Paralegal jobs
Salary: £31,600 per annum pro rata
Location: Merseyside - currently based in Anfield with plans to move to Liverpool City Centre in 2026
Contract: Permanent
Full time – 37.5 hours per week
Closing date: Tuesday 20th January 2026 at 11.30 pm
Please note this role is being advertised as a Paralegal but on appointment the job title will be Legal Adviser.
We are looking for an enthusiastic individual with legal experience to join Shelter as a Paralegal/Legal Adviser and help us deliver an effective local service for people experiencing housing issues in Merseyside. This is an exciting opportunity to play a key part in standing up to the housing emergency.
About the Role
You will help our solicitors to maintain an active caseload, enabling our clients to enforce their housing rights. Your role will be varied and will include taking instructions and witness statements, drafting letters, making applications, providing court representation and making sure time recording and income targets are met.
About you
You will need a good understanding of litigation work, be able to carry out legal research and provide a good standard of professional service and client care. You will have excellent communication skills, both in writing/drafting and face-to-face along with proficiency using case management systems and time recording, as well as the ability to manage your time and workload. If you have housing law experience and Legal Aid/ CCMS this would be an advantage. You enjoy collaborating as part of a team, respond quickly and positively to change and are not afraid to challenge the status quo and introduce new ideas when appropriate.
Benefits
We offer a wide range of benefits, including 30 days of annual leave, enhanced family friendly policies, pension and interest free travel loans. Our employees also have access to a tenancy deposit loan, payroll giving, cycle to work scheme and an employee assistance programme.
About the Team
Our Legal team is based around England and is made up of over 100 people, delivering housing advice and litigation services for our clients. Working closely with other teams in Shelter Services, we take referrals from them including certified litigation work, controlled work and Housing Possession Court Duty Schemes.
Shelter Merseyside Hub has been providing housing advice and support services to local people for over 20 years, helping those facing bad housing and homelessness. We work in partnership with a range of organisations to improve the underlying systems that prevent people from living securely in suitable, safe, affordable accommodation. You will be working alongside the Housing Rights Workers, Management and Administration teams, Community Organising and Lived Experience Teams to bring about systemic change locally.
About Shelter
Home is a human right. It’s our foundation and where we thrive. Yet every day millions of people are being devastated by the housing emergency.
We exist to defend the right to a safe home. Because home is everything.
We need ambitious, passionate people to join us. This is your chance to play a part in the fundamental change we are striving to achieve.
Our enemy is the social injustice at the core of the escalating housing emergency. To win this fight, we must be representative of the people we are here to help and those who support our movement. In all our people decisions, we take pride in being inclusive, equitable and transparent. We are committed to combating racism both within and outside Shelter. We welcome you on our journey to becoming truly anti-racist.
How to apply
Please click ‘Apply for Job’ below. You are required to submit a CV and a supporting statement. Your supporting statement should include responses to the 'About You' points outlined in the Job Description of no more than 350 words each. Please provide specific examples following the STAR format and ensure you demonstrate how you address the behaviour below throughout your responses:
- We prioritise diversity and have an inclusive and open mindset
Any applications submitted without a supporting statement will not be considered.
Safeguarding Statement
Safeguarding is everyone's business. Shelter is committed to protecting the health, wellbeing and human rights of those we support, and enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect. All our staff will be expected to observe professional standards of behaviour and conduct their work in line with our Safeguarding Policies.
Shelter does not accept unsolicited CVs from external recruitment agencies nor accept the fees associated with them.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Harris Hill are delighted to be working with a national charity to recruit for a Legacy Administration Manager in order to manage and administer legacy gifts. This is a pivotal role, ensuring legacy income is maximised, accurately recorded and received in a timely, compliant manner, while always honouring the wishes of legators with sensitivity and care.
Working with a high level of autonomy, you will oversee the legacy administration process end to end, building strong relationships with executors, solicitors and co-beneficiaries, and working closely with internal fundraising, finance and data teams. You will also play a key role in identifying and managing risk, resolving complex cases and maintaining best practice processes.
As a Legacy Administration Manager you will:
- Manage the full legacy administration process, from notification through to receipt of income
- Create and maintain accurate digital and physical legacy records
- Respond sensitively and promptly to all legacy related correspondence
- Review and approve estate accounts, questioning anomalies where appropriate
- Liaise with executors, solicitors and co-beneficiaries to progress estates and protect the charity’s entitlement
- Identify, escalate and help resolve complex, contentious or high-risk cases, working with legal advisers as needed
- Support and advise lay executors when required
- Follow up stalled or inactive cases to ensure progress
- Maintain and improve legacy administration policies, processes and compliance with relevant legislation and best practice
- Ensure all work is carried out sensitively and in line with GDPR
- Produce reports for Directors and Trustees on the legacy pipeline and contentious cases
- Work collaboratively with fundraising, finance and supporter data teams
- Provide cover for the Legacy and In Memory Manager and support legacy related communications and events
To be successful, you must have experience:
- Proven experience of managing legacy gifts and estate administration
- Working knowledge of wills, probate, trusts and relevant charity law
- Awareness of inheritance tax, capital gains tax and related regulations
- Experience reviewing estate accounts and identifying issues or anomalies
- Strong organisational skills with excellent attention to detail
- Ability to manage your own workload and progress cases proactively
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with a sensitive and empathetic approach
- Confidence assessing reputational, financial and legal risk
- Competence in MS Office (Outlook, Word, Excel) and CRM or legacy management systems
- A high level of discretion and respect for confidentiality
Desirable:
- Experience working within a charity
- Certificate in Charity Legacy Administration (CiCLA), Institute of Legacy Management qualification, or equivalent experience (e.g. legal, paralegal or private practice estate administration)
Salary: £35,000 – £38,000 per annum
Location: Rochester City Airport
Contract: Permanent , hybrid working 2-3 days in the office
Closing date: Friday 23rd January at 8am
Interview: TBC
Recruitment process: Cv and Supporting Statement to
If this sounds like you, then please do get in touch ASAP!
As leading charity recruitment specialists and a certified B Corp™, Harris Hill is committed to high and ever-improving standards of equitable and inclusive recruitment. We actively welcome applications from all sections of the community regardless of age, disability, gender, race, religion, sexuality and other protected characteristics.