Senior Legal Advisor

ComReg Overview

We are the statutory body responsible for regulating electronic communications, postal and premium rate services in Ireland. We are a professional, multi-disciplinary organisation, operating in a dynamic telecommunications environment that is constantly evolving. Our Mission – at the heart of everything we do – is to facilitate the development of a competitive communications sector in Ireland that attracts investment, encourages innovation and empowers consumers to choose and use communications services with confidence.

The General Counsel Function 

ComReg wishes to recruit a lawyer as a Senior Legal Advisor on a full-time permanent basis, to provide expert, solution-focused legal advice on a range of regulatory, competition, and consumer issues within ComReg’s remit and specifically to undertake the responsibility for fulfilling the legal requirements of the Commission. The successful candidate will input to the development of policy and strategy across all areas within ComReg’s remit, particularly the rapidly changing and dynamic field of electronic communications, as well as all administrative and organisational issues arising in this central role. The Senior Legal Advisor will work within a multi-disciplinary environment, which includes business analysts, industry experts, engineers, accountants, economists and other lawyers.

The role and responsibilities 

The primary role of the Senior Legal Advisor is to provide clear, solution-focused legal advice and to support the projects and the general functions of the Commission and in particular the General Counsel’s functional area. The role will involve assimilating complex legal and factual situations and providing legal advice and assistance as required. This may involve briefing external solicitors and barristers and managing the interface with them.

The Senior Legal Advisor will:

• Provide clear, concise, practical and strategic legal advice to inform and guide the Commission and its staff by identifying the key legal issues, process and procedural requirements, the available options, and the associated legal risks

• Work with cross-divisional teams and provide necessary legal advice and assistance

• Review key documentation and identify legal issues and potential solutions

• Draft public documents including consultations and regulatory instruments including decision instruments and legislation

• Provide clear, concise, practical and strategic legal advice to inform and guide the Commission and its staff as to whether any proposed regulatory measure is supported by the relevant facts and consistent with applicable law and whether the administrative process leading to the proposed measure was properly conducted

• Prepare legal briefs for external lawyers, particularly in the context of litigation and managing the ongoing provision of external legal advice

• Provide analysis and input on any proposed National or EU legislation impacting ComReg

• Identify requirements and advocate for new or changed legal powers for ComReg where necessary

• Contribute to organisation-level legal and regulatory policy issues

• Input to ComReg’s strategic direction

• Liaise with external stakeholders including legal staff and others in government departments, public bodies, national regulatory authorities, and international bodies as required

• Contribute to legal best practice and competency within ComReg

The role will be within the General Counsel’s functional area of the Commission and will report to the Senior Manager in the area.

Qualifications and Experience required 

Essential 

• Be enrolled and admitted as a Solicitor or Barrister in the State

• 6+ years post-qualification experience or equivalent experience and competencies, in a law firm, as a practising barrister, as in-house counsel, as a legal advisor

• Experience in regulatory law, EU law, public administrative law or competition law

• Proven ability to operate collaboratively at all levels within an organisation providing accurate and timely advice on a variety of legal topics

Desirable 

• Regulatory enforcement experience

• Experience of litigation at all levels including, in particular, the High Court and defence of statutory appeals and judicial review

• Experience in drafting and/or reviewing all aspects of public consultation papers, regulatory decisions, and legislation

• Experience of working within multi-disciplinary teams

• Experience of operating at a management level including briefing senior management

• Specific qualifications in one or more of public administrative law, competition law, regulatory law or consumer law

• Knowledge or experience of electronic communications and advisory experience in the sector and/or experience in other regulated sectors

• An understanding of the policies which underpin sector-specific regulation.

Core Competencies & Skills for the Role 

In addition to your technical qualifications and experience, you will bring professional competencies and skills in the following core areas:

Communicating & Influencing: Communicates clearly, confidently and respectfully. Engages, persuades and convinces others to follow a particular course of action. Ensures all relevant parties are appropriately updated and notified.

Decision Making & Judgement: Effectively builds evidence base to support the decision-making process. Assesses alternative options. Uses judgement to adapt to specific and challenging requirements of the organisation.

Drafting: Uses a logical structure to draft documents. Communicates complex and technical information clearly and concisely. Ensures key messages are understood and have the desired impact on the target audience.

Planning and Organising: Establishes and monitors priorities, systematically differentiating between urgent, important and unimportant tasks. Plans and manages activities to consistently deliver results. Meets objectives within agreed predetermined time frames and deals with urgent operational situations expeditiously.

Teamwork: Promotes and enhances team performance through working collaboratively and in cooperation with others to achieve goals. Interacts in a manner that builds respect and fosters trust.

Our Package

We are offering an attractive package:

• Salary €85,376.53 – €106,737.05 * (Pay increases will be awarded annually subject to satisfactory performance)

• Dublin city centre location

• Blended working environment

• 28 days Annual Leave per year increases with service

• Fully paid Maternity, Paternity and Parent’s leave

• Income protection scheme

• Education assistance and Training Opportunities

• Professional membership fee pay

• Attractive pension scheme

• ComWell Wellbeing Programme

• Travel tax saver scheme, Access to Cycle to Work Scheme

• Access to Employee Assistance Programme

• Access to a members run sports and social club

*(entry will be at the minimum point and the rate of remuneration may be adjusted from time to time in line with Government pay policy.)

Please Note (1)

We hope that our recruitment process supports applications from candidates with diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. We understand that having a diverse workforce contributes to making us stronger as an organisation. We are committed to positively supporting candidates with disabilities.

Please let us know if there is any reasonable accommodations we can make to enable you to take part in the process by creating the environment to give you the best opportunity to show your strengths and competencies. Rest assured that whatever information you disclose will only be used to enable us to provide the necessary support and will never have a bearing on the outcome of the process.

Please Note (2)

ComReg assesses all applicants fairly based on the requirements for the role. Due to the high volume of applications we receive for positions, we are unable to provide feedback to candidates who are not shortlisted for interview. If you are short-listed for interview, and are subsequently unsuccessful, you can request verbal feedback from your recruitment