Legal Officer SEN, Northallerton

Salary: From £25,119 up to £32,076 per annum pro rata

Location: Northallerton

Contract: Permanent full time

Hours: Full time, although applications for part time working will also be considered.

We are looking for an Education (SEN) Legal Officer who can join our supportive Education, Employment & Litigation team to provide legal support on a range of legal matters that relate to the Council. We welcome applications from backgrounds in any of the above disciplines as training will be provided as required to ensure the successful candidate can cover all areas of practice.

Day to Day

• Working on unique, stimulating and complex educational matters;
• Working closely with lawyers on assisting with special educational needs complaints, and preparation in defending appeals within the Tribunal arena;
• Collaborating and working with parents, advocates and external lawyers on complex matters as appropriate;
• Reviewing, drafting and participating in the preparation of statements, leading the evidence gathering process where appropriate;
• Participating in the management of special educational needs tribunal appeals, dispute avoidance and dispute resolution processes including instructing counsel, legal panel firms and experts;
• Working closely with clients to understand their objectives and business needs and to identify current and future legal requirements.

This is a role where work is varied and challenges arise regularly as clients look to develop their own service offering.

The Person:

• Team Player: As a growing firm, it is imperative that you work with the existing team.
• Communication: You should have excellent communication and presentation skills including the ability to communicate complex legal concepts to a range of audiences both verbally and in writing.
• Self-motivated: This role provides for the ability to work from home and as such you should be able to work independently, planning and managing matters as required.
• Organised: Able to work under pressure to meet deadlines and manage work priorities accordingly, often working on several matters concurrently.
• Commercially astute: Commercial acumen that can identify risk, risk mitigations and present suitable options to the business balancing risk and reward.
• Attention to detail: Able to demonstrate both attention to detail and the ability to provide highly pragmatic legal advice in the context of an established, commercial, operational business.
• Flexible: Flexible approach with a willingness to develop knowledge and skills in different areas of law and provide advice to clients as necessary.

Skills Knowledge and Experience

• Some knowledge of at least one area of law detailed above is required.
• A greater breadth and depth of knowledge would be required for the top level of the role.
• A working knowledge of Tribunal procedures and of attending Tribunal if relevant to the portfolio assigned.
• Demonstrable experience of working in a legal environment.
• Experience of working in Local Government or similar public sector organisation.

Occupational Skills

• Ability to communicate effectively in writing to produce documents in a range of formats and styles to suit a range of audiences.
• Good oral communication skills.
• An ability to interact positively with colleagues and clients.
• Ability to produce a representative record of meeting discussions and actions.
• ICT skills to use case management systems and online research.
• Familiarity with ICT systems including legal research tools, internet and time costing systems.

If you enjoy working in a busy but rewarding environment, where you will be trained and gain experience to support the whole range of legal work carried out by First North Law, we would love to hear from you.

The starting salary for this role is £25,119 (Grade F - pay award pending). You will benefit from a supportive management system and ongoing personal development and performance management.

The postholder will be based at County Hall, Northallerton. There is also scope to work remotely from home or from another Council building some of the time in line with our Corporate Hybrid Working Policy.

As an organisation, we strongly believe in promoting a work-life balance, with flexible working opportunities and modern technology you will be able to deliver your role to suit both your personal and our business needs. In return for your hard work and dedication to our service, we can offer you the chance to be part of a strong and supportive team. You will benefit from a variety of competitive employee rewards such as generous leave entitlement and local government pension scheme. We also offer exceptional company benefits such as salary sacrifice schemes in technology, professional qualifications, and green car schemes as well as discounted retail offers, health schemes to name but a few.

You will also benefit from a variety of competitive employee rewards such as generous leave entitlement and local government pension scheme.

If you are interested in playing a key part in our Legal Team at North Yorkshire Council and would like to have an informal conversation, please contact Nigel McCloy at nigel.mccloy@northyorks.gov.uk or Rachael Hansen at rachael.hansen@northyorks.gov.uk to ask any questions or to arrange a suitable time for a discussion about the role.

NYC are committed to directly recruiting staff and will not accept applications nor services from agency suppliers in respect of our vacancies.

We are committed to meeting the needs of our diverse community and aim to have a workforce reflecting this diversity. We are also committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

North Yorkshire Council (NYC) advertise vacancies on behalf of schools and external organisations (third parties) in North Yorkshire. NYC are not responsible for the recruitment/employment practices of third parties and accept no liability in relation to the vacancy and any subsequent recruitment/employment processes. Enquiries regarding the vacancy or practices should be made directly with the third party.

North Yorkshire Councils’ purpose is to deliver services and facilities to the diverse residents and visitors of North Yorkshire. To ensure we deliver inclusive services we strive to have a diverse workforce where everybody can be themselves by respecting differences and embedding equality of opportunity. We celebrate diversity and recognise each other’s contributions; we therefore welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds.

North Yorkshire Council are committed to the health and safety of our employees and of others including the general public. It has a responsibility to ensure employees who hold a position that is deemed to be safety critical as it requires the performance of duties which are directly related to the safe operation or security of a facility, piece of equipment or vehicle, handling of chemicals or work at height or in confined spaces and which, if not performed properly, could result in a serious safety risk or environmental hazard to employees, a facility or the general public, do not attend work whilst under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Individuals offered employment with North Yorkshire Council will be subject to the Workplace Substance Misuse policy. For safety critical roles as detailed above, random alcohol and drug testing may take place during the course of employment.