Senior Lawyer (Contracts and Commercial) in Birkenhead

There has never been a more exciting time to join Wirral Council. We have ambitious targets to meet and to achieve everything we have promised to our residents, we need people who are ready to deliver the very best for our communities and show how they can #BeTheDifference. Our vision is to secure the best possible future for our residents, defined by the community prosperity we create and supported by our excellent people and services.

If you strive to #BeTheDifference and want to be at the heart of our change and improvement journey, then this could be the perfect job for you. We are looking for a Senior Lawyer (Contracts and Commercial) to join our busy legal team. This is an exciting role that will focus on Contracts and Commercial, providing forward-thinking, customer-focused and professional legal advice, support and assistance to the Council, Senior Leaders, Members and Partners. This role will support the success of large-scale regeneration activity and economic growth ambitions for Wirral.

As a qualified and practising barrister, solicitor or Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives, you will take responsibility for the conduct of contractual matters, drafting, litigation or proceedings arising from the duties and functions for your specialist area.

About the Role: The post holder will manage all litigation in relation to contracts and commercial to ensure the Council's interests are safeguarded. A key requirement will also be to provide high quality, constructive legal and constitutional advice and assistance to Council, Cabinet, Council committees/panels, members and senior management.

About the Candidate: The ideal Senior Lawyer candidate will be proactive and self-motivated, having excellent technical skills and a good level of experience in dealing with property matters. You will also have great communication skills both written and verbal with the ability to deliver complex advice clearly and be able to communicate effectively with people internally and externally. Local government legal work is varied and whilst at times it can be challenging, it is also very rewarding. There will be times when you need to work under pressure and balance conflicting priorities; however, you will be supported in doing this. You will also be supported to demonstrate a commitment to your own professional development and a willingness to undertake training and develop new skills as required.

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Vicki Shaw on 0151 691 8481 or email vickishaw@wirral.gov.uk.

If you are a Wirral resident, are unemployed or out of work, and require help with your application, please contact Involve Northwest's employment and skills team on info@involvenorthwest.org.uk or contact 0151 644 4500 or 0151 652 4349.

If you are already a Wirral Council employee, as part of our Talent Strategy, we are committed to strengthening opportunities for our people to learn, grow, progress and thrive. For many of you, this may be preparing and applying for your next role with us, and we are passionate about ensuring you feel supported throughout your internal recruitment experience.

Working at Wirral: Our values are more than just pieces of paper on our walls! We have all played a role in developing these, so they reflect the immense pride we have in what we do, what matters to us, what inspires us and inform how we think, approach things and behave. We believe in ensuring staff are well looked after; staff wellbeing is a priority for us. We are serious about recognising and rewarding people for the great things they do. You will benefit from our track record of developing, growing and investing in our people. We have a range of staff benefits including staff discounts, an excellent pension scheme which includes a generous employer contribution rate, immediate life cover and ill-health protection. We have a strong flexible working approach, hybrid working, family-friendly employment initiatives and an annual leave package starting with 28 days leave plus public holidays.

We have an inclusive, engaged culture; everyone has a voice, everyone is valued for their contribution and understands the role they play in delivering our strategic priorities. Each voice is heard, each contribution valued. We embrace diversity in our workforce and recognise it is critical to our success. We support an inclusive culture that champions differences and nurtures a sense of belonging. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds, who share our values and our commitment to inclusion to apply for roles with us. We want you to be your best at work; we create the conditions to help you thrive and we mirror this in our recruitment process.

If you would like us to do anything differently during the recruitment process to make it barrier-free and as accessible as possible please contact recruitment@wirral.gov.uk.

Please note that in accordance with the Council's policy, employees who are in a formal redeployment situation will be considered in the first instance for all vacancies. It is Council policy not to re-appoint any employee who has left under the terms of the Council's Early Voluntary Retirement (EVR) scheme or who have left with a voluntary severance (VS) package, unless in exceptional circumstances.

Applications will be accepted until midnight on the closing date. We reserve the right to close this vacancy earlier than the specified date should we receive sufficient applications. Applications can only be accepted through the Jobs page following registration. Forms received via the post will not be processed. All applicants invited to interview must evidence their right to work in the UK. Details of required documents can be found by clicking the link at the bottom of the Jobs page. The job description and other supporting documents will not be accessible once the vacancy closing date has passed so if a copy is required you should download it now. We do not accept applications or CVs from recruitment agencies, unless otherwise stated. Therefore, any candidates submitted via a recruitment agency will not be considered for this role.

Salary range: £57,366 - £60,541 per year.