Appointment to the Post of Legal Adviser - A248 - Co-Ownership
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Appointment to the Post of Legal Adviser
A248
January 2021
1|PageContents Introduction: ..................................................................................................................................3 About Northern Ireland Co-Ownership Housing Association Limited: .....................................3 Summary overview of the companies and services provided: .................................................4 Current and Future Priorities:....................................................................................................5 Legal team .................................................................................................................................6 Job Description: ............................................................................................................................7 Person Specification: ..................................................................................................................12 Co-Ownership’s Key Competencies:.......................................................................................... 14 Remuneration: ............................................................................................................................15 The Selection Process: ...............................................................................................................16 Shortlisting: ..............................................................................................................................16 Interviews: ...............................................................................................................................16 Appointment: ...........................................................................................................................16 Proposed dates for this recruitment: ....................................................................................... 17 Further information/Queries: .......................................................................................................17 Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form:........................................................................................ 17 Other Information: .......................................................................................................................17 Return of Application Forms: ......................................................................................................18 2|Page
Introduction: Applications are invited for the post of Legal Adviser with Northern Ireland Co- Ownership. Established in 1978 and working with our partners in government, we have transformed affordable housing across Northern Ireland. Our vision is to use our expertise in affordable home ownership solutions to provide as many eligible households as we can with an opportunity to own their own home. Our mission is to build on the 29,000 affordable homes we have already provided through Co- Ownership and also develop new and innovative products in response to the changing demands within the market as a result of economic changes. Further details of the job description are provided later in this briefing document. We very much look forward to receiving your application and learning how you see yourself contributing to our organisation. About Northern Ireland Co-Ownership Housing Association Limited: Co-Ownership (trading name of Northern Ireland Co-Ownership Association Limited) is Northern Ireland’s regional body for shared ownership and the organisation that runs the Co-Ownership Scheme. Over the past 40 years we have helped more than 29,000 households in Northern Ireland to purchase the homes of their choice through shared ownership. Our Mission, Vision and values of Co-Ownership: 3|Page
Summary overview of the companies and services provided:
About Co-Ownership:
• Trading name of Northern Ireland Co-Ownership Association Limited.
• Registered Housing Association, R33.
• Industrial and Provident Society, IP200.
• Regulated by the Department for Communities.
• Registered charity in Northern Ireland, Charity Registration Number:
NIC101435.
• Classified as a public body for many purposes, including equality.
• Set up to operate the Co-Ownership equity sharing scheme, exclusive to
Northern Ireland.
About Co-Ownership:
• Launched in 1978.
• A DIYSO (Do-It-Yourself) form of shared ownership where purchasers identify
the starter home of their choice on the open market and apply to Co-
Ownership, which then purchases the property on their behalf.
• Properties and purchasers must qualify.
• Co-Owners are not tenants; their stake in the property is held under an equity
sharing lease arrangement with the opportunity to own the property outright at a
later stage.
• Entry is at an equity level determined by Co-Ownership (based on purchaser
affordability) between 50% and 90% of the property’s value. There are a
number of lenders that will provide mortgage for Co-Ownership purchases. A
monthly rent is payable to Co-Ownership on the unowned equity value.
• 29,000 properties have been purchased to date through Co-Ownership. Over
9,000 of these properties are currently still held on a co-ownership
arrangement.
• The property acquisition programme flexes with available funding and is
currently planned at a minimum of 1000 additional homes per year for each of
the next 3 years.
4|PageAbout OwnCo Homes:
• (Wholly owned private subsidiary of Co-Ownership).
• Company registered in Northern Ireland with company number NI619748.
• Works on not-for-profit principles.
• Funded by interest-free loans from government.
• Launch funding: £12.5m.
• Set up to operate the Rent to Own scheme, exclusive to Northern Ireland.
• Registered as a landlord under the Landlord Registration Scheme.
About Rent to Own:
• Launched in 2016.
• An affordable housing initiative for Northern Ireland to help renters become
home owners, it’s a fixed term rental commitment with an opportunity for home
ownership.
• Properties and tenants must qualify.
Current and Future Priorities:
This is a challenging and exciting time in the organisation’s history as it is actively
engaged in an on-going period of transformational change.
The current 3-year strategy, just in place, includes an organisational ‘Delivering
Change Programme’ as one of its 4 principal objectives. Programme highlights
include:
• Rolling out the recently launched Rent to Own product through
subsidiary OwnCo Homes.
• Developing and introducing additional new and innovative affordable
housing products to complement the Co-Ownership model.
• Developing mutually advantageous business partnerships with other
housing providers to support product and services diversification.
5|Page• Redesigning business processes, roles and IT systems, digital by
default.
• Focusing on value for money and customer needs/wants to deliver a new
responsive, streamlined and efficient service.
