Director of Education (Bar Training)

The Council of the Inns of Court and the Inns of Court College of Advocacy

The Council of the Inns of Court (COIC) is a charity with the object of advancing education in the administration and practice of the law, including promoting high standards of advocacy. COIC advances this principally through the activities of the Inns of Court College of Advocacy (ICCA).

COIC seeks to promote:

• excellence in advocacy and professional knowledge;
• ethical practice and integrity;
• an accessible, diverse, and inclusive profession;
• a collaborative profession.

The ICCA delivers high quality, innovative and flexible academic and professional education and training by:

• Addressing the training needs of Bar students and practising members of the Bar throughout their career;
• Creating training and professional development resources, when the ICCA is best placed to do so effectively, for delivery by others in particular the Inns, Circuits and Specialist Bar Associations;
• Delivering training nationally and internationally where the ICCA is best placed to do so

The ICCA Bar Course

Since the BSB’s Bar Training reforms in 2019 allowed for a new regime of Bar training, the ICCA has delivered an exceptional Bar Course and has enrolled over 1,000 students. The aims of the course were to offer flexibility, widen accessibility, improve affordability and, importantly, to sustain high standards in the delivery of Bar training. All of these things have been achieved making the ICCA the most successful Bar Course in terms of student outcomes on Part One with exceptionally high pupillage success rates.

The ICCA course is a flexible and blended programme offering online education leading to the BSB centralised assessments (Part One), and a skills course which is face-to-face and based in the Inns on London (Part Two).

The ICCA seeks to appoint a new Director of Education to lead and manage the day-to-day delivery of the Part Two Bar Course. The newly appointed Director of Education will join the ICCA’s Senior Management Team (SMT).

The Role

The ICCA seeks to appoint an outstanding individual to the important role of Director of Education whose primary focus will be education, leadership, strategy, and regulation. 

Key Responsibilities:

Reporting to the Dean, the following sets out the key requirements of the role:

• Education, policy, standards and compliance
• External accountability (inspection, validation, registration and regulatory oversight)
• Course management, and curriculum oversight
• Leadership of the education provision of the ICCA

Education, policy, standards, compliance, and external accountability:

• Be familiar with the detailed BSB curriculum which is developed and mapped to the BSB’s Professional Statement, Authorisation Framework and other relevant regulatory and policy requirements;
• Be cognisant of the ICCA’s strategic priorities, policy and procedures and forthcoming developments so as to cascade them down to academic staff for wider organisational good;
• Understand the marketplace including undergraduate needs and aspirations, and competitor endeavours, with a view to differentiating the offer of the ICCA and maintaining high standards of education and outcomes;
• Be familiar with regulatory demands and expectations and conditions of registration;
• Investigate problems raised by students or staff and give advice on general matters relating to the course in line with ICCA policies;
• Communicate to team members about change initiatives and give feedback from the team on behalf of the course;
• Provide teaching and assessment on the Part Two Course;
• Innovate in order to develop strong relationships between students and tutors;
• Be the one of the spokespeople for the ICCA’s Bar Course and maintain relationships with external bodies, and professional, statutory and regulatory bodies;
• Contribute to appropriate operational, quality assurance and programme management protocols;
• Ensure that all External Examiner recommendations are acted upon and issues reported to the Dean and relevant stakeholders.

Course management, curriculum oversight and leadership:

• Ensure that the Bar Course is delivered in line with programme specification and regulations;
• Discuss proposed resource requirements for the course with the Dean and the Director of Operations to ensure the course is delivered within agreed resourcing parameters by high quality teaching staff;
• Oversee student complaints, notification of any extenuating or mitigating circumstances and academic irregularity processes in line with ICCA policies and procedures.
• Address and resolve issues relating to the quality of course delivery, student satisfaction, student progress and retention as they arise;
• Liaise effectively and work in a professional manner with all members of the SMT, the academic course team, administrative and any technical staff to ensure synergy of provision and non-siloed working practices;
• Liaise effectively and diplomatically with a wide range of internal colleagues and external stakeholders and organisations;
• Provide routine and ad hoc reports and updates and contribute towards written proposals and liaising directly with contractors, service providers, our academic partner and other significant key stake holders.
• Organise and chair the SSLC and follow up on any action points arising.
• Assist with the management of the ICCA Advocacy Committee, Extra-curricular events programme and mooting endeavours;
• Assist other members of the COIC team with the design, development and review of any ICCA content and materials as necessary;
• Work with academic team members to plan and create an Annual Assessment and Feedback Plan for the course;
• Attend the regular Board of Examiners to present student results and prepare and submit any requisite reports;
• Oversee the delivery of course induction, welcome events and student transition activities, working with relevant academic and operations colleagues;
• Oversee the election of student ambassadors and mentors; liaise with them regularly to ensure they are supported;
• Working with Registry staff, provide students with academic support, including any specific issues related to students with disabilities, international students, or mature student;
• Refer pastoral care issues to appropriate specialist sources of guidance and support where appropriate and in accordance with ICCA policies;
• With relevant colleagues, ensure academic support is provided to students where progress or attendance is giving cause for concern;
• Ensure students are made aware of key procedures such as Notification of Extenuating Circumstances, Academic Appeals and Academic Misconduct, and contribute to the handling of academic appeals and academic misconduct issues;
• Support students by supplying references and arranging any appropriate alumni activities.

Person Specification:

• A demonstrable track-record of leadership, teaching and design in legal education;
• Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to forge relationships with people across all levels of the organisation, and understand the needs of a variety of stakeholders;
• Exceptional communication skills, judgement, and the ability to think strategically;
• A flexible approach, including the willingness to attend some evening meetings and make contributions to the ICCA’s non-Bar Course activities and training materials;
• Experience of delivering training, assessing and supporting learners on the Bar Course, or other comparable legal education programmes;
• A knowledge of the governance structures, curriculum authorities and assessment methodologies to support all aspects of Bar training;
• A proven commitment and passion for helping individuals excel in all aspects of training for the Bar;
• A keen awareness of the synergy between key stakeholders within the legal profession;
• Ability to work with initiative and the confidence to act decisively within agreed limits;
• Commitment to working as a member of a collegiate team, learning from others and sharing expertise and best practice.

The Contract

COIC is seeking to appoint the Director of Education on a full-time basis. There will be a six-month probationary period.

• 25 days paid holiday plus bank holidays and 10 days discretionary leave during Inns’ Christmas closure
• Death in Service Benefit
• 15% Defined Pension Contribution by the employer (after 3 months)
• Private Health Insurance (after completion of probation)

Location: The ICCA offices are situated at 14 South Square, Gray’s Inn, WC1R 5JJ, London.

COIC values equality and diversity and is committed to ensuring its processes and procedures are fair, transparent and free from unlawful discrimination.

Please visit the ICCA website (via the ‘Apply’ button above) for a full job description and details of how to apply.