Paralegal jobs

Summary

Join Our Legal Office

The Legal Office is the in-house provider of legal services to the national policy-making and governance institutions of the Church of England (the National Church Institutions, "NCIs"), which are some of the largest charities in the UK (including statutory corporations and a Royal Charter corporation), the largest of which are the Archbishops' Council, a national policy and strategic decision-making body, the Church Commissioners, a substantial endowment fund with assets valued at £11.1bn (2024) which has positioned itself at the forefront of Responsible Investment and which supports the mission of the Church, and the Church of England Pensions Board which stewards a £3.4bn fund. The Legal Office also advises the General Synod, which is a legislative assembly which makes primary and secondary legislation subject to the approval of Parliament.

We are a small, inclusive team which will comprise 17 legally qualified staff, with three paralegals and two support staff. Our professional backgrounds are diverse, with members coming to us from private practice in law firms, the Bar, from government, and from regulators.

Our work is firmly values led and requires the provision of advice on diverse and intellectually stimulating points of law at the intersection of public and private law. The work is high quality, groundbreaking, engaging, and rewarding. We are a collegiate and supportive team, and we are proud of the work we do.

The team works on a hybrid basis. Most team members work 1 - 2 days per week in the office depending on business need. You will need to be available in person for some items of committee and legislative business including two weeks each year for the sittings of the General Synod for which plenty of notice will be given.

About the role

As a member of the Legal Office Advisory Team, you will be providing legal services to the National Institutions of the Church of England, focused on giving legal advice across a diverse and interesting range of subjects which bear on the operations of the Church Commissioners and other parts of the national Church of England.

You will be joining us at an exciting time for the organisation and the role will offer you the opportunity for genuine career growth and development in a supportive environment, including interaction with some of the most senior stakeholders in the organisation. You will be able to take a leading and meaningful role in existing and new projects.

You will also be a member of the Legal Office's advisory team, undertaking as appropriate a wider range of duties as a legal adviser within the National Church Institutions.

In this role you will:

• Working with senior colleagues and stakeholders to provide advice to the Church Commissioners, Archbishops' Council, and Church of England Pensions Board, their committees and departments on legal and procedural issues including constitutional and governance matters, legal powers, and statutory interpretation.
• Working with colleagues to support the work of the Church of England's legislative and deliberative assembly, the General Synod, including the passage of legislation.
• Supporting senior colleagues and stakeholders to support the work of a national board level committee which adjudicates on proposals for the re-organisation of the Church of England and the future of its historic and unique buildings (similar in nature to a planning committee), including advising on legal questions, drafting statements of reasons, and appeals.
• Supporting senior colleagues and stakeholders to support the Church Commissioners' co-regulation of cathedrals along with the Charity Commission.
• Working with stakeholders and senior colleagues to support several national change management programmes including the establishment of a national redress scheme
• Supporting the development and roll out of training and knowledge management across the national Church of England.

Key role requirements

• The team works on a hybrid basis. Most team members work 1 - 2 days per week in the office depending on business need. You will need to be available in person for some items of committee and legislative business including two weeks each year for the sittings of the General Synod for which plenty of notice will be given.

About You

To be successful in this role, you will need to have/be:

• Qualified barrister or solicitor (England & Wales)
• Strong experience in your chosen area (contracts, commercial, or advisory)
• Excellent communication and drafting skills
• Ability to provide clear, pragmatic advice on complex issues

• A salary of circa £73,000 per annum, plus age-related pension contributions between 8-15% of salary. We will also match any pension contributions you make up to an additional 3% of your salary.

• 25 days annual leave (increasing to 30 days within 5 years) plus eight bank holidays and three additional days (pro-rated if working part-time).
• We welcome all flexible working arrangement requests. This is looked at in a case-by-case scenario and if this fits within the department's needs. We try to be as flexible as we can in your work pattern to support you with other commitments, and to give a good work-life balance.
• We offer many services and initiatives under our Family Friendly Programme, some of these include enhanced Maternity Leave initiative, Adoption Leave, Paternity Leave, & Shared Parental Leave. Structured induction programme and access to a range of development opportunities including apprenticeships.
• Automatic enrolment and access to Medicash (one of the UK's leading health cash plan providers), providing you with many services including reimbursements of routine dental treatment, optical, specialist consultations, and therapy treatments. Unlimited access to virtual GP & Private prescription service and health & Stress related helplines.
• Access to Occupational Health, and an Employee Assistance Programme 
• Access to the Department of Education Restaurant and Westminster Abbey with a plus-one guest.
• Apply for eligibility for an Eyecare voucher.
• Opportunity to join the Civil Service Sports & Social Club, and get involved in a range of staff networks, groups and societies.

