Senior Lawyer (Child Care), NN1 1ED

Overview

Our Benefits

We offer a wide range of benefits to our employees, these include:

• Generous annual leave entitlement starting at 28 days annual leave per year, 29 days for senior managers (pro rata, depending on how many hours per week you work), plus bank holidays. An additional 5 days, linked to continuous service, and ability to purchase up to 6 weeks additional leave per year.
• Cycle to Work scheme. 
• Local Government Pension Scheme plus immediate life cover (3 times your annual salary from day one) and ill-health protection.
• Employee discounts with local and national retailers, days out, finance, health and beauty, travel and eating out plus lots more.
• Car Lease scheme
• Payment of professional subscription / membership – If your job description requires that you are registered with or are a member of a professional body, WNC will pay for your professional subscription or membership fees.
• Employee Assistance Programme – We have an employee support programme run by Health Assured, an independent, external organisation. Health Assured is available for you and your immediate family members, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and includes telephone counselling, legal advice, bereavement support and medical information.
• Ongoing training and development opportunities.
• A variety of flexible working options to support your work/life balance, including full or part time, term time, 9-day fortnight, etc. (subject to business needs).
• Our West Ways of Working – We want our workforce to thrive, and we equip our employees with the right technology to support hybrid and collaborative working, on or off site, depending on the role.
• Making a difference – If you want to use your skills and experience with an organisation that are genuinely invested in making a difference, are committed to improving people’s lives, and whose success has a direct impact on the wellbeing of your family, friends and people in your local area, then West Northamptonshire Council is the place for you.

About the role

Are you ready to take the next step in your career and do you want to be supported in achieving the step after that? We are creating a brand new in-house Legal Team to support the Northamptonshire Children’s Trust.  Join the existing Legal Team at West Northants Council, one of the newest and the fourth biggest Unitary Council in England.   

If you have experience in Child Care Law, we want to hear from you.  Whether you are looking to develop your local government experience, change sector into local government or return to work after a career break, you won’t find a better place to do so.  

Whilst local government experience is not essential, a passion for delivering an excellent legal service in a fast-paced environment and a desire to help shape and deliver an exemplar local authority legal service is.  

What will you be doing?

Your duties will include: 

• Advising upon and conducting proceedings relating to the care and protection of children and young people. 
• Providing legal advice and support to clients, including elected members and senior officers. 
• Being a lead within the team and providing guidance and support to other members of the team. 

About you

West Northants is a great place to work. With a focus on career development, wellbeing, flexibility and support, this is an opportunity for you to take the next step on your career journey in a supported environment. We have mentoring, buddying, coaching, training and many other opportunities available to assist and develop you, to ensure your success in the role and your ongoing progression and success within the Council. We will also consider any version of flexible working you can come up with. 

For more information please contact Julia Rickards, Head of Legal (People), on 07585 405339 for a confidential discussion.  

Interviews will take place the weeks commencing 18 March 2024 and 25 March 2024. 

Please also join us at one of our virtual collaboration sessions where we welcome your thoughts about what the future of Child Care legal teams holds and help us to shape that future.  Attendees will include representatives from West Northants Council, Northamptonshire Children’s Trust and Child Care lawyers from private practice, together with Pam Burrows, the wellbeing expert supporting West Northants Council to shape a strong and resilient legal team with wellbeing at its core. Details of these sessions will be shared on our social media pages, LinkedIn and our designated legal recruitment pages.   

 

 

About us

We’re a new council, following one of the largest shake-ups in local government reform in recent history. As a new authority, we’re embarking on an exciting journey to deliver exceptional services for our residents, customers and communities.

Our vision at West Northamptonshire Council is ‘to make West Northants a great place to live, work, visit and thrive’. We truly stand by this and work hard every day to make this a reality. Our corporate values, THRIVE, stand for: Trust, High Performance, Respect, Innovate and Empower, they underpin everything we do and how we deliver services.

At West Northants Council, it’s about our people. People who thrive with ambition, bubble with new ideas, demand better ways of working, caring about every detail, and who never shy away from a challenge. Our culture is a gateway for new experiences. A place to forge new opportunities. To empower you in your career and unite you with like-minded people.

When potential is unlocked, talent thrives.

Choose a career that offers you a true sense of achievement, fills you with pride and challenges you in a positive way, every day.

West Northants Council, where careers thrive.