Head of Legal Service 80 - 100%

24 March 2026
80 – 100%
Zürich

Job summary

Join the Youth Justice Service of Zurich, overseeing legal services. This role offers a supportive environment and competitive benefits.

Tasks

Lead the legal service area, integrating pedagogical and psychological aspects.
Ensure legal advice and training for the organization on new developments.
Draft internal guidelines and represent the service in appeals.

Skills

Experienced lawyer with a strong background in youth criminal law and administration.
Strong leadership and management skills are essential.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills are required.

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About the job

Head of Legal Service 80 - 100%

The juvenile criminal justice system of the Canton of Zurich, with its approximately 120 employees, investigates and assesses crimes committed by young people between the ages of ten and eighteen. It also provides other services within the scope of its official duties. The five regional juvenile prosecution offices conduct criminal investigations and are responsible for the enforcement of juvenile criminal law protective measures and penalties. The office bears overall responsibility for the planning, management, and control of juvenile criminal justice, provides services for the juvenile prosecution offices, and acts as their supervisory authority.

As of May 1, 2026, or by agreement, we are looking for a Head of Legal Service (80 – 100%).

Your main tasks will include:
- You are responsible for the Legal Service area of juvenile criminal justice and provide legal services to the office, incorporating pedagogical and developmental psychological aspects.
- You ensure legal advice considering pedagogical and developmental psychological aspects, support and training for the entire organization in general (e.g., regarding new developments) and in individual cases.
- You develop internal foundations and guidelines (e.g., directives, instructions, and recommendations) for juvenile criminal justice.
- You handle appeals regarding the determination of contributions to the costs of measure enforcement and represent juvenile criminal justice before higher authorities.
- You are responsible for the intake of consultations, process them, or assign them for further processing.
- You organizationally and personnel-wise lead the legal secretariat and the areas of compliance and data protection as well as youth protection in the film industry.
- You lead your own projects within your area of responsibility.
- You ensure regular exchange with our interface partners in your area of responsibility and represent juvenile criminal justice in the respective external committees.
- You participate in internal committees and working groups.
- You deputize for the Chief Juvenile Prosecutor in their absence and contribute to further projects and developments in the juvenile criminal justice office.

What distinguishes you:
- You are an experienced lawyer with many years of professional experience, have solid court and/or administrative practice preferably in the field of (juvenile) criminal prosecution, and have experience or affinity for administrative law topics and issues.
- Ideally, you also have experience and knowledge in the pedagogical or psychological field and demonstrate proven leadership and management skills.
- You are exceptionally committed and resilient and bring a human-centered attitude. You are communicative and find the right tone when dealing with various contacts.
- You enjoy staff and project work but are also willing to take on leadership tasks.

What you can expect:
We offer a meaningful, varied, and challenging field of activity. Our employees benefit from the attractive employment conditions of the Canton of Zurich.

Application
Have we sparked your interest? Then we look forward to receiving your complete online application. We consider gut feeling important but not sufficient. Therefore, we use an assessment as part of the application process. For further information, Roland Zurkirchen, Chief Senior Juvenile Prosecutor, or Juliane Meffert, Head of Human Resources, are happy to assist you at 043 258 41 70.

We look forward to receiving your complete application via our online tool.