Dear Applicant,
Re:Lambeth Law Centre - Director
Thank you for your interest in this post.
Lambeth Law Centre is a respected and progressive voice in Legal Services and is seeking to enhance its strength and profile by increasing its capacity.
I am pleased to enclose:
- The Application Form & Monitoring Form
- The Job Description and Person Specification
- Guidelines for Applicants
- Background information on the Law Centre
- Lambeth Law Centre’s Annual Report 2009
The closing date for receipt of applications is 5pm on Monday 26th July, short listing and interviews will take place shortly after.
Yours faithfully
Lambeth Law Centre
Enc.
Background on Lambeth Law Centre
Lambeth is one of the poorest boroughs in London. The Law Centre deals with a wide range of clients from this ethnically diverse community. We specialise in areas of social welfare law covering housing, immigration, employment, welfare rights and debt.
Lambeth Law Centre has been in existence since 1981. The Law Centre started as North Lambeth Law Centre and changed its name to Lambeth Law Centre in 2000 following the closure of the two other Law Centres. Lambeth Law Centre now provides a free legal advice and representation service at a specialist level to people living or working in Lambeth and the surrounding area, with priority to those from Lambeth.
In 2006 the Law Centre appointed its first director. The organisation has changed form a collective to a hierarchy. In September 2007 The Law Centre moved to bigger and better premises at the Co-op Centre Mowll Street. These offices were opened by the Attorney General on 2nd October2007.
Management of the Law Centre:
The Board of Directors (Management Committee) has overall responsibility for the direction and running of the Centre. Day to day running of the Centre is delegated to the Director and Senior Solicitor.
Funding:
We are currently funded by Lambeth Council, Legal Services Commission, London Councils, Capitalise, partnership funding with Southwark, South West London and Streetwise Law Centres in London Councils and Equality and Human Rights Commission projects, City Parochial Foundation, as well as cost income. Our largest funder is the Legal Services Commission and we were successfully re-audited in 2009. We have bid for new contracts in the current LSC tenders and are leading a consortium to provide social welfare law in Lambeth. We are currently leading a further consortium of agencies in Lambeth to provide outreach debt advice. Current turnover is in the region of £900,000.
Staffing:
With the exclusion of the Director, the Law Centre currently employs 18 staff, 14 of which are caseworkers either full-time or part-time. Half of the posts are funded through project funding.
About the job
Director:
The Law Centre’s current director is leaving the Law Centre after 4 years in the post and 12 years at the Law Centre. The new post holder should continue to drive the progress of the Law Centre, by providing strategic leadership and through securing further funding to expand our services and to develop the19 strong team. The Law Centre will celebrate its 30th year in 2011.
Location of the Law Centre
The Law Centre is located in the Co-op Centre on Mowll Street off Brixton Road and is less than a 10-minute walk from Oval tube station.
GUIDANCE FOR JOB APPLICANTS
GUIDANCE FOR JOB APPLICANTS
Please read these notes carefully before filling in your application form, as the decision to shortlist for interview will be based solely on the information provided on the application form.
General Guidelines
- Give only information, which is relevant to the post.
- Complete all sections of the form. You will need to do this in order to be fairly compared to other candidates. All information given is treated as confidential.
- Complete a rough draft first. This avoids mistakes and untidiness and enables you to organise and review the information you put on the form.
- Get feedback from other people and make sure you give examples, which demonstrate your ability to do the job.
- Complete the form in type, word processor, black ballpoint or ink.
Selection Criteria – The Person Specification
The skills, experience and qualification described in the Person Specification are the criteria against which you will be assessed and short-listed. Make sure you have covered each section of the Person Specification in your application form.
Employment
When completing this section include relevant part time work or work taken on a voluntary basis. Outlining your previous work experiences or other responsibilities.
May help you to uncover relevant skills, which are clear signs of your ability to do the job.
Further Information
In section four of the application form you should try to show how you are able to do the job. Rather than simply repeating your career history, look at the skills and experience required for the job and provides evidence that you possess them. Concentrate on the things you know and what you can do rather than on what other people in your group or workplace can do.
References
Where possible at least one of your referees should be a previous employer; either you’re present or most recent employer. If you have not previously been employed, or have not worked for some time, give the name of someone who knows you sufficiently well to confirm the information given and who can comment on your ability to do the job. (You must not provide a relative or partner’s name as a referee).
Monitoring Information
This section is included in order to monitor the effectiveness of the ASAP’s Equal Opportunities Policy, which aims to ensure that all applicants are treated fairly. All information is treated in confidence and used only for statistical monitoring.
The monitoring section of the application form is not used as part of the selection process. Consequently, if for example you have a disability, and this is an item in the person specification, do also mention it in the main part of your application form.
Finally – take a copy of the form and keep it to remind yourself of what you have said if you are called for an interview. Good Luck!