Senior Planning Solicitor

Band G plus 4 market supplements, £38,553 – £43,570 per annum

36.25 hrs per week, £2,856 per annum car allowance and £3,000 per annum ‘Golden Hello’ (payable annually for the first 3 years subject to satisfactory performance)

Full time permanent contract

Are you a Qualified Solicitor or Barrister (Supreme Court of England and Wales/English Bar) or Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives or do you have equivalent relevant experience?

Do you enjoy, and have experience in, the areas of planning and regional development?

Are you ready to step into a management role or do you have existing management experience that you would like to develop further?

If you have answered yes to these questions, our Senior Planning Solicitor vacancy might be the role for you!

What are we looking for?

As our new Senior Planning Solicitor, you will lead on all planning legal matters for the Council, as well as external clients (as required).  You will have line management responsibility for one team member, so previous line management experience or an eagerness to step into a management role, is required.  As a senior member of the legal team, you will assist and support the Legal Services Team Manager and Head of Legal and Commercial Services in areas of corporate governance, as well as building strong and lasting internal and external relationships.

What can we offer to you? 

This is a fantastic opportunity for a specialist planning lawyer to take a step up into a senior role, taking on new challenges and management responsibilities.  Your development is important to us, so we will support you throughout as you take this next step in your legal career.

We have put together a generous salary package including a car allowance (with cash equivalent) and a ‘golden hello’ payable for your 3 years, plus the following additional benefits:

• Agile working scheme with a combination of home and office working
• 33 days holiday (including bank holidays) increasing to 38 days after 5 years
• Attractive Local Government Pension Scheme with at least 20% employer’s contribution
• Employee benefits programme’ including payback on medical, dental and optical expenses
• Continued training and development opportunities

Are we right for you? 

We are a solution-focussed council.  Through listening and fair and balanced decision-making, we strive to do the best we possibly can for our community.

Legal Services play a vital role in ensuring good governance and helping officers find solutions to problems with a ‘can do’ approach.  The Legal Services team has an existing external client base of 32 clients, with plans to grow it even further.

You will be joining a Lexcel accredited team of specialist lawyers, each with their own areas of expertise, including contracts and procurement, property, regulatory and enforcement.  Our structure enables everybody to focus on their own specialisms whilst also being exposed to other areas of law through close working relationships with colleagues.

You will be supported by a first-class administration and practice management team, as well as working closely with information governance colleagues as needed.

As a Council we are embracing flexible working, acknowledging that the old days of 9-5 at the office do not need to be the norm.  This job is classed as a hybrid role, recognising that there may be times when you need to attend the offices (for example, to attend a committee meeting) but outside of that, as long as it works for us and our customers too, we are happy for you to take a flexible approach to your working arrangements through a combination of home and office based working.

Are you right for us? 

We want you to succeed in this role.  To do so, you will need to be able to undertake work in areas of planning and regional development; S106 agreements; planning enforcement; permitted development; and compulsory purchase orders.  You will also need to be comfortable acting as an advisor of or to the Council’s planning committee and as an advocate at public/planning enquiries and in courts.

You will need to be able to advise in the context of local government law and therefore experience of this is desirable but not essential, as we would hope that this will develop over time.

To fit in well with the team you need to be proactive, a quick learner, able to work flexibly and someone who can bring enthusiasm to the role both working individually and as part of the team.

If you would like to know more about the job feel free to contact Kate Hiller, Legal Services Team Manager on 01530 454379 or by email to kate.hiller@nwleicestershire.gov.uk

You can apply for any of our posts online at https://www.nwleics.gov.uk/pages/jobs_and_careers

Applications must be made using the on-line application process.

Disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the job will be guaranteed an interview.

We welcome applications from all sections of the community.

Closing Date: Sunday 21 August 2022