Team Manager (Principal Lawyer) - Children in Yate

As Team Leader and Principal Solicitor, you will be responsible for providing a robust commercial legal advice service. Leading and supervising six staff comprising qualified lawyers and legal assistants, you will ensure that a multi-disciplinary approach is maintained to provide an effective and seamless legal service. The Children’s Legal team provides advice, support and guidance on all aspects of children’s public law, statutory child safeguarding, adoption law, and inherent jurisdiction cases in the family division, as well as case management and litigation conduct for all cases within the remit of the Team (including but not limited to section 31, 43, 44 Children Act 1989 applications).

Leading the Children’s Legal team, you will undertake critical analysis and share expertise, exercising significant professional judgment in assessing risk and providing advice to peers and more senior officers. Working on an active case load, you will lead on complex and high-profile cases, providing pro-active, pragmatic solutions-based advice and outcomes. You will oversee an experienced and dedicated team on the delivery of all aspects of children’s public law, including care and supervision applications, advice and litigation on adoption matters, advice to the Local Children’s Safeguarding Partnership, deprivation of liberty, civil secure accommodation applications and age assessment judicial reviews.

It will be your responsibility to act as the lead legal advisor to the council’s Children’s Services department and Local Children’s Safeguarding Partnership, as well as being the key point of contact for all stakeholders involved in delivering children’s public law proceedings (The Designated Family Judge, HMCTS, Police and NHS). Advising elected members at council, cabinet and committee level, you will act as lead contact for legal teams in government, the combined authority, neighbouring unitary authorities, parish and town councils. Working with the Head of Legal Services, you will contribute to the development of the service, including the development and implementation of service plans and formulating and monitoring targets and objectives from the council’s overall strategic directives.

We require you to hold a law degree and be a qualified and admitted legal professional (solicitor, barrister, legal executive) with the ability to conduct litigation in the courts of England and Wales. You must have relevant post qualification experience with demonstrable knowledge of legislative, regulatory and best practice standards. It is essential that you have knowledge of children’s public law, safeguarding and adoption law. With senior leadership experience, you are persuasive and engaging with the ability to lead, manage, coach and develop a team of professionals as well as co-ordinate and plan a service. You will be a strong influencer and have stakeholder management skills to be able to develop and maintain complex partnerships and build relationships at a senior and management level.

Having experience of working with elected members across all aspects of council functions, both executive and non-executive, you will have an in-depth understanding of local democracy and decision-making processes. You must have strong financial and commercial acumen with experience of managing budgets, projects and major contracts, disputes and corporate transactions. It would be beneficial if you have experience of working as a Monitoring or Deputy Monitoring Officer.

Interviews will be held on 15th April 2026.

We value our staff as individuals, investing in their careers and we are recognised for the quality, breadth and depth of our training and development offer, which helps make the greatest long-term difference in work. We trust our team to work in the way which allows them to make the biggest difference, and we continue to invest in technology to help staff do their jobs to the best of their ability and celebrate innovation.

As part of our benefits package, you will receive generous annual leave (pro rata), employee wellbeing support and you will have access to a range of staff discounts, including eye tests, travel, shopping and leisure activities. We recognise that our diverse team of skilled and dedicated people make us a great place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and ensure that individuals are selected, promoted and developed on the basis of their merits and abilities.

Our teams at South Gloucestershire Council are making a real difference to the lives of people who live, work and learn here. We’re building and shaping communities which people are proud of. We’re working with the most vulnerable in our community to help them achieve what they want in life. We’re investing in our schools to ensure every child and young person in South Gloucestershire achieves their full potential. We’ve achieved a great deal, but we need talented and dedicated people to ensure we continue to make a difference. We’re making a difference, be part of it!