Senior Lawyer (Childcare)

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.

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 via Tusker.
• 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.
• Commsave- Free membership to Commsave Credit Union who provide a variety of savings accounts, loans, a monthly lottery draw and more!
• 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.

If you are interested in this exciting opportunity, please apply now!