Job vacancy: Legal Advisor, Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Sutton in Ashfield

Job summary

Main area: Legal Services
Grade: NHS AfC: Band 7
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref: 214-CEN-7807816

Employer: Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type: NHS
Site: King's Mill Hospital
Town: Sutton in Ashfield
Salary: £47,810 - £54,710 per annum
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 07/04/2026 23:59
Interview date: 22/04/2026

Legal Advisor

NHS AfC: Band 7

Thank you for your interest in this role, we would be delighted to welcome you to Sherwood Forest Hospitals.

Sherwood is nationally recognised as being an excellent place to work and deliver care. We are rightly proud of the 5,500 colleagues who work here and know that happy colleagues deliver better care.

Our teams work in a supportive, inclusive environment, which nurtures wellbeing and has opportunities for development and progression. We do not just care for our patients, we also care for you.

At Sherwood Forest Hospitals, we are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. As such, we particularly welcome applications from people who identify as Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic, or Disabled. We believe that a diverse team better represents the communities we serve and brings a wealth of perspectives and experiences to our work.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To understand the role in more detail, please refer to the attached job description and person specification.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

Qualified Solicitor, Barrister or Chartered Legal Executive (CILEx) – (We will consider applications from people without the qualification, but they are willing to work towards this within the Trust.)
Law qualification or equivalent training and experience
Evidence of continuing professional development

Desirable criteria

Specialist training in healthcare/claims/inquest practice
Advocacy training / Higher Rights (civil) or equivalent experience

Further training

Essential criteria

Commitment to undertake relevant training and maintain professional competence

Desirable criteria

Experience of delivering training to multidisciplinary audiences

Experience

Essential criteria

Significant experience managing a caseload of claims and/or inquests (or demonstrable equivalent experience in a comparable legal/insurance setting)
Experience analysing complex information and drafting reports, witness statements and correspondence to a high standard
Experience working to tight deadlines and managing competing priorities
Experience liaising with a wide range of stakeholders, including clinicians and senior managers
Experience supporting witnesses at hearings and/or conducting advocacy where appropriate
Experience supervising, mentoring or supporting junior colleagues

Desirable criteria

NHS Trust in-house claims/inquests experience
Experience of committee work and governance reporting
Experience of service improvement / process redesign

Contractual requirements

Essential criteria

Ability to travel between Trust sites and external venues as required
Ability to work flexibly to meet service demands and hearing timetables
Commitment to confidentiality and compliance with Trust policies and professional standards

Desirable criteria

Full UK driving licence (if required for role)

Knowledge requirements

Essential criteria

Detailed understanding of claims and inquest processes within healthcare, including clinical negligence/CNST, EL/PL and Coroner’s inquests
Working knowledge of NHS Resolution guidance/requirements and relevant preaction protocols.
Understanding of information governance, confidentiality and data protection in a healthcare context.

Desirable criteria

Knowledge of wider healthcare law issues within remit (e.g., consent, capacity, safeguarding interface, court orders, police requests).
Experience of thematic reporting / learning from claims

Not all of our roles are eligible for visa sponsorship. To find out which roles are eligible, please refer to the shortage occupation list found here:

Skilled Worker visa: eligible healthcare and education jobs - GOV.UK

Home Office guidance has changed as of 9th April. Anyone that requires switching visa type may not be eligible for sponsorship even if the role is on the shortage occupation list.

We support the use of AI and other tools to assist in writing your application. However, it's essential that personal statements and behaviour examples, must be truthful and factually accurate. Your application should reflect your genuine experiences and qualifications to ensure authenticity and credibility. For the avoidance of doubt plagiarism can include presenting ideas and experience of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own.

If you would like this information in an alternative format or in a different language please contact us on 01623 622515 ext 3271.

Please note that we no longer accept handwritten/paper applications and that the email address given on your application will be used for all correspondence regarding this post.

We reserve the right to close a vacancy before the closing date if a sufficient number of applications have been received. Priority for vacancies at the Trust will be given to existing employees of Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust whose roles are currently at risk of redundancy due to organisational change.

Only applications received on or before the closing date will be considered for short listing. This is to ensure that the Trust meets its commitment to Equality of Opportunity.

In submitting an application, you authorise Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to confirm any current and previous NHS Service details and you agree to the Trust obtaining and transferring personal date held about you, including Occupational Health data (inoculations and screening tests). This data will be shared using the NHS Electronic Staff Record (ESR) and third party systems via an automated process and will only be used for the purposes of maintaining your employment record.

Please note if you are successful in obtaining this position and the post involves regulated activity you will be required to undertake a Disclosure & Barring Service check. The Trust will pay for the check initially and then the money will then be deducted from your first salary once you've commenced employment. The current price of a check is £26.40 for a standard check and £54.40 for an enhanced. If you are asked to complete a DBS check and have a previous identity that you do not wish to be disclosed to your employer and/or on your DBS certificate, you should call or email the dedicated sensitive applications team before submitting your application. The team is experienced in dealing with sensitive cases and will advise you of the process and what you need to do.

Please note any genuine job offer letters will only be received if you have applied, interviewed, and received a verbal offer from the appointing manager for a vacancy within Sherwood Forest Hospitals. If you receive a job offer and you are not sure of its authenticity, please report it to the following email [email protected]