Job Application Pack for NQ Solicitor Role (Permanent, Full-Time)

January 2018

Dear Applicant,

Job Application Pack for NQ Solicitor Role (Permanent, Full-Time)

Thank you for your interest in applying for the permanent full-time newly-qualified (NQ) solicitor post at JustRight Scotland.

We are recruiting for a dynamic and inspired NQ lawyer to support our projects aimed at preventing destitution and homelessness for at-risk migrant communities across Scotland. If successful, you will work alongside national NGOs and our experienced team of human rights lawyers to provide advice and representation in a varied role that will also include the opportunity to contribute to policy, training and research work.

This job application pack contains the following information:

· About JustRight Scotland

· Job Description

· Person Specification

· Application Form

· Equality and Diversity Monitoring Form

The closing date for applications is 16th February 2018

Interviews will take place the week of the 26th February 2018

Please email completed applications to with the header PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL or post them marked “private and confidential” to Jen Ang, JustRight Scotland, Suite 145, 2nd Floor, Central Chambers, 11 Bothwell Street, Glasgow G2 6LY.

If you would like to have an informal conversation about the post, require to receive this information in a different format, or have any other questions about applying, please contact me on 0141 406 5353.

Yours sincerely

Jen Ang

Partner / Director

JustRight Scotland

About JustRight Scotland

JustRight Scotland was established in April 2017 by an experienced group of human rights lawyers, working towards a new model of collaborative social justice.

We believe in widening access to quality and early interventions that address root causes. Our aim at JustRight Scotland is to understand the wider issues and barriers at play and to achieve maximum impact by working to address these through strategic legal interventions and our research and policy remit. We believe in evaluating what we do and sharing that information in order to build an evidence base and collaborative blueprints to support change at a broader level and improve the capability of civil society as a whole.

At JustRight Scotland, we therefore don’t believe that the law by itself is the answer to improving access to justice, equality and rights. Instead, we believe in the power of teams and collaborations; we need to work with others in order to better harness our combined financial, human and social capital.

You can find further information about our vision, our values and our work on our website at www.justrightscotland.org.uk

Job Description

Job title: NQ Solicitor

Reports to: Partner / Director

Length of contract: Permanent, Full-Time

Salary: £27,766 per annum

Leave: 37.5 days (inclusive of public holidays)

Location: JRS Offices – Glasgow

Job Purpose and Context:

To provide legal advice and representation through our projects aimed at preventing destitution and homelessness for at-risk migrant communities across Scotland, with the opportunity to work alongside our experienced team of human rights lawyers in other areas of law, and to contribute to our policy, training and research work.

We envisage the successful candidate will work within two of our current projects: The Asylum Support Legal Service, a collaboration with the British Red Cross to reduce destitution and homelessness amongst individuals seeking international protection in Scotland, and StrEEt Aware, a collaboration with Shelter Scotland and Streetwork, to provide legal advice and information to at risk EEA nationals who are rough sleeping, or at risk of rough sleeping, in Edinburgh.

This post is part-funded by the British Red Cross, and the Legal Education Foundation, as well as through income earned by JRS through legal service provision and our social enterprise legal education and training programme. JRS’s strategy and vision is to continuously develop social justice collaborations, across sectors, in areas where we identify access to justice gaps. Therefore, we anticipate this role may develop in future years, in line with the development of other JRS collaborations – offering the postholder the opportunity to work across other areas of human rights law and social justice issues.

Key Responsibilities:

Specific:

· Provide initial legal advice and human rights information to individuals and organisations, through legal outreach work conducted at a national level, including through legal surgeries and telephone advice lines.

· Provide direct legal advice and representation to clients, including advocacy at relevant tribunals and courts.

· Maintain up-to-date knowledge of areas of law relevant to the focus of project work, as well as knowledge of key developments in human rights and equalities law, and public law.

· Maintain timely and accurate records of work undertaken using our casework system and other procedures designed to manage and track our work in a safe, efficient and effective manner.

