Deputy Head of Legal Services

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Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust (CHFT) are committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community, regardless of any protected characteristics.

We are committed to recruiting to our values. Leading One Culture of Care underpins our values by creating an environment, tone and behaviours across all parts of the Trust that are fundamentally rooted in compassionate care.

We are open to considering a wide range of flexible working arrangements. There are opportunities to flex the days of the week, hours and times of work and place of work including: part-time, job-share, flexible working hours and the possibility to work from home when appropriate. Please talk to us during the interview process to discuss any flexibility that you may require.

We received our Silver Award from the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme which is helping actively promote SaBRE - Supporting Britain's Reservists and Employers. This means that we provided its statement of intent to support all Defence personnel and we welcome application to work for us. Find out more - Why Choose CHFT?

Our Future Plans

The Department of Health and Social Care has awarded capital funding to invest in local health services at both Calderdale Royal Hospital and Huddersfield Royal Infirmary. This is a significant investment and an opportunity to enhance services for our populations in Calderdale and Huddersfield and West Yorkshire for generations to come. To find out more, please visit https://future.cht.nhs.uk/

Job overview

Join Us as Deputy Head of Legal Services

Are you a skilled legal professional ready to lead with purpose and make a difference in healthcare?
We're looking for a dynamic Deputy Head of Legal Services to help shape the future of patient safety, legal governance, and quality care across our Trust.

Why Join Us?

This is more than a legal role-it's a chance to be part of a compassionate, forward-thinking organisation where your expertise will shape how we care, respond, and grow. You'll work alongside dedicated professionals, influence real change, and be supported to develop your career in a
meaningful way.
Ready to lead with impact? Apply now and help us build a safer, smarter future for patients and staff alike.

Main duties of the job

Job description

Working side-by-side with the Head of Legal Services, you'll lead a dynamic legal team, manage complex and high-profile cases-including inquests, clinical negligence, and liability claims-and ensure the Trust stays fully compliant with legal and regulatory standards. Your work will directly influence how the organisation responds to challenges, learns from incidents, and improves services.

You'll be the go-to expert for medico-legal advice, collaborating with NHS Resolution, HM Coroners, external law firms, senior clinicians, and operational leaders. Your ability to build strong relationships,
communicate clearly and contribute to our One Culture of Care will be essential.

This is a role where legal insight meets healthcare strategy. You'll help shape local policies, interpret
national guidance, and ensure legal advice is practical, timely, and aligned with the Trust's mission to deliver outstanding care.
If you thrive in fast-paced, emotionally charged environments and want to use your legal skills to drive real-world change, this is your opportunity to lead, influence, and grow

Working for our organisation

About us

Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust is an integrated trust, providing acute and community health services.
Over 7,000 colleagues provide compassionate care from our two main hospitals, Calderdale Royal Hospital, and the Huddersfield Royal Infirmary, as well as in our community sites, health centres and
in our patients' homes. We also are incredibly proud to have almost 170 volunteers here at CHFT.

We serve two local populations; Greater Huddersfield which has a population of around 245,000 people and Calderdale with a population of 220,000 people.

We provide a range of services including urgent and emergency care; medical; surgical; maternity; gynaecology; critical care; children's and young people's services; end of life care and outpatient and diagnostic imaging services.

We provide community health services, including sexual health services in Calderdale from Calderdale Royal and local health centres. These include Broad Street and Bowling Mill at Dean Clough.

In 2024/25 we cared for more than 103,000 men, women and children as inpatients (who stayed at least one night) or day cases. There were also more than 490,000 outpatient attendances; almost 185,000 accident and emergency attendances and more than 4,200 babies delivered.

There were more than 369,000 adult services contacts by our community teams as well as 230,000 contacts with our therapy services.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Job responsibilities

For a detailed job description for this vacancy, please see attached Job Description.

Person Specification Qualifications

Essential

Educated to degree level in law/ legal practice (CILEx) with appropriate post graduate level courses or substantial experience at a comparable level
Recent experience/ traineeship managing clinical negligence/ employer liability claims to Masters level equivalent.
Evidence of CPD

Experience

Essential

Previous Coronial/Inquest management experience
Experience of staff management
Able to demonstrate a clear understanding of CPR, the claims process and coronial law and regulations
Strong technical knowledge in areas relevant to legal healthcare practice
Good understanding of the principles of investigations management, root cause analysis techniques and Clinical Governance
Understanding data -- extracts, collates, quantitatively analyses and validates data, recognising alternative solution where necessary

Desirable
Experience of working within a healthcare law setting
Previous experience of managing inquests
Advocacy experience
Implementing risk and case management systems
Experience of quality management processes and quality improvement mechanisms
Teaching / Training experience

Additional Criteria

Essential

Ability to rapidly assimilate a range of complex information and provide advice
Strong problem solving ability and capacity to recognise alternative solutions where necessary
Strong team management and workload management skills
Ability to interpret national policy and guidance, identify local implications and apply implementation to a local setting
Critical appraisal of wide ranging documents to facilitate assessment of risk and to ensure appropriate & sensitive communication/ management of claims/inquests
Ability to manage, prioritise and deliver a number of projects and work programmes within timescales
Ability to lead and supervise teams and work in a educational and supportive manner
Ability to deal with conflicting demands ensuring key priorities and deadlines are met through effective time management
Ability to think strategically and see the 'bigger picture'
Ability to devise innovative systems and methods of working with minimal guidance
Good standard of computer literacy including word processing, spreadsheets and databases
Makes clear recommendations indicating benefits/consequences and identify risks
Predicts trends by analysing and interpreting all relevant information
Analysis and use of complex information from a variety of sources and formats and undertakes information analysis
Strong interpersonal skills
Excellent writing, listening and communication skills.
Displays a high standard of personal integrity
Actively seeks ways to improve efficiency and effectiveness of own performance
Flexible and adaptable to changing workloads/priorities
Ability to work and travel across all CHFT sites and external sites as required by the role.

