Lawyer - People Team in Coventry

In line with our One Coventry Values, we want to ensure that our communities are represented across our workforce. A vital part of this is ensuring we are a truly inclusive organisation that encourages diversity in all respects, including diversity of thinking. We particularly welcome applicants from minority ethnic, LGBT+, disabled and neurodiverse communities to make a real difference to our residents so that equity and respect remains at the heart of everything we do.

Our Values are:

• Open and fair: We are fair, open, and transparent.
• Nurture and develop: We help and encourage everyone to be their best and do their best.
• Engage and empower: We talk and listen to others, working together as one.
• Create and innovate: We embrace new ways of working to continuously improve.
• Own and be accountable: We work together to deliver the best services for our residents.
• Value and respect: We put diversity and inclusion at the heart of all we do.

About The Team We Are Recruiting To

We value diverse perspectives and experiences and are striving to create an inclusive workplace culture that is accepting of all and is free from discrimination and bias. Coventry City Council's Legal and Procurement Services are part of the public sector, providing in-house legal support and having custodial responsibility for public spending to Coventry City Council. The Legal Services team offers a professional, comprehensive, tailor-made service to address legal issues of every description. The team is highly motivated, eager to develop and face challenges head-on. The Procurement and Commissioning team are the custodian for purchasing within the Council. They are responsible for making sure that the Council spends public money in line with its wider community strategy around the economy, society and the environment.

What is the job role?

The successful candidate will support the People Team in ensuring the delivery of a proactive, compassionate and effective legal service to support the delivery of the organisation's priorities which includes:

• Undertaking the effective allocation, supervision and case management of all matters ensuring that all work is accurate and completed within agreed deadlines (including any statutory and court deadlines).
• Providing legal advice to the Client departments and where necessary providing strategic legal advice to the Council, Directorates and Service Areas in order to help the Council to protect its legal and financial interests.
• Providing support to the Team Leaders across the service in advising and recommending changes to practice and procedure in other departments across the Council to manage legal risk.

For a full overview of the Lawyer role, please refer to the attached Job Description and Person Specification. All candidates must have the Right to Work in the UK. We are currently not offering sponsorship for this role.

Who are we looking for?

You will be an experienced Solicitor, Barrister or Chartered Legal Executive with practice rights of audience and practice rights to conduct litigation qualifications for Chartered Legal Executive. You will have experience in Education Law, including SEND Tribunals. You will have experience of representing clients at court, including the SEND Tribunal, meetings, panels and other forums, with experience of working in an in-house local government legal service or other relevant experience. You will have a track record of meeting strict deadlines and timescales, and need strong drafting, negotiating and advisory skills and competence with IT and case management systems and have an enabling, positive approach to finding solutions to complex issues, as well as the ability to adapt to both business and client needs. You will be able to work effectively as part of a multi-skilled team.

We value and respect the diversity of our team and aim to recruit a workforce which reflects our diverse communities. Our workforce data shows that women (including women from minority ethnic backgrounds), people who have a disability or who identify as being from the LGBT+ community are under-represented at the management level, and we encourage applicants from these backgrounds to apply. This does not prevent individuals with or without other protected characteristics as set out within the Equalities Act 2010 from applying for this post.

If you need help or support to complete your application, please visit our accessibility page to see how we can assist you.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme - As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role and identify with one of the below criteria:

• Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
• Are currently in care or have previously been in care
• If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition

For full details on the application process please read the attached document on our jobs page labelled 'Coventry City Council Application Process'. If there is any evidence of a candidate using AI to complete their application, then the application will be rejected unless the candidate can provide a justification which the Council considers to be reasonable.

Interview dates: 11 & 12 March 2026

About Coventry

Coventry has a proud, innovative and creative spirit that throughout its history has seen communities come together to tackle problems and bring about real social change. We are cutting-edge, challenging, youthful, vibrant and diverse. At Coventry we are committed to excellence in everything we do. With around 5100 staff from a range of different backgrounds, our aim is to recruit and develop talented people who will focus on our customers, take responsibility, work together and find better ways of doing things. To deliver the best services to our residents, we need the best people working for us to make a difference to our communities. If you join us, we will provide a fantastic rewards and benefits package.