Senior Lawyer - Contracts and Commercial in Huddersfield

Do you want to make a difference to local people? As one of the largest legal practices in the area, our dedicated Legal Services Team strives to get the best outcomes for people in Kirklees.

The Contracts and Commercial Team are one of the specialist teams within the wider Kirklees Legal Services Team. Working closely with the Council’s Procurement Team, we provide legal advice on a wide range of commercial matters. These matters are often of high value, politically sensitive and come with a high profile, so require dedicated lawyers to not just advise on the law but consider the wider commercial context and adopt appropriate risk mitigation strategies.

We are looking for a motivated lawyer to work on a range of commercial matters. A large part of the work involves advising on procurement processes (such as drafting tender documentation or responding to challenges), but other routine work includes drafting and advising on contracts for a diverse range of services, grant agreements or information law such as advising on GDPR. There are also lots of opportunities to get involved in areas such as construction law or subsidy control, or occasionally also employment law, intellectual property or company secretarial work.

You should be a confident, skilled and enthusiastic lawyer with a “can do” commercial approach. Depending on your experience to date, you will usually be expected to work autonomously and take responsibility for your workload, with support and supervision from your line manager and the wider team when necessary. The team regularly meets up to discuss queries or legal updates, and you will have the opportunity to contribute to this process.

You must be a qualified Solicitor or Barrister holding a current practising certificate, or a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives with a practising certificate. You could be in the early stages of your career, returning to work or be more experienced – training and support will be available to less experienced candidates. Local government experience is not essential, but an awareness of issues affecting local government is important.

If you are ambitious to develop your skills and knowledge in legal services and want to know more about the legal issues that affect local authorities – this is the role for you. We put a strong emphasis on training, personal development and employee wellbeing and want to support you to be the best you can be.

Joining Kirklees Council means you have access to a range of employee benefits, including flexible working from day one (including working from home and a limited requirement to come into the office) and an excellent pension.

• Flexi-time: Employees have a standard, contracted number of hours they must work a week. With flexi-time, employees can elect to work more hours one week and take that time off at a later date (and vice versa), subject always to the employee fitting in with the needs of the Council and other members of Legal Services.
• Our current annual leave entitlement is 36.5 days* (28 statutory including bank holidays, plus 8.5 contractual), which increases to 41.5 days* after 5 years’ continuous service (*based on an employee working 37 hours per week; pro-rated for part-time employees).
• Friendly and supportive team environment.
• Ongoing training and career development.
• Hybrid working.
• Excellent pension scheme.
• A range of family friendly policies, including flexible working and working from home.
• We offer a wide range of well-being initiatives including access to Employee Healthcare that offers a range of services from counselling to physiotherapy and health assessments to a diverse range of informal staff networks you would be welcome to join.

We know there’s a wealth of talent among people who have a disability or who may need adjustments making. We encourage applications from people whatever their circumstances. So, if you need any support completing an application form, or any other format for the application or Job Description please contact the Recruitment Team for help by email: jobs@kirklees.gov.uk or phone: 01484 221000 and ask for ‘Recruitment’. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of vulnerable adults and children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of suitable applications have been received. It is advisable to apply early to avoid disappointment as applications will be assessed on a regular basis.

Marc Ellis is the manager for this role, please contact them on 01484 221000 for an informal discussion, or if you need any more information.

We encourage you to read our AI Guidance before submitting your application to ensure your supporting statements reflect your own authentic experience.

Closing date: 27 January 2027, 11:55 PM