Closing Date: 24 March 2024

Contract: Permanent – Job share

Hours: 21 hours per week

Location: Any centre – London, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Newcastle

Starting Salary: 

• London – £66,461 – £77,095 per annum including London Weighting (21 hours £39,876 – £46,257)
• Outside London £62,446 – £72,437 per annum (21 hours £37,467 – £43,462)

Expected Date of Interviews: w/c 8 or 15 April 2024

Job Ref: VA686

​Apply here – Job Openings (peoplehr.net)

Freedom from Torture is dedicated to healing and protecting people who have survived torture. We provide therapies to improve physical and mental health, we medically document torture, we provide health assessments and liaise with GPs, and we provide legal and welfare help. We expose torture globally, we fight to hold torturing states to account and we campaign for fairer treatment of torture survivors in the UK.

We campaign for national and global change, using evidence from our services and survivor voices to protect and promote survivors’ rights and hold torturing states to account. We are proud to play a significant role in the global anti-torture movement. Survivors, active and empowered, are at the centre of all of our work.

Freedom from Torture was delighted to win the Overall Award for Excellence at the 2023 Charity Awards.
The role will be based on a job share with a highly experienced senior medical Doctor. The working pattern will be agreed, but will need to include a Tuesday.

Medico-Legal Report Service

We have an exciting opportunity for a qualified solicitor or barrister to lead and develop our ever-expanding Medico-Legal Reports Service.

Our MLR service assists men, women and children who have survived the physical and psychological trauma of torture. Our specialist and highly trained doctors provide independent evidence of torture for survivors seeking protection in the UK.

We develop and deliver training on the forensic examination of the effects of torture to health care professionals both internally and externally and provide external legal training “Proving Torture” – the use of medical evidence in protection claims.

Our evidence-base is used to support strategic opportunities for change and research.
We currently comprise of a team of 4 Lead Doctors, approximately 65 salaried, contractor and volunteer doctors, 3 Senior Legal Officers, a team of legal contractors and volunteers, a data analyst/ researcher and a team of administrators.

About the Role

Working with your job share partner you will be responsible for developing the strategic direction of the MLR service, ensuring the efficient production of excellent high-quality reports and, providing compassionate leadership to the large and multidisciplinary team, with shared management responsibility including cover for job share partner for 4 Lead Doctors, 3 Senior Legal Officers, Researcher and Administration Manager which will be shared with your job share partner.

With the ever-shifting legal and socio-political landscape you will be responsible for devising and implementing new forms of medical evidence to meet the needs of our clients and advising the Senior Management Team on the impact of legislative and policy changes for survivors of torture.

You will contribute to decisions relating to strategic litigation, alongside the Head of our Legal and Welfare Service and Policy and Advocacy Team. You will be responsible for identifying and developing research opportunities, both legal and clinical. In addition, you will be responsible for devising and delivering internal and external training.

​About You

​To be considered for this role, you will be a qualified solicitor or barrister with a practising certificate from either the Law Society of England and Wales, the Bar Council, the Law Society of Scotland or the Faculty of Advocates.
You will have up to date knowledge and experience of the law, policy and practice of the asylum system in the UK.
You will have excellent leadership skills, together with experience of managing and leading teams across multiple sites and through change.

For further details of the Job Description, please visit our website.

We offer a competitive package, with a generous 30-day (pro rata) annual leave entitlement, 6% employer pension contribution (minimum 1% employee contribution), and flexible working opportunities.

Freedom from Torture is committed to showing the salary for all advertised roles and not negotiating salaries for roles, in light of evidence that this contributes to structural inequality.

Our policy is that all appointments will start at the bottom of the salary range, successful candidates will have the opportunity to move up the scale over time. The progression up the salary range is reviewed on an annual basis and subject to affordability.

For this role, the salary range is London – £66,461 – £77,095 pro rata per annum including London Weighting and outside London is £62,446 – £72,437 pro rata per annum

Please note a CV and a cover letter addressing the job description and person specification of the role are mandatory to be considered for the position.

Freedom from Torture is committed to its responsibilities under safeguarding, and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This post is subject to an Enhanced DBS disclosure, as well as a need for full employment history and up to date employment references.

Freedom from Torture is an equal opportunity employer. People with lived experience of torture or asylum, from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, LGBTQIA+ individuals and people with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications.

No agencies please.