Senior Legal Officer

Job title: Senior Legal Officer

Salary: SO2 £ 38,510 - £40,444

Hours: 37 per week

Contract: Permanent

Location: Civic Hall

Leeds City Council is a progressive authority which works closely with local communities and businesses to create a vibrant and economically thriving city.

We are looking for an enthusiastic lawyer who is keen to learn new skills and develop expertise in new areas of law to handle a diverse workload of equal pay, employment and other areas of law.

Leeds City Council is one of the largest employers in the region with over 14,000 employees. We seek to recruit and develop talented individuals who embody our council values and ambitions.

As a Senior Legal Officer, you will bring to the role:

• Organisational skills and the ability to prioritise your own workload
• Sound research and drafting skills, and the ability to give clear advice on legal issues
• Good interpersonal skills
• The ability to work as part of a team and be flexible, enthusiastic and committed.
• The ability to grasp and assimilate new information quickly

The successful candidate will support the Head of Legal Services with Equal Pay litigation, which will be the primary focus of the role. The post will be based within the Licensing Communities & Corporate Legal Section, and the post holder may also be required to work flexibly across that Section and others within Legal Services. The successful candidate will be supported to develop expertise in all relevant areas.

We take pride in offering the best employee experience, with benefits including:

• a competitive salary and annual leave entitlement plus statutory holidays
• membership of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions
• flexible and hybrid working arrangements subject to service requirements
• a clear career pathway and continuing professional development opportunities
• a range of staff benefits to help you boost your wellbeing and make your money go further

We welcome applications from everyone and actively seek a diverse range of applicants from all backgrounds and cultures. We particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to, women, carers, veterans as well as LGBT+, ethnically diverse, disabled and care experienced people.

This role is based in the UK. Home Office guidance states that candidates must evidence their right to work in the UK prior to commencing employment, either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa.

If you do not have the right to work in the UK, you must consider your own eligibility for sponsorship for a particular role through the Skilled Worker visa route before applying. To be eligible for sponsorship you'll usually need to be paid the standard salary rate of at least £41,700 per year or meet one of the other eligibility criteria.

Ensure you are eligible before applying.

Job purpose
:
To carry out legal and administrative work and provide an effective, high quality, professional service within Legal Services and the City Council generally.

The post holder will report to, and be allocated work by, the Head of Legal Services in respect of Equal Pay, which will be the primary focus of the role. Line management will be undertaken by an appropriate Team Leader. The post will be based within the Licensing Communities & Corporate Legal Section, but the post holder may be required to work flexibly across other sections within Legal Services.

To undertake a personal workload of more straightforward employment law (equal pay) matters, including, by way of example, but not limited:

• To assist the Head of Legal Services with legal work relating to equal pay, and to assist Principal Legal Officers, Team Leaders and the Section Head with other legal work carried out by the Section/s.
• To give written and oral advice as appropriate.
• To undertake legal research.
• To prepare cases for hearing in Courts and Tribunals, including drafting orders, case summaries, correspondence, taking statements, collating documents; to arrange for the attendance of witnesses at Court, and to prepare instructions for Counsel.
• To attend at Court with Counsel.
• To draft, issue and serve appropriate pleadings.
• To represent the Council, where appropriate, in Courts and Tribunals.
• To inform instructing services of all outcomes, post hearing; and prepare all necessary updates.
• To maintain and operate computerised systems.
• To deal with enquiries/correspondence from…