Pro Bono Administrator and Paralegal Apprentice

UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM

West Midlands (B15 2TT)

Closes in 15 days (Sunday 30 March)

Posted on 25 February 2025


Summary

This is an exciting opportunity to join Birmingham Law School in the role of Pro Bono Administrator and Paralegal Apprentice. This role supports the administration of our pro bono activity, working closely with academic staff and participating students.

Wage
£20,693 a year

Minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)

Salary rises to £25,866. per annum after 12 months service.

Training course
Paralegal (level 3)
Hours
Monday - Friday, 9.00am - 5.00pm.

36 hours a week

Possible start date

Friday 1 August

Duration

2 years

Positions available

1

Work

Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.

What you’ll do at work

You will learn to provide a wide range of support to the running of the Pro Bono Group (“PBG”) and student members of the Pro Bono Group, including active participation in some of the training and delivery of pro bono projects, by carrying out the following tasks:

Advice Clinics:

  • Administering the operation of the advice clinics
  • Overseeing the continual progression of client cases
  • Ensuring that parties are communicated with and updated at every stage of their enquiry
  • Appropriately allocating client cases to students
  • Ensuring that all enquiries are responded to, referring any to the supervising solicitor as appropriate, and that deadlines are being met
  • Managing a calendar of client appointments, ensuring the calendar is kept up to date, that all parties are informed of client appointments and arranging for appointments to be held virtually where necessary
  • Attending the clinic, as required, to ensure its smooth running
  • Once sufficiently trained and experiences, acting under supervision on client cases by preparing for and interviewing clients, researching legal queries and drafting letters of advice
  • Assisting with training the students on topics such as client handling skills, drafting and interviewing
  • Preparing and organising the CEPLER office so that clinical work can be carried out effectively and efficiently
  • Assisting with the preparation and compilation of student handbooks and other training materials

Public Legal Education (“PLE”)

  • Assisting with and contributing to the design, research and delivery of PLE sessions
  • Supporting with the arranging of sessions with external parties
  • Supporting with the delivery of the student training and briefing sessions for the respective PLE project, and when sufficiently experienced and trained, to deliver the same
  • Coordination of and participation in research on topical legal issues and preparation of policy statements, position papers, reports and recommendations

In General:

  • Contribute to planning the most efficient/effective means to administer and deliver pro bono projects and maximise student learning and development opportunities
  • Supporting the College of Arts and Law in the collation of documents and information relating to freedom of information or Subject Access Requests

Where you’ll work

Edgbaston
Birmingham
West Midlands
B15 2TT

Training

Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.

College or training organisation

BPP UNIVERSITY LIMITED

Your training course

Paralegal (level 3)

Equal to A level

Course contents
  • assist in administering procedures using most effective channels to progress caseloads.
  • conduct legal research using selected sources such as legal databases.
  • solve legal technical problems within their remit and escalating as needed.
  • present findings from legal research in line with organisational expectations.
  • assist in applying the principles of Law to stakeholder cases.
  • assist with legal matters and transactions within the organisation.
  • communicate using plain English to provide clarification and explanation of the legal process and standard legal terms.
  • organise and administer workflow such as legal files, case management and accounting systems to progress work within service level expectations.
  • carry out file management activities such as prepare and collate bundles, take and file accurate notes, close and review files, maintain databases and version control.
  • use a range of digital tools and technologies, for example to draft legal documents, conduct legal research, carry out data analysis and collaborate with others.
  • apply fraud protection measures and cyber security procedures in relation to transactions, keeping up to date with approaches.
  • undertake activities to ensure a clear picture of a stakeholder’s needs and risks throughout legal transactions.
  • assess risks and benefits to the stakeholder of different options and making recommendations to senior team members to ensure that they work in the stakeholders’ best interests.
  • assist in administering procedures using most effective channels to progress caseloads.
  • conduct legal research using selected sources such as legal databases.
  • solve legal technical problems within their remit and escalating as needed.
  • present findings from legal research in line with organisational expectations.
  • assist in applying the principles of Law to stakeholder cases.
  • assist with legal matters and transactions within the organisation.
  • communicate using plain English to provide clarification and explanation of the legal process and standard legal terms.
  • organise and administer workflow such as legal files, case management and accounting systems to progress work within service level expectations.
  • carry out file management activities such as prepare and collate bundles, take and file accurate notes, close and review files, maintain databases and version control.
  • use a range of digital tools and technologies, for example to draft legal documents, conduct legal research, carry out data analysis and collaborate with others.
  • apply fraud protection measures and cyber security procedures in relation to transactions, keeping up to date with approaches.
  • undertake activities to ensure a clear picture of a stakeholder’s needs and risks throughout legal transactions.
  • assess risks and benefits to the stakeholder of different options and making recommendations to senior team members to ensure that they work in the stakeholders’ best interests.

Your training plan

  • Paralegal Level 3 Apprenticeship Standard
  • Online live teaching and performance coaching, professional workshops and work based projects with our training provider BPP

Requirements

Essential qualifications

GCSE in:

  • English (grade C or above (4-9))
  • Mathematics (grade C or above (4-9))

A Level in:

  • Any relevant (grade ABB or above, or equivalent)

Let the company know about other relevant qualifications and industry experience you have. They can adjust the apprenticeship to reflect what you already know.

Skills

  • Communication skills
  • IT skills
  • Attention to detail
  • Organisation skills
  • Customer care skills
  • Problem solving skills
  • Administrative skills
  • Analytical skills
  • Logical
  • Team working
  • Initiative
  • Non judgemental
  • Patience

About this company

A world top 100 university and part of the prestigious Russell Group, the University of Birmingham makes important things happen. Delivering groundbreaking research and excellent research led teaching. People are at the heart of what we are and do. The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university. We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success. We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential. With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide-range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University. We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate. We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work. Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working. In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries. The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site. On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum, and botanical gardens.

https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/jobs/apprenticeships (opens in new tab)

Company benefits

40 days paid holiday.

Disability Confident

Disability Confident

A fair proportion of interviews for this apprenticeship will be offered to applicants with a disability or long-term health condition. This includes non-visible disabilities and conditions.

You can choose to be considered for an interview under the Disability Confident scheme. You’ll need to meet the essential requirements to be considered for an interview.

After this apprenticeship

  • Paralegal / other legal roles externally or a wide range of administration roles at the University

Ask a question

The contact for this apprenticeship is:

BPP UNIVERSITY LIMITED

apprenticeships@contacts.bham.ac.uk

The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC1000305864.

Apply now

Closes in 15 days (Sunday 30 March)

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After signing in, you’ll apply for this apprenticeship on the company's website.

Company’s application instructions

Please complete our online application form and upload a CV.