· Contribute to the development and delivery of internal and external professional training, as well as the development of human rights information and other resources for our public legal education programme.

· Contribute to the identification of key policy issues and to policy and influencing work in areas of importance to our client groups.

· Contribute to reports to funders and ensure that work undertaken within a funded project adheres to any requirements set out by funders of that project.

· Meet financial fee targets, where necessary, whether expressed in terms of fees earned through provision of legal services, through delivery of training within our social enterprise training programme, or through provision of legal consultancy or research.

· Travel, when required, to conduct work across Scotland, including representation at courts, attendance at other JRS offices, and attendance at outreach surgeries and training venues.

General:

· To work independently but also collaboratively with other members of the JRS team and our collaboration partners.

· To prioritise work effectively and ensure that work is completed professionally and to high standards.

· To ensure that an inclusive, human rights-based approach lies at the core of how work is conducted, and to represent the organisation publicly in the spirit of JRS values of collaboration, social justice, inclusion, empowerment, and innovation.

· To conduct all work in line with JRS policies and procedures, including our Equalities and Diversity Policy.

Person Specification

Essential / Desirable
Knowledge &
Qualifications / LLB in Law or
Diploma in Legal Practice (Dip LP) in Scotland
Ability to practice law in Scotland, holding a current unrestricted practising certificate from the Law Society of Scotland / X
Knowledge of UK and European asylum, immigration, EU and human rights law and procedure / X
Knowledge of the law governing asylum support and the public law obligations of local authorities / X
Understanding of the experiences of migrant communities in the UK / X
Skills and Experience / Excellent English written and oral skills, with the ability to communicate complex issues in clear, jargon-free, language
/ X
Experience of working cross-sector or in collaboration with other partner organisations / X
Experience of organising and delivering professional training or public legal education / X
Experience of working on and contributing to influencing policy / X
Ability to complete tasks to a high standard without continuous supervision
/ X
Ability to work in a small team in a cooperative, flexible and supportive manner / X
Ability to manage own time by prioritising tasks and meeting competing deadlines / X
Ability to develop successful collaborative working relationships externally / X
Confident ability in use of MS Office: Outlook, Word, Excel and Powerpoint
/ X
Qualities / A commitment to the promotion of human rights and working to increase access to justice
/ X
A commitment to an inclusive, human rights-based approach to working with clients / X
Understanding, awareness of, and commitment to, the principles and practice of equal opportunities and diversity / X

Application Form

Please read this application form and the application pack carefully before you start to complete this form. Please complete each section, demonstrating how your skills, knowledge and experience meet the person specification for the post. You may find it helpful to illustrate with examples from your previous professional or voluntary work, or studies. Do not include a separate CV or other background material, as we will only use the information in this form when deciding whether to shortlist applicants.

The closing date for applications is 16th February 2018.

Interviews will take place the week of the 26th February 2018

Please note that due to limited resources, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

CONTACT DETAILS

Name

Address

Postcode

Email address

Phone numbers (Day) (Evening)

I understand that JRS will hold the information I have given in this form, solely for purposes of considering my application for employment, and as part of my employment record, if successful. I consent to this, and understand that I can ask JRS to produce for me, or delete this information at any time, on my request.

I confirm that to the best of my knowledge the information given in this application is correct, that I am lawfully able to undertake this work, and that any information given can be treated as part of any subsequent contract of employment.

Signed: Date:

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Please list any education and training courses undertaken that are relevant to the post.

Dates / School/College/Other / Course/Qualifications
Date / Training (Training Providers)

WORK EXPERIENCE

Please list all your work experience, both paid and unpaid, since leaving full time education. Start with your current or most recent employment and list the remainder in reverse order.

Dates / Name/Address of Employer / Post or Activity

INFORMATION IN SUPPORT OF YOUR APPLICATION

In this section, we would like you to demonstrate how you meet the requirements for the job.

Please outline the reasons why you are interested in this position, and demonstrate that you meet the person specification by giving specific examples which show that you have the necessary skills, knowledge and experience for the job.

