Senior Lawyer in Cheshire, Warrington

Transport for the North overview:

Transport for the North (TfN) was established in 2018 and provides pan-Northern strategic leadership for transport across the North of England.

TfN brings together the North’s 11 combined authorities, political leaders, businesses and delivery partners, working closely with government, Network Rail and National Highways. Collaboration is central to our role, enabling us to bring the North together around shared strategic transport ambitions.

As the region continues to evolve, so too must the organisations that serve it. TfN is continuing to reset and renew its offer in response to a rapidly changing landscape, supporting the transition towards a more devolved, locally led transport environment. This marks a new chapter for TfN as we become a more agile and responsive organisation, shaped by the needs of our Board, members and partners.

We are working closely with the North’s mayors, leaders and partners to understand their priorities and bring them together around shared ambitions for the region. Alongside this, we continue to work with our Board, constituent authorities and the Department for Transport (DfT) to shape TfN’s future role and ensure alignment with the North’s long-term priorities, supporting sustainable economic growth across the region.

By providing a pan-Northern perspective, TfN plays a vital role in supporting collaboration, aligning priorities and delivering the data and insight needed to progress shared transport

ambitions.

Role overview:

The Senior Lawyer is a key member of TfN's Legal Services team, providing high-quality legal and governance advice across a broad range of complex matters to support the organisation's strategic objectives. Reporting to the Head of Legal and Democratic Services, the role works closely with senior leaders, Board members, partners and stakeholders across the North to ensure TfN operates within a robust legal and governance framework.

The postholder will lead on significant legal, contractual, procurement, governance and information management matters, helping to manage risk, ensure compliance and support effective decision-making. As a trusted adviser, they will play an important role in protecting TfN's interests, supporting organisational change and enabling the delivery of TfN's priorities through practical, commercially focused and solution-oriented legal advice. The role will also support the Monitoring Officer and, where required, act as Deputy Monitoring Officer.

What we’re looking for

We are looking for a “can-do’’ Senior Lawyer (Solicitor, Barrister, FCILEX) to provide specialist expert legal advice to our senior leadership team, supporting the provision of the full range of professional legal, democratic, contract, procurement, and corporate information management services, focussed on the achievement of corporate objectives and strategic priorities.

The ideal candidate will have demonstrable relevant legal experience at a comparable level within a similar organisation or public body and will support the Head of Legal and Democratic Services (Monitoring Officer) with ensuring proper systems, processes, policies, and procedures are in place to effectively manage the organisation’s affairs, aligned to TfN’s constitution.

Strong analytical skills are also an essential requirement. You will initiate and lead the design and implementation of new/enhanced policies, systems and approaches at TfN.

The appointed person will be collaborative, professional, and naturally inquisitive. A self-starter as well as being an excellent team player who is hands on and can turn vision into reality.

Provisional Interview Date: Friday 2 October 2026

Successful Candidate Start Date: immediately, ideally no later than W/C Monday 19 October 2026

Salary: £450 to £550 day rate + VAT (inclusive of any agency fees, within IR35) / Grade 5 Upper (£57,183 - £66,348 per annum)

If you believe you have the skills and experience we’re looking for please send your CV into .

All candidates will be required to prove their right to work in the UK as part of the recruitment process.

As part of our commitment to diversity and inclusion, all applications will be considered on their merit.

As an organisation we always strive to do the right thing and understand that in order to make a difference in our society and workplace, we must be committed to respecting equality and diversity, showing kindness, tackling discrimination and promoting inclusion and have signed the CIHT Diversity and Inclusion Charter Statement to further endorse our commitment. We are also an accredited Living Wage Employer, this means that every employee earns a real Living Wage and are recognised as Disability Confident employer (stage 2) acting as a disability confident champion within our local and business communities and business networks.