Chair

2 days per week

London and Birmingham

Legal services have never mattered more. In an increasingly uncertain world, people need all the help they can get and that means the way the legal sector works is changing. If you want to shape the future and make a real difference for people and businesses in England and Wales, chairing the Solicitors Regulation Authority is the opportunity you have been looking for.

We regulate the solicitor profession in England and Wales in the public interest, balancing public protection with regulatory arrangements that support an increasingly vibrant, diverse and competitive legal sector. With over 180,000 solicitors and some 10,500 law firms to oversee, we know that high professional standards are the priority. Our transformational reform programme and new Corporate Strategy build on those standards, as we work to open up the legal market to provide high quality, accessible, affordable services for all those who need them. Part of that is our commitment to changing how solicitors qualify, so that the public can have real confidence that the profession meets the standards that have to be at the heart of their practice. 

We have, of course, more to do to deliver modern, forward looking, customer centred regulation, fit for the future. Our Board is ambitious and that ambition is shared by our staff and senior executive.

Our first lay Chair, Enid Rowlands, is completing her final year with us, so we are looking for an exceptional new lay chair to take up post in January 2019.  As the Chair of the SRA you will have the vision to provide strong leadership and the appetite to build and maintain relationships with a diverse group of external stakeholders. 

Candidates will bring a track record of non-executive experience at Board level in an organisation of similar size and complexity to the SRA. You will be able to grasp the detail of what is a complex, fast-paced and dynamic sector and its regulation, bringing political acumen, excellent communication skills and diplomacy to any given scenario.  

If you enjoy both the opportunity and the challenge of change, we want to hear from you.

Saxton Bampfylde Ltd is acting as an employment agency advisor to the SRA on this appointment. For more information, including how to apply, please refer to the website of Saxton Bampfylde at www.saxbam.com/jobs using job reference QAFAQ.  Alternatively email Belinda.beck@saxbam.com or telephone +44 (0)20 7227 0880 (during office hours).  Applications should be received by noon on 24th May 2018.