Please attach additional pages if necessary, but do not exceed 750 words in answering this question.

CASE STUDY ANALYSIS

In this section, we would like you to demonstrate your ability to engage with a social justice issue and construct and clearly express legal arguments.

JRS represents asylum seeking and migrant clients – including families with children – who may be at risk of destitution and homelessness.

In no more than 500 words, please outline your views as to:-

1. The particular difficulties that these individuals face which may cause them to become destitute or homeless;

2. The best approach, in your opinion, to overcoming these difficulties; and

3. Legal arguments that can be raised to help these individuals obtain adequate financial support and suitable accommodation.

COLLABORATIVE SOCIAL JUSTICE

In this section, we would like you to demonstrate your understanding of collaborative social justice.

In no more than 500 words, please outline your views as to:-

1. What is collaborative social justice (CSJ)?

2. Why are you the right candidate for projects that are based on CSJ?

3. What do you think are future challenges in developing CSJ projects?

REFEREES

Please give the names, addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses of two referees. One of these should be your current or most recent employer. If you are shortlisted for the post, we may contact one of your referees before your interview. You may indicate that you would prefer us not to contact one particular referee at this stage.

First Referee

Name
Title or Position
Organisation
Address
Telephone number
Email address
In what capacity is this person known to you?

Second Referee

Name
Title or Position
Organisation
Address
Telephone number
Email address
In what capacity is this person known to you?

Equality and Diversity Monitoring Form

JustRight Scotland values equality of opportunity and supports diversity. Please help us monitor our effectiveness as an equal opportunity employer by completing this form. Please note that filling in this form is voluntary, and not required as part of the application process. This form will be separated from your application form and will only be used for this monitoring purpose.

If completing this electronically, double click the tick box and select “checked”
What is your gender?
(e.g. male / female / non-binary / prefer not to say/prefer to self-describe)
Do you now or have you ever considered yourself to be a transgender person? / Yes
No
Prefer not to say
Are you married or in a civil partnership? / Yes
No
Prefer not to say
Age: / 16-24 25-29
30-34 35-39
40-44 45-49
50-54 55-59
60-64 65+
Prefer not to say
What is your ethnic origin?
(Ethnic origin is not about nationality, place of birth, or citizenship. It is about the ethnic group to which you perceive you belong. Please tick the appropriate box) / White
English Welsh
Scottish Northern Irish
Irish British
Gypsy/Irish Traveller
Prefer not to say
Any other white background:
______
Mixed/multiple ethnic groups
White & Black Caribbean
White & Black African
White & Asian
Prefer not to say
Any other white/multiple background:
______
Asian/Asian British
Indian Pakistani
Bangladeshi Chinese
Prefer not to say
Any other Asian/Asian British background:
______
Black/African/Caribbean/Black British
African Caribbean
Prefer not to say
Any other Black/African/Caribbean/Black British background:
______
Other ethnic group
Arab
Prefer not to say
Any other ethnic group:
Do you consider yourself to have a disability or health condition?
What is the effect or impact of your disability or health condition on your ability to give your best at work?
(The information in this form is for monitoring purposes only. If you believe you need a ‘reasonable adjustment’, then please discuss this with the JRS staff member responsible for this recruitment) / Yes No
Prefer not to say
Please write in here:
What is your sexual orientation? / Heterosexual
Gay Woman/Lesbian
Gay Man Bisexual
Prefer not to say
If you prefer to use your own term, please specify here:
What is your religion or belief? / No religion/belief Buddhist
Christian Hindu
Jewish Muslim
Sikh Prefer not to say
Other religion or belief:
Do you have caring responsibilities?
(Tick all that apply) / None
Primary carer of a child/children (under 18)
Primary carer of disabled child/children
Primary carer of disabled adult (18 and over)
Primary carer of older person
Secondary carer (another person carries out the main caring role)
Prefer not to say
Did either of your parents (or carers) have a university education? / Yes (at least one parent / carer)
No (no parents / carers)
Prefer not to say