Lead Lawyer

Salary: £73,770 per annum | Deadline: 20 September 2026 (11:59pm)

Nine-month Secondment/Fixed-Term Contract

About the role

We are looking to recruit a Lead Lawyer to join our Section 29 team within the Regulation and Accreditation Directorate from November 2026 to end of July 2027 (nine-months). This can be by way of a secondment or fixed-term contract.

The team is responsible for reviewing final fitness to practise outcomes of the 10 regulators we oversee to ensure they are sufficient for public protection. Find out more about our work checking and appealing fitness to practise decisions. 

The role involves:

• Leading and managing the initial stages of the Section 29 process and team members. 
• Conducting legal reviews of fitness to practise cases and advising on potential grounds of appeal. 
• Deputising for the Head of Legal, including assisting with the preparation of cases for appeal.
• Leading on the PSA’s overall approach to learning points identified through the analysis of cases and sent to the regulators to aid quality improvement. 
• Conducting legal reviews of relevant case examiner decisions in relation to Anaesthesia Associates and Physician Associates under our new Section 26(4)(d) process. 
• Supporting the Head of Legal with any policy work in relation to the legislative reform of the regulators we oversee and process implementation.
• Acting as a decision-maker on Section 29 case meetings to determine whether to appeal a case.

We currently operate a hybrid policy. In the first six months of employment full-time staff working over five days will be expected to attend the office three days a week, after this the requirement is two days a week in the office. However, should you require any reasonable adjustments or wish to discuss the possibility of further flexible working please contact us directly to discuss.  

The PSA’s offices are located in Blackfriars, London. 

About you

We are looking to recruit a qualified lawyer (solicitor, barrister, CILEX) with a current practising certificate (or which can be sought quickly) who can (see the Person Specification for the full list):

• demonstrate strong analytical skills and excellent attention to detail 
• lead and manage a small team 
• prioritise and confidently manage multiple separate streams of work, being able to work in a fast-paced environment and to deadlines 
• quality assure the work of others in an effective and collaborative manner to ensure it meets our quality requirements
• produce detailed legal advice analysing fitness to practise cases as to whether those decisions meet the legal threshold for an appeal under Section 29 of the 2002 National Health Service Reform and Health Care Professions Act
• communicate complex concepts clearly to decision-makers
• demonstrate a thorough understanding of fitness to practise legislation and processes of regulators of health and care professionals
• previous experience of working for health and care professions regulators and knowledge of issues affecting healthcare regulatory bodies would be desirable 
• be positive and work collaboratively and flexibly in a small team.

You will need and a strong commitment to protecting patients and the public. You will also need to share our values of integrity, transparency, respect, fairness and teamwork.

About the Professional Standards Authority

We are the UK’s oversight body for the regulation of people working in health and social care. There are 10 organisations that regulate health professionals in the UK and social workers in England by law. We audit their performance and review their decisions on practitioners’ fitness to practise. We also accredit and set standards for organisations holding registers of health and care practitioners not regulated by law. We share good practice, knowledge and our right-touch regulation expertise. We monitor policy developments in the UK and internationally, providing guidance to governments and stakeholders. 

We are committed to promoting a fair and inclusive workplace where all our staff can flourish and reach their full potential. We know that a diverse workforce, at all levels, allows for a more creative and productive environment bringing different viewpoints, knowledge and experience. Therefore, we strongly encourage applications from everyone irrespective of age, gender identity or expression, religion or belief, disability, ethnicity and sexual orientation. 

As a Disability Confident employer, we will guarantee an interview for people with disabilities who meet all the essential criteria and so if you would like to be considered under this scheme then please let us know. 

We will not accept CVs or applications where CVs are attached in place of a personal statement. Please see attachments at the bottom of this page for the job description and application form.

We are happy for this role to be considered as a secondment opportunity.

If you have any questions or would like reasonable adjustments to be made at any stage of the process, please do not hesitate to contact the HR team on 020 7389 8050 or email us at recruitment@professionalstandards.org.uk.

To apply, please download the application below. Alternatively, please contact our team for a copy of the application form at recruitment@professionalstandards.org.uk. 

The closing date for applications is 20 September 2026 (11.59 pm).

Interviews will be held on 1 October 2026. The interview will include a written assessment. The assessment will be 1 hour with a 45-minute interview. 

Please note that it may be unlikely that an alternative interview date could be offered should you be unable to attend at this time. 

For more information regarding the PSA’s privacy policies please see our privacy notice.