Job Overview
We are looking for a dynamic and experienced legal professional to take on the pivotal role of
Head of Legal Services at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust.
This senior leadership role is a key part of our transformation journey and presents a unique opportunity to lead and shape the delivery of legal services across a large, complex, and high-performing acute Trust.
As our principal legal subject matter expert, you will provide strategic and operational leadership across all legal domains, including clinical negligence, non-clinical claims, Coroner’s inquests, judicial reviews, procurement law, risk management and manage the Trust Legal Tendering process. You will work closely with the Executive Team to develop and deliver a forward-thinking legal strategy that ensures the Trust meets its legal obligations while enabling the delivery of outstanding care.
What We’re Looking For
We are seeking a qualified solicitor or barrister with:
- Extensive specialist legal knowledge, ideally within healthcare or public sector law.
- Proven experience of leading a legal team in a large and complex organisation.
- Excellent negotiation, influencing, and analytical skills.
- A strong understanding of NHS governance, risk, and compliance frameworks.
- The ability to work collaboratively across clinical, commercial, and corporate settings.
A Recruitment & Retention payment (R&R) will be available for the right candidate.
Main duties of the job
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the Legal Services function across the Trust, aligning legal support with corporate strategy.
- Manage and procure all external legal services across the Trust, ensuring high-quality, cost-effective service delivery.
- Provide expert legal advice on high-risk matters, including complex litigation, inquests, and statutory inquiries.
- Act as the Trust’s relationship manager with NHS Resolution, external legal providers, and HM Coroner’s Office.
- Oversee all medico-legal and non-clinical claims, identifying issues early to mitigate risks and costs.
- Develop and lead improvement initiatives, using data and research to continuously improve legal services.
- Support and line manage senior legal team members, fostering a high-performing and cohesive team culture.
- Hold joint budget responsibility for Legal Services with the Deputy Chief Nurse and Chief of Nursing and Midwifery.
- Ensure all legal operations comply with relevant legislation, regulatory frameworks, and procurement requirements.
- Facilitate the process of the Trust Legal Tendering process
Working for our organisation
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust is committed to being an inclusive and disability confident employer and has been awarded the Gold for the Armed Forces Employment Recognition Scheme. We provide first class development opportunities for all staff and have a wide range of professional, management and leadership, and clinical skills training available. Here at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, we know how important it is to have a healthy work life balance; this benefits not only individuals but the patients we care for too.Frimley Health Trust benefits on Vimeo
Reward Package and BenefitsWe recognise the highly specialist nature of this role and the competitive market for experienced legal professionals. In addition to the standard
Band 8C salary, a
Recruitment and Retention payment may be available, depending on the skills and experience you bring to the role.This is
negotiable for exceptional candidates, particularly those with substantial experience in healthcare law or senior in-house legal leadership positions.We are open to discussions around
total reward packages for experienced solicitors who meet the essential criteria for the role.Frimley Health also offers a comprehensive benefits package, including NHS pension scheme, flexible working options, and generous annual leave entitlement.If you’re ready to bring your expertise and leadership to a critical senior role, we would love to hear from you.
Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities
Please see the attached job description and person specification for detailed main responsibilities.
apply today and help us build a best-in-class Legal Services department at Frimley Health.
