Our Benefits
Our total reward package includes a basic salary and a potential to earn rewards for excellent contribution to LeO.
Stakeholder pension scheme, whereby LeO will double your contribution up to 10%.
Annual Leave of 26 days per year (plus bank holidays) – (pro rata for part time staff), plus you can buy or sell 4 days leave each year.
Flexible hours driven by work life balance and operated between 7am and 9pm each day, this also includes hybrid working of 80% at home and 20% in the office each week.
Group Income Protection – if you can’t work due to long term absence or injury, this protection can provide a regular income.
Life assurance of 6 times your annual salary.
Legal Information Service offering free advice and support with debt management, tax related matters, consumer disputes.
Employee Assistance programmes.
Online health, fitness, and wellbeing resources.
Wellbeing champions.
Investment in your career development through learning and development, talent management, coaching, mentoring and on the job experience.
Are you an experienced communications and engagement leader who can translate organisational strategy into clear priorities, impactful delivery plans and a compelling corporate narrative?
Do you thrive on building influential relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, using evidence-led communications to enhance reputation, accountability and public confidence?
Can you lead strategic engagement and communications activity that effectively reaches diverse audiences including regulators, policymakers, consumer bodies, the legal profession and the media?
What you will be doing
Act as a key member of the Senior Leadership Team, contributing to organisational strategy, business planning, governance, performance improvement and risk management.
Lead the Strategic Engagement and Communications function, translating organisational priorities into clear plans, standards and delivery frameworks.
Develop and deliver LeO's stakeholder engagement strategy, building strong and purposeful relationships with regulators, professional bodies, consumer organisations, policymakers and other key partners.
Shape and promote LeO's external narrative, ensuring communications are clear, consistent, evidence-led and aligned across all channels.
Oversee the planning and delivery of strategic publications, including the Annual Report and Accounts, Business Plan and Budget, public consultations and impact reports.
Provide strategic oversight of media relations, public affairs, digital communications and social media activity, identifying opportunities to enhance LeO's profile and influence.
Lead the organisation's approach to managing reputational risk, ensuring effective stakeholder communication and response to external issues.
Work collaboratively with the Learning and Insight function to translate complaint-handling evidence, research and organisational learning into targeted engagement and sector-improvement activity.
Build and develop a high-performing Strategic Engagement and Communications centre of expertise, promoting strong governance, quality standards and continuous improvement.
Provide joint leadership of the Casework and Complaint Handling Centre of Expertise, ensuring operational learning is effectively shared and embedded across the sector.
Lead, coach and develop a multidisciplinary team, fostering a positive, inclusive and high-performing culture.
Monitor performance, evaluate impact and provide assurance reporting to the Executive Director, Executive Team and Board.
Deputise for the Executive Director of Communications, Engagement and Impact as required, representing LeO internally and externally.
About you
Significant experience in strategic engagement, communications, stakeholder management or public affairs leadership.
Proven ability to shape organisational reputation and influence through effective communications and engagement strategies.
Experience working with senior stakeholders, regulators, policymakers, consumer organisations and the media.
Strong leadership, coaching and team development capabilities.
Excellent communication, influencing and relationship-building skills.
Strategic thinker with strong judgement, political awareness and a focus on measurable impact.
Key attributes: integrity, collaboration, inclusivity, accountability, credibility, resilience and innovation.
About us and why we matter
People rely on legal services at key times in their lives – whether it’s buying a home, dealing with bereavement, having issues at work, ending a marriage, or being involved in legal action.
These things really matter – and that’s why the Legal Ombudsman really matters.
If people can’t sort out a problem with a legal provider, we’re here to resolve things fairly and as quickly as possible.
And as we resolve individual complaints, we share learning and insight into what we’ve seen – helping prevent the same issues arising again.
We are Family Friendly with enhanced maternity leave and pay, paternity leave, shared parental leave, adoption leave.
Money friendly with access to a discount’s platform including thousands of discounts for supermarkets, eating out, leisure, holidays, theatre tickets etc.
Community friendly offering Special Leave – if you’re an active member of your community, you can get extra paid leave for public duties, volunteering activities and reserve forces duties.
Inclusive of all communities and we encourage applications from the widest possible range of backgrounds and circumstances.
A disability Confident employer, welcoming applications from disabled people.
We operate the ‘offer an interview’ scheme for all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria.
If you are successful, it’s key to know all offers of employment are subject to satisfactory completion of our pre-employment checks which include:
Right to work check, (applicants must be eligible to live and work in the UK).
Employment History references.
DBS criminal record check.
Fit for work questionnaire (for all) followed by a medical check (if applicable).
Qualifications and/or professional membership check (if applicable).