Senior Manager – Legal Advisor

Division overview 

The General Counsel Function

The General Counsel and Director of Legal Services function provides advice and assistance to the Commission and its staff ensuring organisational best practice and competency. There is a small team of legal advisors, paralegals and administrators in the General Counsel function who will be led by the successful candidate.

The legislation referred to in the State’s Digital Connectivity Strategy for Ireland and the developing legislation across the computing continuum increases the demand for legal support required by ComReg. The ComReg legal advisors are embedded in ComReg’s multidisciplinary teams to ensure robust solutions and decision making to deliver our action plan and meet our goals. This will also necessitate liaison with our parent Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and other departments and agencies required to implement new legislation.

ComReg operates in a challenging and rapidly evolving environment, both in terms of the markets ComReg regulates and the policy context. ComReg strives to be an active and agile organisation, capable of responding to the rapidly changing environment and addressing issues that affect ComReg’s ability to fulfil its Mission in a timely manner. The Senior Manager – Legal Advisor role is essential to substantively support the four key drivers of ComReg’s organisational success: An Informed Regulator with a deep understanding of the sector; Proactive Stakeholder Engagement; Our Evolving Mandate; and Our People and Processes.

ComReg’s legal advisors assist the organisation in embracing its positive duty as a public body to promote equality, prevent discrimination and protect the human rights of its staff and all of those with whom it engages including staff, service users and stakeholders alike. Corporate issues are supported by the legal advisors such as equality and human rights duties and the delivery of ComReg’s Irish language obligations to ensure services as Gaeilge are provided to anyone who wishes to carry out their business with ComReg through Irish.

The role and responsibilities 

The primary role of the Senior Manager – Legal Advisor is to support the General Counsel (and Senior Management more widely) across the entire range of ComReg functions, and to be the principal legal advisor to the Commissioners and Commission staff.

The role provides expert solution-focused legal advice on a wide range of regulatory and other legal issues within ComReg’s remit including the implementation and operation of the EU and domestic legal regimes governing the relevant sectors particularly the rapidly changing and dynamic field of electronic communications and digital infrastructure, as well as all administrative and organisational issues arising in this central role. The role will also have responsibility for fulfilling the Commission’s legal requirements. The Senior Manager – Legal Advisor will also be the principal advisor to ComReg in respect of ComReg’s regulatory obligations to deliver value and ensure transparency in the delivery of our public service including Public Procurement, FOI/AIE, Data Protection, Whistleblowing including the role of the ComReg Protected Disclosures Officer for external disclosures from Regulated entities.

The role includes the duties of the Data Protection Officer (“DPO”) for ComReg. As a public authority carrying out the processing of personal data, ComReg is required by Article 37(1) of the GDPR to designate a DPO. The role requires professional qualities and, in particular, expert knowledge of data protection law and practices and the ability to fulfil the tasks referred to in Article 39

In addition to providing legal advice, the role will input to the development of policy, will have strategic and management responsibilities within ComReg and with regard to briefing external legal advisers. The Senior Manager – Legal Advisor will work within a multi-disciplinary environment, which includes business analysts, industry experts, engineers, accountants, economists and other lawyers.

As the Senior Manager – Legal Advisor in the General Counsel function you will report directly to the General Counsel. The role will lead a team of 3 senior legal advisors, a paralegal and legal administrator for the General Counsel function.

The Senior Manager – Legal Advisor will be legally qualified as either a barrister or solicitor, an experienced lawyer with both advisory and litigation experience in addition to strong management skills. You will provide expert, solution-focused, strategic and clear legal advice on a range of regulatory, competition and consumer issues within ComReg’s remit – including the implementation and operation of the EU regime governing the relevant sectors.

Among other things, the Lead Legal Advisor will:

• Provide informed, strategic, effective and accurate legal advice specific to the Commission and its staff, making a major contribution to all of the legal aspects within ComReg’s remit.

• Manage a small legal team and liaise with external solicitors and barristers as required.

• Support ComReg’s General Counsel and contribute to organisational best practice and competency.

• Liaise with legal and other staff in government departments, public bodies and national regulatory authorities as required.

• Analyse regulatory policy and plan implementation strategies.

• Minimise legal risk by providing assessments and evaluations.

• Advise on the conduct of litigation involving ComReg.

• Assimilate complex legal and factual situations and provide expert advice in a clear, practical manner.

• Establish strong, collaborative relationships with relevant members of the management team responsible for the strategic direction of the organisation.

• Lead on Public Procurement, FOI/AIE and Protected Disclosures for ComReg.

• Prepare and draft primary and secondary legislation and regulatory instruments such as decisions, determinations and directions.

• Advise on the implementation of new legislation.

• 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.

• Lead on the development of an appropriate legal framework for new functions in the areas of digital and data regulation.

• Act as lead legal advisor in respect of new functional areas for ComReg, including digital and data regulation.

• Contribute to the strategy of the organisation.

• Lead on Data Protection and deliver the role of the Data Protection Officer for ComReg

Qualifications and Experience required 

Essential 

> Experienced lawyer enrolled and admitted as a Solicitor or Barrister in the State with a current practising certificate where appropriate

> 10 years + PQE or demonstrable equivalent experience

> Legal advisory experience including the analysis and review of complex legal information and issues and the ability to propose solutions regarding the implementation of regulatory policy.

> Litigation experience particularly in the High Court or District Court (including litigation for/against the State or public bodies, statutory appeal regimes and judicial review).

> Expert knowledge and experience of data protection law and practice and of the data protection function.

Desirable 

> Management experience including people management skills and resource planning and budgeting.

> Experience of advising on EU, regulatory, competition and consumer law as well on public administrative law as it pertains to the electronic communications sector.

> Experience of advising on or an in-depth understanding of the policies which underpin sector-specific regulation, including market liberalisation, competition law and consumer law

> Data Protection qualifications and training.

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:

 Strategy & Leadership: Creates a climate of cooperation where people strive to achieve common organisational goals. Takes a broad view. Anticipates future developments and applies this to operational situations.

 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.

 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.

 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.

 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. (Delete as appropriate)

 People Skills: Uses interpersonal skills to create engagement and clarity. Manages conflict and implements practical solutions. Recognises the impact of own behaviour and adjusts as required. Actively develops others.

Our Package

We are offering an attractive package:

• Salary € 104,535.46 to € 129,624.54* (Pay increases will be awarded annually subject to satisfactory performance)

• Dublin city centre location – IFSC

• 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 contact – if you are represented by an agency.