Co-Ownership currently employs 60 staff, has a rental income of £12.4m and a net
worth of £100m.
To find out more about Co-Ownership visit co-ownership.org
Legal team
The legal team has responsibility for providing a high standard of legal services and
advice to Co-Ownership and its subsidiaries. The legal team provides practical legal
support to all functions in the organisation working collaboratively to achieve effective
business solutions.
This role sits within the Legal team and reports directly to the Senior Legal Adviser.
There is a Legal Secretary who provide administrative support to the Advisers to ensure
the effective running of the Legal Department.
This is an exciting time to join the legal team with the recent introduction of our
solicitor portal, a new equity sharing lease and as we look forward to ways in which we
can improve our performance through new methods of working.
6|PageJob Description:
Job Title Legal Adviser
Reports To Senior Legal Adviser
Job Summary The post holder will be responsible for providing a high standard of
legal services and advice to Co-Ownership and its subsidiaries and
supporting the delivery of objectives and the management of risk.
• Provision of legal advice and oversight of the purchase and sale
Key Functions of properties.
• Conduct legal reviews of existing and proposed new products
and services.
• Provide legal advice on all housing management and/or litigation
issues, including boundary issues, disputes, probate, forfeiture
and enforcement.
• Assist the Senior Legal Adviser to provide advice on the
organisation’s rules, structures, charity law, data protection,
company law, housing law including regulatory issues, the law
of private tenancies, litigation and insolvency.
• Assist the procurement and management of all external legal
services, to ensure services are necessary, that they are
delivered in a timely manner, to a high level of quality.
• Maintain knowledge and skills through continued professional
development and keep updated with changes to the law in order
to assist advising the organisation.
• Work collaboratively with other managers and staff in Co-
Ownership, to deliver an integrated approach to business
objectives.
Duties and Conveyancing, Housing and Litigation
Responsibilities
1. Provide support to Customer Services in purchasing properties,
in equity buy-out cases and in stair-casing;
7|Page2. Provide training to Customer Services’ staff to ensure they fully
understand Co-Ownership’s procedures to acquire and sell a
property and identify issues that should be referred to the legal
department;
3. Assist in maintenance of the Solicitor Portal and support staff
and panel solicitors with use of the portal;
4. Review, investigate and agree a course of action to resolve
issues identified by panel solicitors during the conveyancing
process;
5. Investigate billing enquiries and advise the legal administration
function how to proceed in difficult or unusual matters;
6. Assist the Senior Legal Adviser to regularly review and amend
as approved Co-ownership and Own-Co standard legal
documentation, including the lease, the master mortgage
agreements and other related documentation, to ensure they
remain fit for purpose;
7. Assist in the review and regularly update the Co-Ownership
Solicitors Manual;
8. Assist in the review of the legal fees paid to panel solicitors;
9. Provide legal support to the Product Development team in the
design and implementation of new products and services and the
development of marketing materials;
10. Where disputes arise, legal action is either threatened or
required, or when forfeiture of the lease is being considered or
to be actioned, then provide legal advice and instruct external
legal advice as required;
11. Develop legal agreements and documentation to record specific
agreements made to resolve customers issues, including
repayment plans and shortfall agreements;
12. Assist in the management of the solicitors’ panel, including
supervising their work, resolving issues and working to improve
8|Pagethe efficiency of the service; keep under review the terms and
conditions of appointment to the panel, amending when
necessary;
13. Assist in the review of the mechanism by which solicitors are
appointed to the panel;
14. Assist in drafting and reviewing policies and subsequent
correspondence to customers and key stakeholders where
necessary;
15. Provide legal support to the Arrears team in the recovery of
debts;
Corporate
16. Keep abreast of and assess the impact of changes to legislation,
regulation and legal practice on the organisation and provide
practical solutions to implement changes to documentation and
processes;
17. Assist in running tender invitations and advise on procurement
law issues to include service level agreements when required;
18. Assist with the Instruction, procurement and management of all
external legal services, controlling the costs, quality and
timeliness of the services with the use of key performance
indicators;
19. Provide legal advice on a wide range of corporate issues,
including restructuring, charity legislation, fund raising, data
protection, and HR;
20. Review and negotiate commercial agreements, contracts and
terms of business with external suppliers to protect the
interests of the organisation;
21. Provide practical legal support to all functions in the
organisation, including dealing with any housing, probate, legal
and financial issues, that may affect Co-ownership’s investment
and reputation;
9|Page22. Assist in writing responses to consultation documents issued by
government and others where there is a legal impact on the
organisation;
23. Assist in the design, creation and implementation of new shared
ownership products. Design the necessary legal frameworks
and all associated contractual and legal documentation.
