Legal services have never mattered more. In an increasingly uncertain world, people need all the help they can get and that means the way the legal sector works is changing. If you want to help to shape the future and make a real difference for people and businesses in England and Wales, becoming a Board member of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is the opportunity you have been looking for.

The SRA regulates the solicitor profession in England and Wales in the public interest, balancing public protection with regulatory arrangements that support an increasingly open, diverse, and competitive legal sector. With more than 210,000 solicitors and some 10,000 law firms to oversee, high professional standards are the priority. As the SRA enters its third and final year of its Corporate Strategy it is looking ahead to what comes next for the legal sector, ensuring it and the sector can respond effectively to economic, societal and political change, and working to maximise the benefits innovation and technology can bring for consumers and law firms.

The SRA is looking to appoint two new Board members from a lay background, to join the SRA Board and contribute to setting its strategic direction. All new Board directors should have previous experience of working with a Board or ability to do so, a track record of achievement in complex organisations, and the ability to think strategically. They will also bring excellent communication skills and judgement, and a demonstrable commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. The SRA is particularly interested in individuals with at least one of the following:

• Regulatory, competition and/or consumer protection expertise; or
• Someone who has the understanding and experience to enable them to take on the Chair of our Audit and Risk Committee (ARC), preferably with an appropriate financial qualification, when the present Chair leaves the Board at the end of 2023. This should include experience of attending at ARCs or similar.

Saxton Bampfylde Ltd is acting as an employment agency advisor to the Solicitors Regulation Authority on these appointments. For further information about the role, including details about how to apply, please visit www.saxbam.com/appointments using reference QAFAR. Alternatively email belinda.beck@saxbam.com or telephone +44 (0)20 7227 0880 (during office hours). Applications should be received by noon on Thursday 6th October 2022.