Job summary
- Main area
- Legal Services
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 8a
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week (N/A)
- Job ref
- 297-8388758
- Employer
- Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Queen Elizabeth Hospital,
- Town
- Gateshead
- Salary
- £57,528 - £64,750 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 18/11/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Legal Services Manager
NHS AfC: Band 8a
In the event of excessive applications being received this vacancy may close earlier than the stated closing date, you are encouraged to submit your application as soon as possible
IMPORTANT NOTE ON COMPLETION OF REFERENCE SECTION OF APPLICATION FORM
All references from current and previous employers will be sought and MUST cover a minimum of 3 years employment. Therefore, when completing the reference section of your application form, please give the address, telephone number and work email address of each of your current/previous line managers that cover 3 years employment. Where possible this should be from two separate employers. Failure to complete this section may result in your application not being processed.
PLEASE NOTE it is a requirement of this Trust that all successful applicants pay for their DBS certificate if a check is required for the post. This will be done through deduction from your monthly pay over a maximum of three months. It is also a requirement that all successful applicants register or are registered with the DBS update service where a DBS is required.
All new entrants to the NHS will be appointed on the minimum of the pay scale in line with Terms & Conditions.
Job overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced legal professional to lead the Legal Services function at Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust.
This senior, Trust-wide role provides specialist leadership, advice and assurance across a broad range of healthcare legal matters. The postholder will lead the management of clinical negligence, public and employers’ liability claims and inquests, while providing specialist advice on consent, Duty of Candour, mental capacity, mental health law and complex medico-legal matters.
Working closely with the Associate Director of Patient Safety and Risk, Executive Directors, senior clinicians and managers, you will identify and escalate legal, regulatory, financial, reputational and patient-safety risks and ensure learning from claims, inquests and Prevention of Future Deaths matters informs organisational improvement.
You will lead and develop the Legal Services Team and work with colleagues across the Trust and external partners including NHS Resolution, HM Coroners, solicitors and counsel.
We are seeking an experienced healthcare legal professional with excellent leadership, judgement, communication and influencing skills.
This is a full-time post, but flexible working will be considered.
Main duties of the job
The Legal Services Manager will:
- Lead the Trust’s Legal Services function, providing specialist legal advice, operational leadership and governance assurance.
- Manage clinical negligence, public and employers’ liability claims, working with NHS Resolution, solicitors, counsel and clinical teams.
- Lead the management of inquests, coordinating responses to HM Coroners, supporting witnesses and representing the Trust where appropriate.
- Provide specialist advice on consent, Mental Capacity Act, Mental Health Act, deprivation of liberty, disclosure, safeguarding, Duty of Candour and complex medico-legal matters.
- Identify and escalate significant legal, financial, regulatory, reputational and patient-safety risks.
- Lead learning from claims, inquests and Prevention of Future Deaths Reports, linking themes with incidents, complaints and patient-safety intelligence.
- Develop relevant Trust policies, guidance and staff training.
- Lead and develop the Legal Services Team and manage the service budget and external legal expenditure.
- Provide assurance, performance and learning reports to Trust governance committees.
Working for our organisation
Based in the North East of England we provide a range of hospital and community health services from our leading facilities, including the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Blaydon urgent care centre and Bensham Hospital, all within Gateshead.
Established in 2005, we were one of the first foundation trusts in the country and since then have consistently achieved the highest levels of care for patients.
We now employ around 4,800 staff and currently provide 444 hospital beds across the Gateshead region.
Our values should be the ‘golden thread’ which runs through everything we do – they are the core of who we are. Our five values can easily be remembered by the simple acronym ICORE; Innovation, Care, Openness, Respect, Engagement.
We have a number of staff networks including the Global Ethnic Majority (GEM) network, D-Ability network, LGBTQ+ Network and the Women’s Network, to challenge us and help us to constantly improve. Our Armed Forces network is one of our emerging networks.
The health and wellbeing of our staff is one of our highest priorities, and we offer a range of support and initiatives as part of our ‘Balance’ programme balancegateshead.com to cater for our diverse workforce, so that your individual needs can be supported, allowing you a happy and healthy working experience with us.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The Legal Services Manager will provide Trust-wide leadership and specialist expertise for the Legal Services function, ensuring the effective management of clinical and non-clinical claims, inquests, Duty of Candour, consent and complex medico-legal matters. The postholder will provide authoritative advice to clinicians, managers and senior leaders and ensure significant legal, regulatory, financial, reputational and patient-safety risks are identified, escalated and appropriately managed.
The Legal Services Manager job description outlines in detail the main responsibilities of the job.
Person specification
Qualifications and Experience
Essential criteria
- Law Degree or equvilant legal qualification
- Current practising certificate or professional registration as a solicitor, barrister, or chartered legal executive
- Extensive specialist knowledge and experience of clinical negligence, public and employers’ liability claims, inquests and healthcare law
- Experience of working in healthcare legal settings
- Evidence of continuing professional development relevant to healthcare legal services.
- Substantial experience of managing complex clinical and non-clinical claims and inquests in a healthcare setting.
- Experience of liaison with NHS Resolution, HM Coroners and Coroners’ Officers, panel solicitors, counsel, regulators and partner agencies.
- Experience of providing authoritative legal advice and assurance to executive directors, senior managers, clinicians and governance committees
- Experience of representing an organisation at inquests, case conferences or mediations within professional competence, status and delegated authority
- Experience of instructing and managing external legal advisers and monitoring legal costs and financial exposure
- Experience of leading Trust-wide policy development, implementation, review, audit, training and organisational learning
- Experience of claims-performance monitoring, trend analysis and triangulation with incidents, complaints, inquests, and patient-safety intelligence
- Experience of managing staff, including workforce planning, recruitment, induction, appraisal, performance management, development and workload allocation
- Experience of budget management, authorised expenditure and effective use of resources within agreed limits
- Experience of communicating and working effectively with bereaved or distressed families and staff involved in serious incidents or litigation
Desirable criteria
- Postgraduate or Master’s-level study in a relevant legal, healthcare or governance subject, or equivalent specialist knowledge acquired through substantial relevant experience
- Legal Practice Course, Bar training or equivalent professional legal training.
- Qualification or specialist training in patient safety, healthcare governance, the Mental Health Act or Mental Capacity Act
- Experience of Mental Health Tribunal, Hospital Managers’ hearing, Court of Protection or High Court matters
- Experience of contributing to mortality or Learning from Deaths assurance
- Experience of working with Communications, Finance and Corporate Governance functions on legal, media, insurance or indemnity matters
Other
Essential criteria
- Access to transport to enable fulfilment of travel requirements
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Kate Clark
- Job title
- Associate Director for Patient Safety and Risk
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 0191 445 6042
- Additional information
Steven Wade (Current Legal Services Manager)
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