24. Ensure effective and transparent two-way communication on
priorities, through regular diarised team meetings, one-on-one
meetings, appropriate email and regular interpersonal
communication;
Other Activities
25. Undertake all such other duties as may from time to time be
required and in such a way as to enhance and protect the
reputation and public profile of the Association.
Leadership
26. Maintain and continuously develop professional knowledge and
competence across the function so it can be a leading source of
expertise and authoritative advice and ensure high professional
standards and sound decision taking practices are embedded;
27. Assist in preparing and presenting accurate Management
Information reports to track progress towards achievement of
objectives;
28. Co-ordinate, prioritise and delegate activities, monitor
workloads and outputs both in quantity and quality to ensure the
function operates efficiently, with adequate cover for absence
and leave;
29. Ensure effective and transparent two-way communication on
priorities, through regular diarised team meetings, one-to-one
meetings, appropriate email and regular interpersonal
communication;
General
10 | P a g e1. To operate according to Co-Ownership’s core values, mission
statement and Code of Conduct;
2. Work closely with other departments and across the
organisation to ensure consistent delivery of business
objectives;
3. To work in accordance within the provisions of Health and Safety
legislation and Co-Ownership’s Health and Safety Policies and
Procedures;
4. A commitment to equality and diversity and to encouraging the
involvement of all members of the community, particularly
vulnerable and hard to reach groups, in shaping service delivery;
5. To comply with, and actively support, all the organisation’s
policies and procedures, and in particular those relating to the
delivery of ICT services, information security and Data
Protection;
6. To adhere to existing working practices, procedures and
undertake relevant learning and development activities;
7. To respond positively to new and alternative systems and embed
a culture of change and continuous improvement;
8. Undertake such additional duties as are reasonably
commensurate with the level of the post.
Note: This is not a complete statement of all duties and responsibilities of this
post. The post-holder may be required to carry out other duties in keeping with
the nature of the post as directed by the Senior Legal Adviser.
11 | P a g ePerson Specification:
Essential Criteria Desirable Criteria
Qualifications Recognised professional qualification
as a Solicitor entitling the post holder
to practice in Northern Ireland.
Current practising certificate from
the Law Society
Evidence of CPD as required by Law
Society
Experience 3 - 5 years’ post qualification 7 years’ post
experience in Northern Ireland in the qualification
field of Residential Conveyancing law experience in
and practice, civil and property Northern Ireland in
litigation and practice the field of
Residential
Experience of current law and
Conveyancing law
practice in: - Conveyancing;
and practice
Mortgages; Land Law; Contract Law;
Experience of
Civil and Property Litigation
Company law and
Experience of legal research; corporate structure;
interpreting legislation and Insolvency; Data
summarising key points of relevant Protection; Housing
legal case law law
Experience of document
management systems and working in
a paperless office
Knowledge Knowledge of
corporate finance &
governance
Knowledge of data
protection; housing
law; procurement
law; charity law
Skills Ability to prioritise and organise work Drafting letters of
in order to respond to urgent instruction to
competing demands while meeting external solicitors
12 | P a g edeadlines. and liaising with
Ability to make decisions and to them.
assess risk on behalf of the
organisation.
Ability to manage staff on a day to day
basis – prioritising tasks and
monitoring progress
Commercially astute with excellent
oral and written communication
skills
Proven ability of drafting, reviewing
and evaluating contractual
documentation with a wide range of
service providers and stakeholders.
Excellent judgement when under
pressure
Personal The highest degree of probity and
Attributes integrity
Personal and professional manner
and credibility that generate trust
and confidence in others
High degree of diplomacy and tact to
be able to deal with conflict
professionally and appropriately
Key Policy, Planning and Governance.
Competencies Information Handling/Confidentiality.
Communicating and Influencing.
Commercial and Financial Awareness.
Equalities and Diversity.
Leadership
Team Working.
13 | P a g eCo-Ownership’s Key Competencies:
Policy Planning and The ability to demonstrate understanding of and commitment to the
Governance organisation and its vision and values. It is about working with
consistency, integrity and accountability.
Information Effective handling of confidential data or information which is data or
handling/ information intended for or restricted to the use of a particular person,
Confidentiality group, or class, or which contains information whose unauthorised
disclosure could be prejudicial.
Communicating and Developing relationships external to the organisation with a diverse range
Influencing of people that enable Co-Ownership to best serve the housing
marketplace. Using well-reasoned arguments to convince and persuade
where necessary to achieve a win-win solution. Developing relationships
internally which ensure organisational integration and effectiveness
alongside improvement of service.
Customer focus Customer focus is the commitment to putting customers first and ability to
deliver a consistently high quality service .Customers are both internal
(i.e. colleagues) and external (i.e. the community, tenants/service users
or other organisations).
Commercial and The combination of knowledge and skills that enables successful delivery
Financial awareness of the agreed business performance that our key stakeholders and Board
requires. Ensuring that we use the relevant financial and market
information effectively to inform our plans and make effective commercial
decisions.
