Your newpany
Southend-on-Sea is a vibrant and diverse coastal city known for its long beaches and famous pier. As one of the UK’s newest cities (over 200,000 residents and growing) and with its proximity to London, Southend is focused on the future with ambitious strategic plans. The Director of Law andernance and Monitoring Officer has restructured the Legal Services team to match these broader ambitions.As part of this, the director has hired a new Head of Legal focused on standards, performance, continuous improvement and organisational resilience, and is now looking to expand further by appointing an enthusiastic Senior Lawyer with a range of experience.
Your new role
Southend City Council are looking to appoint a permanent, full-time Senior Lawyer.As a lawyer within the Council’s well-respected Legal Services team, you will be managing and advising on all aspects of care proceedings, adoption proceedings and dealing with international issues as and when necessary.The role will include, but is not limited to, the following:
1. Advising on and managing all aspects of care proceedings.
2. Drafting all documents relating to applications under the Children Act 1989, including case management documents, threshold statements, orders and case summaries as necessary.
3. Representing the Council at court.
4. Advising and managing DOL (Deprivation of Liberty) and Secure Amodation proceedings.
5. Dealing with S7 and S37 matters.
6. Lead and take responsibility for routine andplex cases, including High Court applications and Judicial Reviews as necessary.
7. Manage up to three legal assistants, empowering and engaging them to continually improve and deliver successful oues.
Within this position, hybrid working opportunities are available. However, you are required to be on-site at the Civic Centre a minimum of 2 days a week.
What you'll need to succeed
8. Qualified Solicitor/Barrister/Legal Executive with a current England & Wales practising certificate.
9. 0–3 years post-qualification experience within the social care sector.
10. Understanding of localernment and experience of working in a political environment
11. In-depth knowledge of relevant legislation, policies, and procedures.
12. Proven experience in the public sector, ideally localernment.
13. Excellentmunication and interpersonal skills.
14. Ability to manageplex workloads.
What you'll get in return
When joining the council, you can enjoy a range of benefits including: 25 days annual leave, flexible working and excellent training and development opportunities. They aremitted to ensuring that you are supported in this varied and challenging role with the appropriate level of training.