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust is one of the most respected and forward-thinking healthcare providers in the country. You’ll be joining a high-performing organisation that values innovation, integrity, and legal excellence. This is a rare and exciting opportunity to shape the future of legal services within a leading NHS Trust – delivering real impact and making a difference to the quality and safety of patient care.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Masters Degree
- Qualified Solicitor
- Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE)
- Evidence of post qualifying and continuous professional development
- Professional membership of the Law Society or the Institute of Chartered Legal Executives
Desirable criteria
- Highly developed specialist knowledge acquired through training and experience to Master’s or equivalent level
- Diploma in risk or claims management
Experience
Essential criteria
- Extensive experience of providing legal services at a senior level to the NHS or other public bodies
- Specialist knowledge and practical experience of health care law acquired through a degree in law, a post graduate diploma in legal practice and 2- year traineeship to Masters level or equivalent
- Extensive experience in providing and receiving highly complex and sensitive information which is frequently contentious in nature
- Specialist knowledge in healthcare related claims
- Extensive experience in overcoming significant barriers to change. Opposition may be hostile and/or antagonistic in nature
- Demonstrates sound judgement in the absence of clear guidelines or precedent with the proven ability to act autonomously
- At least two years post qualifying work experience, and meet the character and suitability requirements of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)
- Ability to work at strategic level with the Executive Team and senior leaders
- Ability to work under pressure to tight and frequently changing deadlines and competing priorities
- Ability to rapidly assimilate a range of complex, frequently conflicting information and make expert judgements using advanced analytical skills
- Significant commercial experience in litigation dealing with high value, contentious and novel matters
- A thorough specialist understanding of the inquest processes and procedures
- In-depth knowledge of healthcare law, including clinical negligence, consent, confidentiality, and data protection
- Extensive expert knowledge of effective Risk Management and Claims Management processes, procedure and techniques
- Ability to lead the competitive Tendering of Legal Services with key stakeholders to deliver value for money and high quality of service
- Expert understanding of NHS Resolution / Clinical Negligence Scheme for the Trusts
- Expert knowledge of the: Health Records Act 1990 Data Protection Act 1998 Human Rights Act 1998
- Expert knowledge of matters in relation to consent and confidentiality
- Expert knowledge and understanding of matters in relation to HM Coroner’s court
- Specialist understanding of the links between claims / complaints / risk patient safety and clinical / corporate governance gained through analysis (research) to identify emerging trends or risks
- Strong leadership skills to manage and develop the Legal Services Team
- Expertise in the risks associated with the legislation in relation to Information Governance, and Information Technology
- Responsive and flexible attitude/approach
- Strong and effective interpersonal skills
Desirable criteria
- Evidence of research-based practice
- Knowledge and expertise of tendering legal services
- A wider awareness of the NHS environment and NHS Resolution and coronial legislative requirements
Specific Competencies
Essential criteria
- Ability to analyse and conduct research on complex legal issues, thinking critically in order to develop and provide clear, practical solutions in response to identified risks
- Ability to act autonomously to ensure delivery of legal services
- Highly developed prioritisation skills with the ability to lead the Legal Team within a pressured and deadline dependent environment
- Ability to frequently assess complex, conflicting, sensitive and confidential information with discretion
Desirable criteria
- Teaching and assessing skills
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust (FHFT) has an outstanding reputation and a proud record of achievement. As a well performing, well led and ambitious Foundation Trust, we have exciting times ahead of us. We have an ongoing commitment to improving the health and care services for the 900,000 people we serve across Berkshire, Hampshire, Surrey and south Buckinghamshire.
We are proud of the ambitions laid out in our strategy, Our Future FHFT, including our vision to be a leader in health & wellbeing, delivering excellence for our communities.
We continue to invest in our services and facilities, including a £10 million upgrade to the hospital maternity unit as well as £49m major new Emergency Assessment Centre on our Wexham Park site. The opening of a brand new £100m state of the art hospital which replaced the existing hospital facility at Heatherwood and are planning to invest further in diagnostics and inpatient capacity at Frimley Park.
We have also made significant investment in our quality improvement and digital programmes to support our vision and we will ensure that we achieve our aim of providing the highest quality healthcare to our patients. Our new EPR – Epic – went live in June and we are already beginning to reap the benefits of this ambitious investment.
Our three core values, and the behaviours that support them, guide everything we do and set out what we expect of our staff in the way they treat patients, visitors, service users and each other, Committed to Excellence, Working Together and Facing the Future.
Apply online now
If you have problems applying, contact
Address Heatherwood Hospital
London Road
Shortlisting:Shortlist
SL5 8AA
Telephone 07392288737
