Senior Lawyer

Location – Shefford, Northampton or Huntingdon (although travel to other offices may be required) Contract Type – Permanent – Full Time (37 hours) Specialist Skills Summary

A highly experienced employment lawyer with a strong track record of advising public sector clients, particularly local authorities and not-for-profit organisations, on complex employment law matters. Key specialist skills include:

• Public Sector Outsourcing Expertise
  Proven ability to advise on and negotiate outsourcing arrangements, including drafting and reviewing contracts involving TUPE and workforce implications.
• Employment Tribunal Advocacy
  Skilled in managing complex employment tribunal claims from inception to resolution, with particular experience representing local authorities and public sector bodies.
• Contractual Negotiation & Drafting
  Experience in drafting and negotiating outsourcing contracts with a clear understanding of employment law implications and public sector procurement requirements.
• Team Leadership & Development
  Demonstrated ability to supervise, mentor, and train junior lawyers, fostering professional growth and ensuring high-quality legal output.
• Workplace Grievance Resolution
  Expertise in handling respect-at-work grievances, including sensitive investigations and advising on appropriate outcomes and risk management.
• Policy & Procedure Development
  Strong experience in formulating employment policies and procedures tailored to public sector governance and compliance standards.
• Public Sector Pension Knowledge
  In-depth understanding of pension schemes including LGPS, TPS, and NHS Pensions, with experience advising on related issues and appeals.

• Provide legal advice and services to client organisations and schools on a wide range of litigation matters comprising mainly of employment and education matters and other areas of legal practice where necessary to ensure client compliance with statutory duties and obligations and to protect the best interests of the client organisations.
• Provide high quality, innovative, well researched and comprehensive specialist legal advice to clients (including elected members and senior officers), on a range of matters, including complex ones, and delivering advice within the timescales required by the client.
• Act as a source of legal advice and support to any of the client Councils’ Committees and Directorates as directed.
• Attend courts and tribunals undertaking advocacy where required and to represent clients in negotiations and discussions with third parties in matters regarding the areas of legal practice relevant to the post.
• Instruct and manage suppliers of external legal services such as solicitors and barristers in accordance with the requirements of each client.
• Develop and improve the service to client organisations, predominately in the areas of litigation, employment and education, to ensure the provision of an excellent standard of client care and value for money.
• Act as a legal advisor to client organisations to ensure awareness of their safeguarding responsibilities and ensure compliance with statutory duties and obligations and to protect the best interest of the client organisations.
• Seek out new business development opportunities and to raise the profile of Pathfinder Legal Services Ltd. with both our existing client base and potential new clients.
• Build highly effective working relationships with clients to ensure that Pathfinder Legal Services Ltd. delivers a seamless and client focussed service to all its clients.
• Where required, provide training to clients in specialist areas of law.
• Ensure the effective identification and management of risks associated with the relevant areas of legal practice.
• Develop and provide legal input into training courses, briefing notes and legal clinic/surgeries for a range of professional clients including to reduce the directorates need for legal services and to increase their self-sufficiency.
• Manage the activities of the team to include performance, caseloads and productivity, motivation and development, recruitment and selection and appraisals.
• Supervise other members of the team in a line management capacity. To…