Lawyer - People Team

Our Values

It’s great to know that you are interested in working with us at Coventry City Council. As a prospective employee, it is important that everyone who works for us is committed to our One Coventry values and shares our commitment to becoming a more diverse and inclusive organisation. 

Our Values are:

About the team we are recruiting to

We value diverse perspectives and experiences and are striving to create a workplace culture that is inclusive, is accepting of all and is free from discrimination and bias.

Coventry City Council’s Legal and Procurement Services are part of the public sector  providing in-house legal support and has custodial responsibility for public spending to Coventry City Council.

The Legal Services team offers a professional comprehensive, tailor-made service to address legal issues of every description. The team is highly motivated, eager to develop and face challenges head on.

The Procurement and Commissioning team are the custodians for purchasing within the Council. They are responsible for making sure that the Council spends public money in line with its wider community strategy around the economy, society and the environment.

What is the job role?

We are an in-house, public-sector legal service, supporting Coventry City Council to make a difference in the lives of the people of Coventry every, single day.  

Our in-house legal team delivers a professional, comprehensive service, ready to deal with any legal issue. You will have the opportunity to work with people who are passionate about delivering the One Coventry vision and dedicated to growing and facing challenges head-on.  It is one of our core values to support your career growth, and we will always find time to help you succeed.

We are looking for an experienced Lawyer in the People team to work across all aspects of Children's Social Care Work.  

You will be primarily focused on Children's Social Care law. There will be opportunities to work in the other areas of law covered by the team, to develop your knowledge of the workings of local government, and to enhance and diversify your personal development, always with the aim of providing a high-quality legal service to our clients.    

Who are we looking for?

You will be responsible for managing a mixed caseload of Children's Social Care work, specifically pre-proceedings work, but including general duty work, policy and procedure and some safeguarding partnership work, have strong drafting skills and be able to give sound, pragmatic legal advice on complex matters to Officers and Members within the Council. 

Good organisational, communication and IT skills will be required, as well as the ability to adapt, work to tight deadlines, and give sound, practical advice.  You will need good drafting skills, the ability to undertake complex legal research, conduct training sessions, act as an advocate in courts and tribunals, and attend Council Member meetings. 

When applying for this role you will be asked to write a personal statement and in doing so, should demonstrate how you meet the criteria set out in the Person Specification and Job Description and include/demonstrate the following:

• An experienced Solicitor, Barrister, or Chartered Legal Executive (Fellow),
• Understanding of the law relating to Children's Social Care, including pre-proceedings work and experience in managing a busy caseload in this area,
• Experience working with senior officers, Elected Members, and partner agencies,
• Knowledge and understanding of local government and administrative law.   

For full details on the application process please read the attached document on our jobs page labelled 'Coventry City Council Application Process'

About Coventry

Coventry has a proud, innovative and creative spirit that throughout its history has seen communities come together to tackle problems and bring about real social change.

We are cutting-edge, challenging, youthful, vibrant and diverse.

At Coventry we are committed to excellence in everything we do. With around 4800 staff from a range of different backgrounds, our aim is to recruit and develop talented people who will focus on our customers, take responsibility, work together and find better ways of doing things.

To deliver the best services to our residents, we need the best people working for us to make a difference to our communities.

If you join us, we will provide a fantastic rewards and benefits package - to find out more please visit https://www.coventry.gov.uk/council-vacancies