Senior Lawyer

Job Introduction

Are you an experienced childcare Lawyer with local government experience and looking for variety and challenge?
 

The job

Greenwich Legal Services is committed to being a high performing in-house legal service which plays an essential part in the achievement of the Royal Borough’s priorities and objectives for the benefit of our community. 

We are seeking a Senior Lawyers (Safeguarding Children) to join our busy team dealing with a varied caseload and providing legal advice, support and representation to the council’s Directorate of Children’s Services.  We are looking to recruit keen, talented and committed individuals to this role.

The main work includes:-

• Advising and providing legal representation to Social Workers discharging their Child Protection functions
• Attending legal planning meetings and advising on: the issuing of care proceedings; adoption including complex adoption matters some of which may involve international elements;  cases relating to Deprivation of Liberty; pre-action Judicial Reviews
• Attending Pre Proceedings Meetings with parents and external Lawyers 
• Dealing with miscellaneous enquiries on the interpretation of the legislation with regard to the council’s duties and obligations and giving advice accordingly
• Liaising with Social Workers and others involved in the discharge of child protection duties, keeping them informed of the progress of matters and taking any other appropriate measures to ensure continued legal service delivery.

The successful candidate must be a Qualified Solicitor, Barrister or Chartered Legal Executive or equivalent and able to demonstrate experience of all aspects of the law relating to Safeguarding Children.

Benefits of working for us:
 

• 28 days annual leave, rising to 31 days annual leave after 5 years’ service. 
• A range of flexible working arrangements                                         
• Excellent pension scheme 
• Annual season ticket loan                                                                   
• Cycle to Work Scheme 
• Learning and development opportunities to maximise your potential
• Childcare Vouchers
• Staff Support Networks
• Greenwich Card which entitles you to discounts at local businesses                       
• Payroll giving
• Generous leave entitlement
• Employee Assistance Scheme

If you are interested in joining an accessible in-house Team which is integral to shaping the future of the Royal Borough of Greenwich apply now.

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Davidaire Horsford on 0208 921 6298

Diversity Statement: Royal Borough of Greenwich values the diversity of its community and aims to have a workforce that reflects this. We therefore encourage applications from all sections of the community.

Advert Close: All vacancies close at midnight unless otherwise stated. 

Early Advert Close: Royal Borough of Greenwich reserves the right to close any job advert earlier than the advertised closing date where there is reason to do so (for example high volume of applications).

How Applications are Scored: Each application is scored according to how well the supporting statements addresses each point on the Person Specification for the role. Candidates will be short-listed for interview on the extent to which they meet the specific points within the Person Specification. The Person Specification is supplied with the job advert. When completing your application, please use the supporting statements section to tell us how you meet each of the points on the Person Specification. We need to have this information in order to consider your application.

Salary: Salaries advertised are for a standard working week of 35 hours unless otherwise stated. Please use this 'Salary Calculator to help you calculate a pro rata salary.

Our Staff Values: Our Staff Values are important to us. Candidates will be continuously assessed against our staff values throughout the recruitment process. Where candidates demonstrate views and behaviours that do not meet the standards of our staff values, we reserve the right to reject their application/ registration.