Principal Legal Officer - Leeds, United Kingdom - Leeds City Council

Leeds City Council

Verified Company

Leeds, United Kingdom

3 weeks ago

Posted by:

Tom O´Connor

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Description

As a _Principal Legal Officer _you'll be a qualified solicitor, barrister or Cilex lawyer (with Legal Executive Advocate Certificate (Family Proceedings)) with a passion for children's social care law and protecting the most vulnerable members of our city.

Leeds City Council is one of the largest employers in the region with over 14,000 employees. We seek to recruit and develop talented individuals who embody our council values and ambitions.

About you
As a _Principal Legal Officer_ you will bring to the role:

Knowledge and experience of children's social care law
Advocacy skills to represent the local authority in different levels of tribunal
Advise on complex issues
Work flexibly as part of a team
Excellent communication skills

About the role

This is an opportunity to protect and safeguard the most vulnerable members of the city, whilst contributing to the policies and decision making about this complex and interesting area of law._

As our next Principal Legal Officer (PO6) you'll have the opportunity to develop your skills, knowledge and experience, with the support of an excellent team of colleagues.

Including team managers, other principal legal officers, senior and legal officers, and legal assistants.

The role is integral to our _Social Care, Legal Section which supports and advises an Ofsted rated 'outstanding' Childrens and Families department, on a range of social care matters including safeguarding, private law, adoption, forced marriage, and deprivation of liberty._ The section consists of over 30 colleagues with a wealth of knowledge and experience and a commitment to providing the very best service.

What we offer you
We take pride in offering the best employee experience, with benefits including:

A competitive salary and annual leave entitlement plus statutory holidays
Membership of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions
A clear career pathway and continuing professional development opportunities
A range of staff benefits to help you boost your wellbeing and make your money go further

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How to apply

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.

We promote diversity and want a workforce that reflects the population of Leeds and the communities we serve.

Leeds City Council is an Inclusive employer, ranked 70 on the Stonewall top 100 employers 2023 list.

We are also an Age friendly employer, a Mindful employer and a Disability Confident leader.

This role is based in the UK. Employment is conditional on confirmation of the right to work in the UK - either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa. If you do not have the right to work in the UK and the role does not meet eligibility for sponsorship, please consider carefully whether you meet the eligibility to apply.
Leeds City Council Job Profile

Directorate Strategy and Resources

Service Area Legal Services (Social Care Legal)

Job Title Principal Legal Officer

Grade PO6

Conditions of Service NJC Conditions apply

Responsible To Team Leader/ Section Head

Responsible For None

The Section works flexibly to carry out the following areas of work: Children's Social Care.

Job Purpose:

To provide a high quality, value for money legal service, which actively supports the delivery of the Council's strategic objectives as set out in the Best Council Plan.

To undertake a substantial complex personal caseload of legal professional work in the area of Children's Social Care.

The post holder will be expected to have this area of work as a focus but also to provide support on at least one other area of law as required, and any other local government legal matters and /or matters dealt with by Legal Services.

The post holder would be expected to deal with complex advice and complex contested hearings. They would be expected to attend committee/board meetings and members briefings as requested to advise.

To contribute directly to the generation of external income and work flexibly across the Service as and when required.

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Responsibilities:

To undertake a substantial personal caseload of complex legal matters in one or more areas set out above in "Purpose of the job".
To draft and issue court proceedings and other documentation as necessary.
To conduct investigatory and preparatory work as necessary to ensure effective presentation of cases to court/tribunals/inquiries/appeals.
To draft instructions to Counsel. To attend court/tribunals/inquiries/ appeals with Counsel as instructing representative if required.
To advise/update as to the progression of cases and the value of particular strategies.
To work flexibly as part of a team to cover court/tribunal/inquiry commitments and other work as required.
To advise clients both orally and in writing, inclu