• Strive for Excellence
• Show Compassion
• Respect others
• Collaborate
• Act with Integrity

Summary

Join Our Legal Office

The Legal Office is the in-house provider of legal services to the national policy-making and governance institutions of the Church of England (the National Church Institutions, "NCIs"), which are some of the largest charities in the UK (including statutory corporations and a Royal Charter corporation), the largest of which are the Archbishops' Council, a national policy and strategic decision-making body, the Church Commissioners, a substantial endowment fund with assets valued at £11.1bn (2024) which has positioned itself at the forefront of Responsible Investment and which supports the mission of the Church, and the Church of England Pensions Board which stewards a £3.4bn fund. The Legal Office also advises the General Synod, which is a legislative assembly which makes primary and secondary legislation subject to the approval of Parliament.

We are a small, inclusive team which will comprise 17 legally qualified staff, with three paralegals and two support staff. Our professional backgrounds are diverse, with members coming to us from private practice in law firms, the Bar, from government, and from regulators.

Our work is firmly values led and requires the provision of advice on diverse and intellectually stimulating points of law at the intersection of public and private law. The work is high quality, groundbreaking, engaging, and rewarding. We are a collegiate and supportive team, and we are proud of the work we do.

About the role

As a member of the Legal Office Advisory Team, you will be providing legal services to the National Institutions of the Church of England, focused on giving legal advice across a diverse and interesting range of subjects which bear on the operations of the Church Commissioners and other parts of the national Church of England.

You will be joining us at an exciting time for the organisation and the role will offer you the opportunity for genuine career growth and development in a supportive environment, including interaction with some of the most senior stakeholders in the organisation. You will be able to take a leading and meaningful role in existing and new projects.

You will also be a member of the Legal Office's advisory team, undertaking as appropriate a wider range of duties as a legal adviser within the National Church Institutions.

This role will include:

• Working with senior counsel and other stakeholders in relation to drafting and reviewing contracts (including grant agreements), and supporting effective legal compliance and due diligence.
• Providing timely, legally sound and pragmatic subject matter expertise into national projects including contractual risk reviews, and drafting and amending terms, and negotiating terms with counterparties (both standard and bespoke).
• Supporting the development and roll out of training and knowledge management in connection with contracts and other areas of professional practice.
• Provision of advice to the Church Commissioners, the Archbishops' Council, the Church of England Pensions Board, their boards, committees and staff on legal and procedural issues arising out of their work. Some of these activities are legislative or regulatory in nature.
  

Key role requirements

• This role requires hybrid working with some regular weekly travel to London

About You

The Church of England is for everyone and we want to reflect the diversity of the community the Church serves across the whole country. Therefore, while of course we welcome all applications from interested and suitably experienced people, we would particularly welcome applicants from UK Minoritised Ethnicities (UKME)/Global Majority Heritage (GMH) and other under-represented groups. As a Disability Confident employer, we are committed to recruiting disabled people. We offer interviews to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for the role.

To be successful in this role, you will need to have/be:

• Qualified barrister or solicitor (England & Wales)
• Strong experience in your chosen area (contracts, commercial, or advisory)
• Excellent communication and drafting skills
• Ability to provide clear, pragmatic advice on complex issues

• A salary of circa £73,000 per annum, plus age-related pension contributions between 8-15% of salary. We will also match any pension contributions you make up to an additional 3% of your salary.