Equalities and The recognition and valuing of difference in the broadest sense. It is
Diversity about creating a working culture and practices that recognise, respect,
value and harness diversity for the benefit of the organisation and all
individuals.
Leadership Leadership is the clear setting of goals and objectives linked to the
organisation’s vision. It is also about encouraging, supporting and
inspiring others to develop confidence, capability and to realise their full
potential.
Team Working Uses interpersonal skills to work co-operatively with colleagues, internal
and external partners, working pro-actively across cultures and
organisational boundaries, sharing information, new knowledge,
innovation and ideas.
14 | P a g eRemuneration:
Salary: Starting salary is £38,890 gross per annum on Spinal
Column Points 35 - 38 currently £38,890 - £41,881
gross per annum (pro-rata).
Health and Well-being: We offer a range of Health and Well-being options to
our staff including access to employee health checks,
flu vaccination, staff lunches and opportunities to
volunteer.
Hours of Work: This post is full time (37 hours per week) and based
in Co-Ownership’s office in Belfast City Centre.
Flexi-time is available for this role.
Pension Scheme: Northern Ireland Local Government Officers
Superannuation Scheme (NILGOSC). Co-
Ownership makes an employer’s contribution of 19%.
Staff contributions range from 5.5% to 8.5%.
Private Health Insurance: This is offered to all permanent staff. Additional
membership for other family members can be
purchased through salary deduction.
Annual Leave: Annual leave for this role starts at 25 days plus 12
public holidays (if no prior service is recognised).
Learning & Development: Personal Development opportunities are encouraged
for all staff and Co-Ownership will pay for one
relevant professional membership. In addition,
attendance at any relevant seminars/conferences is
encouraged and there is potential for supported
external study.
15 | P a g eThe Selection Process: Application is by submission of an application form. Shortlisting: After the closing date has passed, all applications will be shortlisted against the essential criteria, as described in the Person Specification and on the basis of the information provided in the application form. You will be asked to provide specific examples of how you feel you meet the Essential Criteria as per the Person Specification. Desirable criteria may be used by the Selection Panel to enhance and facilitate the shortlisting process. Co-Ownership reserves the right to use occupational testing or assessment as part of the recruitment process. Applicants who appear, on the basis of the information provided within their application, to best meet the criteria will proceed to the next stage of the recruitment process. Full details will be provided to all candidates in letter of invitation to each stage of the process. Interviews: Only in exceptional cases will rescheduling of the interview date be allowed. If Co- Ownership uses assessments or other testing then the interviews will take place once this part of the selection process has been completed. Appointment: All applicants who are interviewed will be informed of the decision of the outcome of their applications shortly after all interviews are complete. Appointment is subject to satisfactorily meeting all pre-employment requirements including proof of qualifications, satisfactory references, pre-employment health questionnaire and Proof of Right to Work in the UK. All applicants will be required to provide up to date contact details for 2 referees, one of which should be your current (or most recent) employer. Referees will be approached after conditional offer has been accepted by the applicant. We will not accept a referee who is related to the applicant. 16 | P a g e
Proposed dates for this recruitment: Closing date: 12:00 pm, Monday 25th January 2021 Short-listing: w/c 25th January 2021 Interviews: w/c 1st February 2021 Please note that these timeframes are indicative and provided for information purposes only at this stage. Further information/Queries: Any queries should be directed to recruitment@co-ownership.org. Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form: Northern Ireland Co-Ownership Association (Co-Ownership) is committed to equality of opportunity. Applicants are required to complete the Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form and return at the same time as their application. The information is purely for monitoring purposes. It is not made available to the selection panel and does not play a role in the decision-making process. If the Monitoring Form is not returned then the application will be deemed to be incomplete. Other Information: If your application is short-listed and you are invited to interview then we will supply you with a declaration form to declare appropriate criminal convictions as defined within the Rehabilitation of Offenders (NI) Order (1978) or all convictions as defined within the Rehabilitation of Offenders (Exceptions) Order (NI) (1979) – (amended by 1987, 2001, 2003 and 2009 Orders). Full guidance and definitions are supplied with these forms but applicants should be aware of the existence of these forms and the necessity to complete them as accurately as possible. Once a decision has been reached to conditionally offer a post to an applicant the convictions declaration form will be opened and reviewed. Should the information contained therein require further clarification, a member of Human Resources will 17 | P a g e
contact the applicant. If you are concerned and would like to seek further guidance then you are advised to contact NIACRO (in confidence) on 028 90320157. Return of Application Forms: Completed application and monitoring forms must be returned by 12:00pm, Monday 25th January 2021 to:- recruitment@co-ownership.org We regret late applications will not be accepted. 18 | P a g e
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