Paralegal

Paralegal Apprentice

£25,000 + benefits

24 months fixed term apprenticeship contract

35 hours per week (20% of time allocated towards study)

Wimbledon, London (hybrid and flexible working) Office days 3-4 days per week

About us

We’ve been championing better work and working lives for over 100 years. We help organisations thrive by focusing on their people, supporting our economies and societies. We’re the professional body for HR, L&D, OD and all people professionals – experts in people, work and change. With over 160,000 members globally – and a growing community using our research, insights and learning – we give trusted advice and offer independent thought leadership. And we are a leading voice in the call for good work that creates value for everyone.

There has never been a more interesting or important time to join us. We offer an inclusive and stimulating culture and a wide range of professional development opportunities, as well as excellent benefits such as 28 days’ holiday with an option to buy and sell days, £125 personal development allowance, access to an award winning pension scheme and a commitment to wellbeing including a cashback health scheme.

The role

This is a unique opportunity to enter the world of work, be part of our Legal and Governance team and gain hands-on paralegal experience of working for a professional membership organisation.

The full-time apprenticeship role includes 20% of your time being dedicated towards studying for a Level 3 Paralegal Apprenticeship Qualification with BPP. A Paralegal apprenticeship is a new pathway into legal for people without a degree or for career changers. Apprentices earn a salary and valuable work experience while achieving a qualification, which can lead to a fulfilling and lucrative journey up the career ladder in legal and governance.

As a Paralegal Apprentice, you will provide support to the Legal team with a broad range of legal and regulatory matters, including commercial law, data protection, contract management and compliance.

What you'll be doing

• Supporting the legal team to review and draft standard contracts to be entered into by the CIPD including supply of services agreements, non-disclosure agreements, terms and conditions for website use, prize draw terms and terms of business.
• Supporting, as needed, CIPD’s data protection compliance framework including acting as a first point of contact for CIPD’s network of data champions, supporting with training and providing updates on relevant data protection issues.
• Conducting legal research and provide timely and practical legal advice on non-contentious issues and routine queries to a wide range of internal clients.
• Providing risk-based advice to internal clients to manage and resolve customer/supplier disputes and complaints.
• Developing and maintaining precedents and disseminating appropriate guidance to facilitate standard practices across CIPD for contracts and data protection and delivering appropriate training.
• Liaising with internal stakeholders to maintain CIPD’s register (Contracts Management Library/CML) of contracts and acting as a first point of contact for CML and general legal queries.
• Maintaining accurate records and information including data of a personal nature, understanding the risk associated with data processing and how to use technology and software to support this activity.
• Attending and engaging with training, including exams and 1-2-1 meetings with your tutors/assessor. Manage your time effectively to complete all coursework, assignments and exams required to achieve the apprenticeship.
• Participating in other projects and tasks as identified by Head of Legal to contribute to the smooth operation of the team.

What you'll need to be successful

• Three A-Levels equivalent to 96 UCAS points
• Five GCSEs with grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), including English and Maths
• Skills in core MS Office packages
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with exceptional attention to detail
• Strong organisational skills and ability to plan, prioritise and manage time effectively
• Proven ability to complete administrative tasks at pace and to a high standard
• Discretion and skill in handling confidential information appropriately
• Ability to connect with people of all seniority
• Quick learner, open to using new systems, tools and platforms including AI
• Flexibility and willingness to carry out or assist with other tasks in accordance with directorate and organisational needs.

The application deadline is on Friday 18 July 2025. Interviews are scheduled to begin during the w/c 21 July and will be conducted in person at our Wimbledon office. The provisional start date for the successful candidate will be in September 2025.

If this role describes you and your career aspirations, click APPLY!

CIPD: valuing everyone as an individual! The CIPD define diversity as the differences in colour, ethnicity, abilities, age, gender, beliefs, interests, socioeconomic status(class), marital or partnership status, sexual orientation, geographic, academic/professional backgrounds, opinions, backgrounds, thinking, experiences, and many other personal characteristics. There is a growing body of research that shows that diverse workforce can be beneficial for decision making, innovation and problem solving as people bring a diverse range of skills and lived experiences with them. Harnessing these differences creates a productive environment in which everybody feels valued, where their talents are fully utilised and organisational and personal goals are met.

We are committed to employment practices that promote diversity and inclusion and equality of outcomes in employment through recognising of how differences of age, disability, gender, sex, marriage and civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity status, ethnicity, colour, religion, or belief and other protected (by equalities law) and personal characteristics can advantage or disadvantage a person.

Please note, we reserve the right to close or extend this position depending on application numbers. Therefore, we would urge you to submit an application as soon as possible.