions on their behalf, ensuring they are kept fully informed. This can include representing the CEO at meetings to ensure their priorities are understood, acted upon and progressed;
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Supporting the CEO in their leadership and management, including in relation to direct reports and the LAA’s senior leadership cadre, working with the HR Business Partner as appropriate;
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Supporting the Heads of Internal and External Communications to build and lead trusted and expert communications teams that work with colleagues across the LAA and wider with MoJ Communications, Policy and Digital colleagues to design, develop and deliver an insight-led strategic communications plans with a renewed focus on stakeholder engagement;
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Working with the External Comms team to ensure the team has both the capability and the capacity to deliver a range of services and products from providing advice to the CEO on handling high profile media issues or developing effective communications plans to support internal operational change, to leading on incident and contingency communications or external stakeholder relationships;
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Working with EC and the Executive Leadership Team to protect the independence and reputation of the CEO in their statutory remit as the Director of Legal Aid Casework, and identify any potential operational issues or cases of public interest, taking proactive steps to mitigate against the impacts of inaccurate or negative media; and
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Monitoring progress of the delivery of CEO, DCEO and DT objectives against plans throughout the year, and facilitate the reprioritisation of activities as required. Previous experience of a senior role within a private office or comparable environment would be an asset;
Essential Knowledge, Experience and skills
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Excellent situational judgement, discretion and emotional intelligence;
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Ability to perform well in a demanding, unpredictable and fast-paced role, responding quickly and proportionately based on sound evidence or legal/policy advice.
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Proven track record of representing a senior official effectively, with the confidence to intervene and act as a trouble-shooter to quickly resolve issues and tensions with discretion and sensitivity;
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Management experience, particularly in an operational, sensitive and evolving area;
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Firm understanding of the work and requirements of civil servants and government ministers, and the differing remits of central government policy-making functions and operational delivery and implementation organisations (ie. ALBs and executive agencies);
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Ability to quickly assimilate and analyse material that may be unfamiliar, making sound judgements and recommendations;
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Able to operate strategically and with autonomy across a complex landscape, passionate about driving and delivering high-quality outcomes through others and able to deliver in a fast-paced environment;
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Significant experience of developing and maintaining effective working relationships with a range of internal and external stakeholders including managing competing interests;
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Excellent written, oral and presentation skills with an ability to confidently influence more senior stakeholders both internally and externally;
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Competent in reviewing, critiquing and clearing high-profile and short-notice briefing (and when necessary, drafting) to ensure the highest standard of material is presented to the CEO, Directors General, Permanent Secretary and Justice Ministers.
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Able to provide effective and inspiring leadership in pressured situations and react calmly and at speed in a wide range of circumstances;
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Proven ability to plan and prioritise own workload, and that of multiple teams, in a busy and unpredictable environment; and
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Confidence in decision-making, exercising sound judgement, and the ability to challenge others in a constructive manner appropriate to the situation.
Desirable Knowledge, Experience and skills
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Previous experience of a senior role within a private office or comparable environment would be an asset;
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Management experience, particularly in a fast-paced role with competing priorities; and
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Knowledge of the legal aid landscape or wider justice environment would be advantageous.
Assessment approach
Application Process
To apply, please submit an anonymised CV providing details of your previous experience and skills, showing how you meet the essential criteria. Please also complete your application providing examples (of no more than 250 words per behaviour) of how you have demonstrated the following behaviours:
Seeing the bigger picture
Leadership
Delivering at pace
Communicating and influencing
When submitting an example of a behaviour remember to include the situation, what you did and why, and what was the outcome / result.
Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be undertaken using the lead Behaviour, seeing the bigger picture. Candidates who pass the initial sift will progress to a full sift, or progress straight to interview.
Please note that we only require behaviour answers and a CV for your application. The wording on this advert may suggest that an Experience question is also required, however this is not necessary.
Interview / assessment Process
If you are successful through the application stage, you will be invited to an interview in person or via Microsoft Teams, w you will be assessed against the following:
Strengths relevant to the role.
The following behaviours:
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Seeing the bigger picture
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Leadership
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Delivering at pace
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Communicating and influencing
Your Experience of implementing, promoting, or understanding diversity and inclusion policy - Diversity is the presence of difference, this can include one or more of the protected characteristics (Gender, Age, Race, Disability etc.) or it can be about working patterns, whether we like to jump into a task or reflect on it before acting. Inclusion is how we welcome, value, and celebrate diversity, giving everyone a voice, tapping into ideas, and enabling everyone to be themselves at work and achieve their potential.
Grade 6
For this grade/ role we would expect the candidate to demonstrate understanding of the terms Diversity and Inclusion and be able to explain why they are important in a work environment. We would also expect examples of action they have taken to embrace diversity (e.g., increasing understanding for self or others) or improve inclusion at a cross departmental or organisational level.
Shortlisting is planned for week commencing 14th September 2026
Interviews are planned for week commencing 5th October 2026
If you would like more information on this opportunity, please contact LAA Central Recruitment Team – [email protected]
Our LAA commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain, and invest in talent wver it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.
As a Disability Confident organisation, we will offer a guaranteed interview to candidates with a disability who meet the essential criteria for this role. Under the Equality Act 2010 a disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities which has lasted, or is expected to last, at least 12 months.
If you are responding to a role within the Legal Aid Agency and would like to be considered under the guaranteed interview, please indicate this in your application and let us know of any reasonable adjustments you may require during the sift or later selection processes.
The LAA’s goal is to build an organisation that is open and inclusive and truly values and celebrates the diversity of its workforce. One that reflects and understands the needs of the diverse society we serve. This is regardless of social background, gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, beliefs, disabilities or long-term illness or caring responsibilities.
Reasonable Adjustments
We are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible to all. If you have a disability or long-term condition (for example dyslexia, anxiety, autism, a mobility condition or hearing loss) and need us to make any reasonable adjustments to support you through the recruitment process, please let us know by adding the information to the applications system or emailing [email protected] after you have applied so that we can discuss options with you.
Complaints procedure
If you have any complaints about this recruitment activity, please share your concerns by emailing [email protected] initially. We aim to respond to any complaint within 10 working days.
