Legal Services Manager for Highways & Environment in Chelmsford

This is an advertisement for a vacancy at Essex County Council. This role has a hybrid working arrangement, with attendance at our Chelmsford offices approximately 2 - 3 days per week and visits to other sites throughout the operational area as required.

We are looking for a new leader for our Highways and Environment Team, working on a large volume of interesting and complex highways schemes with over £0.5bn invested in our transport infrastructure. This is a brilliant opportunity for the right person to build and develop the team.

Essex County Council (ECC) is a diverse and large organisation that strives for excellence and delivers an outstanding service for residents across Essex. The in-house legal service, ELS, prides itself on providing a comprehensive legal service to the Council, with most work done in-house. We value our employees and provide a supportive working environment, where resilience is expected but senior leaders are committed to ensuring that ELS is a place where people want to stay.

This post is a strategic leader in the legal service focused on managing a team of legal professionals. As part of the ELS leadership team, the role has a strong voice in the running of the service and plays a key role in maintaining our Lexcel accreditation.

We're looking for someone with excellent technical legal skills and relevant experience who can quickly pick things up and manage a team of specialists within the highways and environment area. They will need to operate effectively in a complex politically-led organisation, with critical influencing skills to articulate options and risks when advising Senior Leaders and Councillors.

Accountabilities

• Lead, manage and motivate a team of lawyers, paralegals and caseworkers to provide exemplary legal advice to internal stakeholders within ECC and external customers.
• Accountable for the provision of high quality advice and interpretation to clients to underpin and inform decision making.
• Accountable for providing legal services to support different functions within the Council, to protect and mitigate potential legal risks for ECC.
• Responsible for contributing to business development targets across the team.
• Develop and maximise opportunities to attract external legal work across different sectors to build new revenue streams.
• Accountable for ensuring professional conduct and governance across the Council to meet Corporate and Statutory responsibilities.
• Accountable for driving compliance with the Lexcel standard and preparing the service for renewal of its Lexcel accreditation.
• Work collaboratively with stakeholders and partners to ensure robust solutions, providing direction and guidance to achieve positive outcomes.

The Experience You Will Bring

• Qualified solicitor or barrister or legal executive with full practising certificate and at least 5 years’ post qualification experience.
• Expert knowledge and experience in highways and environment law, with a local government focus.
• Experience of working with senior personnel and Directors and other key stakeholders.
• Knowledge and understanding of providing legal advice in a public sector setting.
• Experience of leading a team of qualified professionals.
• Persuasion and influencing skills.
• Evidence of creativity in exploring business opportunities.

Whats in it for you?

Once you've secured your role within Essex County Council, you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements. You’ll also have access to the MyReward platform, which includes:

• Healthcare and Dental Plans at corporate rates.
• Discounts and benefits at many local and national outlets.
• Generous holiday and special leave allowances.
• Life Assurance of three times annual salary.
• Employee wellbeing and counselling.
• Learning and Development opportunities/coaching & mentoring.
• Payment of professional fees for approved professions.

Why Essex?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, Essex is the ideal place for you.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader and is committed to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum requirements of the job. We also value integrity and ethical behaviour, asking all candidates to embrace our code of conduct.

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, expecting all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.