• 25 days annual leave (increasing to 30 days within 5 years) plus eight bank holidays and three additional days (pro-rated if working part-time).
• We welcome all flexible working arrangement requests. This is looked at in a case-by-case scenario and if this fits within the department's needs. We try to be as flexible as we can in your work pattern to support you with other commitments, and to give a good work-life balance.
• We offer many services and initiatives under our Family Friendly Programme, some of these include enhanced Maternity Leave initiative, Adoption Leave, Paternity Leave, & Shared Parental Leave. Structured induction programme and access to a range of development opportunities including apprenticeships.
• Automatic enrolment and access to Medicash (one of the UK's leading health cash plan providers), providing you with many services including reimbursements of routine dental treatment, optical, specialist consultations, and therapy treatments. Unlimited access to virtual GP & Private prescription service and health & Stress related helplines.
• Access to Occupational Health, and an Employee Assistance Programme 
• Access to the Department of Education Restaurant and Westminster Abbey with a plus-one guest.
• Apply for eligibility for an Eyecare voucher.
• Opportunity to join the Civil Service Sports & Social Club, and get involved in a range of staff networks, groups and societies.

• Strive for Excellence
• Show Compassion
• Respect others
• Collaborate
• Act with Integrity

Job Title - Community Care Paralegal - Legal Practice Unit (Colchester)

Contract - Permanent

Hours - Part time, 28 hours per week (4 days - Ideally 3 full days and 2 half days) [Potential to increase to 5 days following training and gained experience]

Salary - £23,000 - £24,000 (pro rata and depending on experience)

Location - Colchester, CO3 3DA

About Coram

Coram is committed to improving the lives of the UK’s most vulnerable children and young people.

We support children and young people from birth to independence, creating a change that lasts a lifetime.

Coram is the UK’s oldest children’s charity founded by Thomas Coram in London helping vulnerable children and young people since 1739. Today, the Coram group helps more than one million children, young people, families and professionals every year by providing access to the skills and opportunities they need to thrive.

One of the members of the Coram group, Coram Children’s Legal Centre (CCLC) is the UK’s specialist centre for children’s rights in education, immigration, community care and family law, and provides significant international legal systems consultancy. The centre is located on the Coram Campus in central London with a second office in Colchester. We champion access to justice through information and advice, legal practice and representation, policy and strategic litigation.Our Legal Practice Unit provides advice and representation primarily under legal aid contract.

Our Colchester office also houses The Child Law Advice Service which provides free legal information and advice on family and education law. The office is close to the town centre which enables close working with nearby agencies, and has easy access to two mainline train stations.

About the role

We are recruiting a paralegal to join CCLC’s friendly and committed Community Care team and work with a small but dedicated team of experienced solicitors.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone with a keen interest in upholding the rights of vulnerable children and young people who is seeking to progress their legal aid career in the charity sector. Our lawyers benefit from a good work-life balance and realistic financial and chargeable hour targets. We advise children and young people up to the age of 25, and families, on a wide range of community care and public law issues. After training, the role can be split between working from home/office-based with flexibility as to the balance between the two, dependent on team requirements.

Our community care team works closely with colleagues in the Immigration and Family teams, as well as with other organisations within the Coram group, including Coram Voice and the Migrant Children’s Project. The successful applicant will be able to demonstrate a passion and commitment to upholding the rights of vulnerable children and young people.

As well as conducting casework for individuals, our community care team undertakes strategic litigation for the wider benefit of children, young people and families, and is actively involved in policy issues impacting our client base.

Flexible working arrangements will be considered subject to operational needs.

For further information on CCLC please our website.

To apply for this role, please click on the 'apply now' button below to complete the application. Please note, we will be interviewing as applications come in so please apply as soon as possible. The closing date could be extended until we find the right candidate.

Closing Date: 2nd February 2026 at midnight

Interview Date: W/c 9th February 2026

Coram is an equal opportunities employer and we believe a diverse workforce enables us to improve the services to the children and families we help. We are genuinely committed to encouraging candidates from all sections of the community we seek to support. This includes those from global majority ethnic backgrounds, those that identify as LGBQT+, those with disabilities, those with lived experience of care, those with neuro-diversity, and those from other groups who are underrepresented at Coram.

If applicants feel comfortable, we would encourage them to draw on lived experience as well as professional experience in their personal statement as part of their application.

We are committed to the safeguarding of children and where appropriate will require the successful applicant to undertake a check from the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Registered Charity No. 312278.

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.