Group Head of Legal

Main area Group Head of Legal Services Grade NHS AfC: Band 8c Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week (It is recognised that due to occasional urgent judicial matters that some flexibility in location and time of work may be requested at short notice) Job ref 223-GHL-741

Site The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust Town Shrewsbury Salary £79,504 - £91,609 per annum/ pro rata, pending agenda for change banding Salary period Yearly Closing 08/10/2026 23:59 Interview date 29/10/2026

Job overview

We have an exciting opportunity for a Group Head of Legal to work across the two statutory organisations of the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust and Shropshire Community providing expert legal advice.

The successful applicant will require excellent time management, prioritisation, professionalism and pragmatism, with the ability to clearly communicate highly contentious, highly complex and highly sensitive information in a demanding and emotive patient-focussed environment.

As well as managing clinical negligence claims and inquests, the post holder will be in a leadership role, managing staff in the Legal Services Department, providing practical legal advice to staff and management and delivering training/presentations to clinicians. The post holder is also likely to have a leading role in preparing the trust for other relevant judicial processes including court of protection.

This is a challenging role in a new broadened group portfolio managing a busy department but also providing and facilitating expert legal advice across the two statutory organisations of the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust and Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will work as part of the Group Model across the two statutory organisations of the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust and Shropshire Community and with other partner organisations:

• To undertake investigation of clinical and non-clinical claims
• To attend Court and Coroner’s Court and to provide advocacy on behalf of the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust (SaTH) and Shropshire Community (ShropCom).
• To ensure consistent management and professional leadership of SaTH’s Legal Services Department. This will include supervision and day-to-day line management of the Legal Services Team.
• To provide advice and training to clinical staff and other staff on specialist litigation issues and attending inquests and other judicial process meetings and hearings.

The post holder will be expected to work with all levels of medical, nursing and managerial staff and be confident at delivering highly complex and sensitive information in pressurised situations.

Working for our organisation

We believe that compassionate care sits at the heart of everything we do. Every member of our team — clinical or non‑clinical — plays a vital role in ensuring that patients, families, and colleagues are treated with dignity, empathy, and respect at all times.

We expect all staff to demonstrate compassion not only through their words, but through their actions: by listening attentively, communicating clearly and kindly, and recognising individual needs, feelings, and circumstances of those in our care.

Effective communication is central to safe and high-quality healthcare. We value colleagues who take the time to understand others, explain information in a meaningful way, and respond to concerns with patience and understanding.

By joining our team, you are committing to uphold these values — ensuring that every patient feels heard, respected, and valued, and that compassion is embedded in every interaction, every day.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For full duties and responsibilities please refer to the attached document entitled Job Description.

Qualifications

• Legum Baccalaureus (LLB) or Master of Law (LLM)
• Masters level degree in a relevant area
• Registered Solicitor (Solicitors Regulation Authority) or Barrister (Bar Standards Board)

Knowledge and experience

• Extensive knowledge of legal framework for risk management including its role in the whole organisation and links to other aspects of clinical governance. This to have been acquired through a combination of in-depth experience and postgraduate study, such as that obtained through a Master’s degree or significant equivalent relevant experience.
• Significant experience of working at a senior level in the NHS or an organisation of comparable complexity
• Excellent understanding of required links with relevant external organisations (including Coroners and Police), and the ability to apply this in the context of working in a large healthcare organisation.
• Knowledge of the patient administration systems
• Experience of training medical, nursing and/or other healthcare professionals
• Experience of managing a Legal Services team

We commit to removing barriers for people with disabilities or long-term health conditions in recruitment, training, and career progression. We will offer an interview to all applicants with a disability who meet the minimum criteria for the above position and will support reasonable adjustments wherever possible. In addition, whilst all applicants will be judged on merit alone, we particularly welcome applications from candidates who are male, from black and minority ethnic backgrounds or who have a disability, as these are currently under-represented in our workforce.

We are committed to offering an interview to applicants from the Armed Forces community who meet the minimum criteria for the position. In addition, for those who are successfully appointed from the Armed Forces community, the Trust are committed to recognising previous service and rank in terms of pay, annual leave and other terms and conditions.

We are committed to equal opportunities in employment. The policies and practices of the Trust aim to promote an environment that is free from all forms of unlawful or unfair discrimination and values the diversity of all people. At the heart of our policy, we seek to treat people fairly, flexibly and with dignity and respect.

We aim to create a trusting, flexible workplace, that attracts talent and enables everyone to be their best working self. Many of our colleagues work flexibly in many different ways, including part-time. Please talk to us at interview about the flexibility you need. We can’t promise to give you exactly what you want, but we do promise a fair and equitable process that balances your needs, the needs of our patients and service delivery.

Our Commitment to Safety and Respect - The Trust is a signatory to the NHS Sexual Safety Charter and is committed to a safe, inclusive workplace free from sexual misconduct, harassment, and discrimination.