SEAI has an exciting opportunity in the legal team in SEAI’s Governance and Procurement Department. The Legal Advisor role will sit in the Governance and Procurement Department within SEAI’s Corporate Services Directorate and will report to SEAI’s Senior Legal Counsel, who in turn reports to Head of Governance.

The successful candidate will join a friendly and hard-working team who are committed to the high-quality delivery of SEAI’s legal requirements. The successful candidate working with the Senior Legal Counsel and colleagues will have a varied workload, providing professional services and/or advice to operational teams on matters impacting SEAI’s programmes.

The work environment is dynamic and provides an opportunity to be at the forefront of decarbonisation discussions and climate action matters.

Key responsibilities

The responsibilities of the role outlined in this job description are indicative of the currently envisaged scope and may be added to or altered as required, in line with the requirement of SEAI across Business Units/Department.

They will include, but not limited to, the following:

• Work with the Senior Legal Counsel on all areas of SEAI’s legal requirements and responsibilities, in particular in respect of compliance with SEAI’s regulatory and contractual requirements.
• The preparation, review, and negotiation (where appropriate) of legal agreements in line with SEAI’s approach and strategic requirements, under general supervision, including escalation to senior members of the team where appropriate.
• Advising the organisation on responses to legal obligations in respect of data protection, freedom of information, correspondence from members of the public and related matters.
• Undertaking legal research, collation of materials and records and conducting investigation and analysis of legal matters and escalating these to senior members of the team, where appropriate.
• An ability to deliver a high-volume workload to a high standard, achieving quality results and meeting goals, timelines, and targets.

Management and delivery of assigned files, under general supervision, to a high standard and in a timely, diligent, and thorough manner.Providing support through the administration and execution of legal responsibilities including:

• Support and assist generally the legal team as and when necessary and where directed.
• Assist in the preparation of papers for external legal counsel and court papers.
• Maintaining high quality files and records for the legal team, in a thorough and organised manner.
• Assisting in training, development and management of legal personnel or administrative staff.
• Continuously improve technical knowledge in the areas of relevance to the role, with a willingness to learn and share learning.
• Undertake other relevant duties as required.

To ensure that activity peaks within the Department are addressed in a proactive manner, it is expected that the candidate appointed to this role will need to be flexible in terms of working hours during these periods.

Essential requirements:

The successful candidate must be able to demonstrate:

• A third level qualification (minimum of Level 7 on NFQ or equivalent) in a relevant discipline, such as Law or equivalent.
• Have a minimum of at least three years’ relevant experience in legal practice, or in a legal department, and be able to demonstrate in the cover note/cover letter, with examples of providing advice and guidance in one or more of the following areas:
• Litigation and/or litigation involving public bodies.
• Regulatory or enforcement law.
• Administrative, Constitutional law or European law.
• Corporate and commercial law.
• Have the requisite knowledge and ability (including a high standard of suitability and management ability) for the proper discharge of the duties of the office.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, with an ability to communicate clearly, effectively, and confidently with a range of stakeholders.
• Demonstrate decision making skills, excellent project management and organisational skills.
• Demonstrate the ability to work to conflicting deadlines and priorities.

Desirable requirements:

• Qualified solicitor or practicing barrister.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to work independently under general supervision.
• Excellent contract drafting skills.
• Experience of working in a fast paced and busy environment and effective time management.
• Contributed to the development of knowledge management in an office environment.

If you wish to apply for this role please go to Legal Advisor