Desirable

Data manipulation including identification, accessing and downloading of data, design set up and development of data entry systems including automation as appropriate

Person specification

QUALIFICATIONS / TRAINING

Essential criteria

• Educated to degree level in law/legal practice or equivalent with appropriate post graduate level courses (including CILEx).
• Recent experience/ training managing inquests, clinical negligence/ employer liability claims to Masters level equivalent.
• Evidence of commitment to continually update professional practice

KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE & EXPERTISE

Essential criteria

• Previous Coronial/Inquest management experience
• Experience of staff management
• Able to demonstrate a clear understanding of CPR, claims process and coronial rules and regulations
• Good understanding of the principles of investigations management, root cause analysis techniques and Clinical Governance.
• Understanding data - extracts, collates, quantitatively analyses and validates data, recognising alternative solution where necessary
• Strong technical knowledge in areas relevant to legal healthcare practice

Desirable criteria

• Experience of working within a healthcare law setting
• Previous experience of managing inquests
• Advocacy experience
• Implementing risk and case management systems
• Experience of quality management processes and quality improvement mechanisms
• Displays a high standard of personal integrity
• Actively seeks ways to improve efficiency and effectiveness of own performance
• Flexible and adaptable to changing workloads/priorities Ability to work and travel across all UHB sites and external sites as required by the role

COMMUNICATION AND RELATIONSHIPS (INCLUDING MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES)

Essential criteria

• Ability to rapidly assimilate a range of complex information and provide advice
• Strong problem solving ability and capacity to recognise alternative solutions where necessary
• Strong team management and workload management skills
• Ability to interpret national policy and guidance, identify local implications and apply implementation to a local setting
• Critical appraisal of wide ranging documents to facilitate assessment of risk and to ensure appropriate & sensitive communication/ management of claims/inquests
• Ability to manage, prioritise and deliver a number of projects and work programmes within timescales
• Ability to lead and supervise teams and work in a collegiate manner
• Ability to deal with conflicting demands ensuring key priorities and deadlines are met through effective time management
• Ability to think strategically and see the 'bigger picture'
• Ability to devise innovative systems and methods of working with minimal guidance
• Good standard of computer literacy including word processing, spreadsheets and databases
• Makes clear recommendations indicating benefits/consequences and identify risks
• Predicts trends by analysing and interpreting all relevant information
• Analysis and use of complex information from a variety of sources and formats and undertakes information analysis
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Excellent communication skills: Written - experience of drafting standard letters, emails and technical reports with clarity and awareness
• Excellent writing skills. Ability to prepare written material presenting complex matters in a logical way using the appropriate style, content and language for the audience
• Listening - shows willingness and ability to listen. Absorbs complex messages. Encourages individuals to expand ideas

Our vision is to provide One Culture of Care for one another in order that we can provide compassionate care for the people who use our services. We are passionate about creating a workplace where we work together to get results, encouraging colleagues to have their say, in order to co create the change we want to see. We take pride in the diversity of our workforce that's why we encourage applications from all. Reasonable adjustments will be made for disabled applicants.

Please ensure your application is submitted with referees who can verify your employment/education history over the last three years and include valid email addresses for them. We will request electronic Factual Employment References from your previous employers. These references will be requested before you are issued with an unconditional offer of employment letter.

Candidates who require a Skilled Worker visa to work in the United Kingdom can determine the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship for this position by assessing their circumstances against the criteria specified on the Check if you need a UK visa - GOV.UK website. We encourage all applicants to review these criteria carefully to understand their eligibility for sponsorship.

If you are appointed to a post, information will also be transferred into the NHS Electronic Staff Records system. The Inter-Authority Transfer (IAT) process is a critical and beneficial component of ESR and following interview your previous NHS employment data, if applicable will be transferred from your current / most recent employer.

You may be required to undertake a DBS. The Trust will administer the DBS check on your behalf and will recover the cost (Enhanced £54.40, Standard £26.40 or Basic £26.40) from your salary when you commence in post (including Internal staff). You will also be required to participate in the DBS Update Service and pay the £16 cost per year. This is a condition of your employment.

CHFT is part of the West Yorkshire Association of Acute Trusts (WYAAT), a collaborative of the NHS hospital trusts from across West Yorkshire and Harrogate working together to provide the best possible care for our patients.

If you have any questions please contact ask.recruitment@cht.nhs.uk for assistance.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Documents to download

• JD and Person Spec (PDF, 600.3KB)
• Job Description Appendix A (PDF, 259.2KB)