Deputy Senior Ombudsman | Lawyer

About The Ombuds Group

The Ombuds Group is a nationally recognised, not-for-profit leader in the UK’s alternative dispute resolution (ADR) sector, providing independent and trusted services across regulated and non-regulated industries such as rail, retail, home improvement, utilities, TV and music licensing, football and removals. Its portfolio of brands is recognised by government, businesses, and consumers for trust, impartiality, and integrity. In addition to core dispute resolution services, The Ombuds Group offers specialist training and consultancy to help organisations improve complaint handling and raise internal standards. The organisation focuses on building long-term customer trust by promoting fair, transparent, and effective resolution processes.

• Sunday Times Best Place to Work 2025 and 2026

Benefits

• 4 Day week (full time)
• Best in class benefits
• Sunday Times Best Place to Work 2025 and 2026

Job Purpose

A solicitor with 3-5 years PQE (or equivalent), the Deputy Senior Ombudsman: Deputy Head of Casework provides technical leadership, oversight, and quality assurance across all schemes delivered by The Ombuds Group, as well as providing internal counsel. The postholder partners with the Head of Insight and Performance to ensure delivery of high-quality casework. The post holder deputises for the Senior Ombudsman when required and manages the Lead Ombudsman and Ombudsman Team.

Accountability

The Deputy Senior Ombudsman is accountable for:

• Ensuring high-quality, consistent, and well-reasoned case decisions
• Identifying and mitigating technical, quality and decision-making risks
• Managing casework teams and delivering 1-2-1s
• Managing ongoing competency frameworks and CPD programmes in conjunction with the Senior Ombudsman (also a qualified lawyer)
• Internal legal counsel on legal matters affecting the business, company secretariat, compliance and legal challenge/risk in conjunction with the Senior Ombudsman.

Key Responsibilities

1. Technical Expertise and Casework Oversight

• Maintain personal Continuing Professional Development (CPD) to ensure up-to-date legal and technical expertise.
• Provide authoritative technical advice on complex cases.
• Guide our team in sound reasoning, consistency and defensible decision‑making.
• Ensure correct interpretation and application of scheme rules, ADR regulations, relevant legislation and best practice.
• Act as a technical sounding board on sensitive or complex issues while preserving ombudsman independence.
• Provide technical advice and consultancy to scheme members to improve compliance and complaint‑handling standards.

2. Managing Mentoring and Capability Development

• Assist the Senior Ombudsman in the professional development and technical competence of ombudsmen and aspiring lawyers via SQE/QWE frameworks.
• Embed a culture of learning, reflection and continuous improvement across ombudsman functions.
• Identify capability gaps through analysis of case trends and implement targeted training and development initiatives.
• Ensure ombudsman teams maintain the knowledge and standards required to deliver fair, proportionate and compliant decisions.
• Evaluate CPD programmes with the Senior Ombudsman, ensuring alignment with organisational risk and priorities.
• Assist the Senior Ombudsman maintain the business’s CPD framework and register, ensuring audit readiness and compliance and ensuring professional memberships and accreditations are maintained and compliant.
• Lead in the allocation cases to the ombudsmen, to ensure a fair allocation of cases
• To assist the Senior Ombudsman or otherwise as required in the escalation for complaints about our service or decisions, and in resolving them against strict SLAs
• Be accountable for the accuracy and consistent delivery of our services
• Challenge the organisation’s approach to delivering services to ensure that the business consistently improves and evolves wherever possible
• Support ombudsmen in ensuring cases are completed in a timely and effective way against stringent SLAs
• Carry out regular 1-2-1s with ombudsmen and highlight any potential issues with the service or delivery to the Senior Ombudsman
• Carry out other reviews with ombudsmen as are from time to time required, such as probation reviews
• Support the business in all aspects of service delivery.

3. Quality Insight, Assurance and Complaint Handling

• Provide quality assurance activity across schemes, identifying trends, inconsistencies, and emerging risks.
• Provide structured feedback on decision quality and adherence to scheme rules.
• Develop and refine quality guidance, decision frameworks and technical resources.
• Review and determine complaints about the service, maintaining impartiality and transparency.
• Implement improvements arising from complaint trends and root cause analysis.
• Assist the Senior Ombudsman to provide reporting on complaint trends and quality insight to relevant Boards.

4. Governance and Compliance

• Assist the Senior Ombudsman in the identification, assessment and documentation of technical, reputational, regulatory and decision‑making risks.
• Escalate material risks to the Senior Ombudsman with clear analysis and recommended actions.
• Assist where required in the implementation of risk mitigation strategies and strengthen internal controls.
• Maintain robust, defensible decision‑making frameworks aligned to legal and regulatory standards.
• Assist with internal and external audit activity, including ADR accreditations and ISO27001 and ISO9001 compliance.
• Ensure accurate and timely regulatory reporting, including submissions to relevant accrediting bodies.

5. Data Protection Law and Regulation

• Act as the business’s Deputy Data Protection Lead.
• Manage data breaches, conduct Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs), and ensure compliance in conjunction with the Senior Ombudsman.
• Support in producing compliant responses to Data Subject Access Requests
• Stay abreast of regulation changes that may impact the business’s work

6. Stakeholder Engagement

• Represent the business in high‑level engagements with regulatory and accrediting bodies when required.
• Collaborate with members and external stakeholders to strengthen complaint‑handling frameworks.
• Conduct casework meetings with stakeholders to discuss decisions, trends and recommendations.
• Manage external relationships with relevant stakeholders.

7. In‑house Legal Counsel

• Provide in‑house advice and support to the business including governance and company secretariat, legal challenge and risk management in conjunction with the Senior Ombudsman.
• Oversee insurance requirements liaising with brokers.
• Report legal risk to the relevant Boards.

8. Training

• Support delivery of accredited training to members and stakeholders.
• Identify training needs through casework evaluation and deliver targeted interventions where appropriate.

Personal Attributes and Skills

• Extensive experience gained in law and dispute resolution procedures with demonstrable decision‑making skills gained in regulatory environments or via complex complaint investigation.
• Minimum 3-5 years’ post‑qualification experience as a solicitor, or equivalent, maintaining required professional accreditation and CPD.
• Strong understanding of ADR regulations, scheme rules and principles of fair and proportionate decision‑making.
• Commitment to developing subject matter expertise in Consumer Law.
• Ability to communicate complex legal and technical issues clearly and constructively.
• Strong judgement, risk awareness, and analytical capability.
• Experience managing, mentoring or coaching professionals in a regulated environment.
• High levels of integrity, impartiality, and attention to detail.

Salary and benefits

• Salary £50,000 - £55,000 per annum
• 4 day week (after successfully passing probation) plus generous holiday allowance.
• Best in class private medical health insurance, cash plan ane life assurance.

Closing date

28-08-2026