Director Legal

This is a high-profile role at the heart of the NCA’s Senior Leadership Team, operating at board level and actively contributing to wider policy developments across Whitehall.

The Director Legal provides independent, accurate, timely and high-quality legal advice to the Director General NCA and the Board on the business of the Agency.

The job holder is expected to be an active member of the Agency Command team, proactively spotting risks and leading cross Agency work on strategic issues.

Key responsibilities:

• Advising the Director General and the Board on all legal matters relating to the Agency’s business, including governance and exercise of its powers, litigation, contract and employment law, and the management of strategic legal risks relevant to the NCA’s work;
• Leading and managing the NCA’s internal team comprising circa 70 - 80 generalist and specialist lawyers, paralegals and a business support function and managing a budget of circa £11m.
• Lead a multidisciplinary legal function, setting strategic direction and ensuring legal advice supports the NCA's operational priorities and corporate objectives.
• Lead the modernisation of legal services and drive digital transformation including the adoption of AI enabled tools.
• Working with operational colleagues, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and their specialist prosecutors to maximize the probability of successful prosecutions, or other legal interventions;
• Advising on relevant EU and international legal developments.
• Managing external legal contacts for specialist advice as required and maintaining excellent relations with the legal profession generally;
• Representing the Agency across Whitehall on all aspects of legal developments and proposals for legislative change affecting the Agency, and in respect of matters relevant to the wider law enforcement and intelligence communities.
• Build organisational capability by developing future legal leaders, strengthening succession planning and creating an inclusive, high-performing culture.
• Active member of the NCA’s senior leadership team and, as such, takes on leadership activities beyond their specific role.
• As a lawyer in the NCA you will be a member of the Government Legal Profession.

Open to UK nationals only.

To apply for this post, you will need to complete the online application process, outlined below. This should be completed no later than 23:55 on Monday 9th November 2026

• Enter your CV details setting out your career history, including key responsibilities and achievements. It is essential that your CV reflects the role you are applying for. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any employment gaps within the last two years.
• A statement of suitability of no more than 1250 words using examples to explain how your skills and experience meet the essential criteria of the person specification on page 11.

In order to monitor the effectiveness of the National Crime Agency’s Diversity & Inclusion strategy, the NCA require certain personal details about you on submission of your application. Please note that this will be treated in confidence and will not impact your application.

As part of your application, you will be asked to complete a diversity monitoring form. If you do not wish to provide a declaration on any of the particular characteristics, you will have the option to select ‘prefer not to say’. All monitoring data will be treated in the strictest confidence and will not be provided to the selection panel. The information you provide when submitting

your application will help us monitor our progress towards the Civil Service becoming the most inclusive employer.

Your application will be acknowledged within 48 hours of receipt.

Should you encounter any issues with your application please get in touch with our recruitment partner at the following email address: scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

The NCA is also currently advertising for a Director International. Candidates may apply for both vacancies but must submit two separate applications.

Further Information

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Complaints

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the recruitment principles or you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, please raise it with scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Location

The role will be based in either London, Bristol, Warrington. Please ensure you are only selecting locations you are willing to work in as you may be offered a post in any of your location preferences.

Shortlist

A shortlisting meeting will be held in the week commencing 16th November 2026

Assessment

A virtual Staff Engagement Exercise which will be delivered virtually on MS Teams in the week commencing 23rd November 2026

You will also be asked to do an ILA, Individual Leadership Assessment.

This stage will not result in a pass or fail decision. They are designed to support the panel’s decision-making and highlight areas for the panel to explore further at interview.

Final Panel Interview

The interview will be held in London week commencing 7th December 2026. The panel will assess your previous experience and professional competence against the essential criteria of the person specification on page 10. You may be asked to give a presentation and/or undertake a pre-interview exercise.

Full details of the requirements will be given to shortlisted candidates ahead of their interview.

Shortlisted candidates may also be offered the opportunity to find out more about the role in conversation with the vacancy holder or a member of the senior executive team.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Selection Panel

The panel will be chaired by Elizabeth Hambley, Civil Service

Commissioner and will include:

Wendy Clark, NCA Director General Capabilities and Chief Operating Officer

Rob Jones, NCA Director General Operations

Kay Taylor, NCA Director Police Reform

Offer

Regardless of the outcome, we will notify all candidates as soon as possible.

If your application is successful and we are unable to offer you a post immediately, you will be invited to join our reserve list so that we can continue to communicate with you regarding your employment with the Agency, and the incredible work that we do. If over the next 12 months we are able to offer you a position, we will contact you as soon as possible.

Appointments will be made in adherence to the Civil Service Recruitment Principles and in strict merit order with the highest scoring candidates being appointed first.

The NCA is a law enforcement agency and as such we are part of the Criminal Justice System. Therefore, if you are going into an operational role we need to be aware if any of our officers have, either before they join us or afterwards, any of the following:

• Any criminal conviction (including by Court Martial), or caution or fixed penalty notice for disorder or theft;
• Any adverse judicial findings;
• Any charges or summonses where the proceedings are not complete;
• Any misconduct or gross misconduct findings or where proceedings are not complete.

You will be asked to complete a declaration form covering the above if offered a role with the NCA.

Each case will be considered on its merits and a positive declaration does not automatically mean that your application will not be progressed. However, should you fail to disclose a relevant matter then your application or employment will be adversely affected. If in doubt, please declare it at this stage.’

Indicative Timeline

The anticipated timetable is as follows:

Advert Closing Date Monday 9th November 2026

Expected shortlist announcement w/c 16th November 2026

Virtual Assessments w/c 23rd November 2026

Interviews w/c 7th December 2026

Pre-employment checks

Pre-employment checks take on average 16 weeks from the point of offer to arranging a start date. This includes vetting, occupational health assessments, employment history checks and substance misuse tests. This is an approximate time frame and is to be taken as a guideline only as this can very between candidates. This is dependent on when all requested documentation is provided.

Candidates are asked to note the above timetable, which may be subject to some change, and are asked to exercise flexibility through the recruitment and selection process.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.