Wigan Town Hall
Library Street
Wigan
WN1 1YN
Salary: Grade 14:- £51,871 - £55,646 per annum
37 hours per week
Wigan Council has been voted ‘Council of the Year’ at the 2019 LGC Awards and has recently published The Deal 2030 our ambitious plan for our borough. We are signed up to the Greater Manchester Continuous Service Commitment ensuring that your service will be continuous or ‘unbroken’ between the supporting organisations.
Wigan is a great place to work and this is a fantastic opportunity to work alongside the Assistant Director of Legal to make change happen, innovate and create a client focused model of operation. You will be joining a forward thinking, digitally enabled team who adopt a SMART working ethos.
This position plays a key role in the organisation and is ideal for an experienced, highly motivated legal professional who understands the political, statutory and legislative landscapes and who can apply their knowledge to help our clients and the Council deliver its services.
Your role:
As Strategic Lawyer (People) you will deputise for the Assistant Director – Legal Services and other Strategic Lawyers, as and when required.
You will have overall professional responsibility for the following areas of law:
- Children's social care
- Education
- Adult social care
- Health
- Contentious housing
You will work closely with Senior Leadership, Elected Members, Trade Unions, Partner Organisations and other key stakeholders from across the public and private sector to deliver the Council’s transformational work streams and The Deal priorities.
You will also be responsible for providing leadership to a team of qualified professionals and for the development of a client care culture which places a strong emphasis on collaborative working and shared goals.
About you:
You will be an admitted Solicitor entitled to a current practicing certificate (the qualification of Barrister or Legal Executive is an acceptable alternative) and you will have extensive post qualification experience in at least two areas of law from the list below:
- Children's social care
- Education
- Adult social care
- Health
- Contentious housing
You will be an enthusiastic, highly motivated and professional individual who has experience of providing high level strategic legal advice to assist and guide clients when making decisions.
You will need to engage, inspire and care to achieve service developments, transformation and a culture of continuous improvement.
You will have substantial experience and a successful track record of operating at senior level within a local authority, or similar public sector or private sector organisation.
About us:
Wigan is strategically placed in the heart of the North West and we have massive growth ambitions built on effective partnership working. As a key player in the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, we are aiming to grow our economy by 10,000 jobs, 12,000 apprentices and 10,000 new homes in the next 10 years. Combined with this, we have a spatial plan across the whole of the combined authority which will see further significant growth to 2035 and beyond.
Wigan is a vibrant and welcoming place that is great to live and work in. Being closely located to the major cities of Manchester and Liverpool, the Borough offers a competitive advantage for businesses and unrivalled access to many outstanding facilities. Whether it is in business, sport or in other fields, success is in our DNA and we welcome those with the same attitude, behaviours and determination to help shape our future.
In order to deliver all of the above, we need to support all areas of the council with the best advice, guidance and support from dedicated and high quality legal professionals.
For an informal discussion or to arrange a visit please contact 01942 827463 or via email n.sprung@wigan.gov.uk
To view the details relating to this position, please click the links below:
Job Specification
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Interviews to be held week commencing Monday 19th August 2019
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