Chief Lawyer - Contracts

Brent Council; Wembley; On-site; GBP 68,000 - 77,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Up to 33 days annual leave

LGPS pension

Hybrid and flexible working options

Learning and development opportunities

Employee wellbeing support

Job summary

Brent Council seeks an accomplished commercial lawyer to lead a Contracts team and shape the council's legal strategy on high-value procurement and governance matters.

You will provide expert advice to senior officers, elected members and corporate leadership, while modelling a high-performance culture and driving service improvement across Legal Services.

Qualifications

• Current practising certificate as a Solicitor, Barrister or Chartered Legal Executive.
• Significant experience advising on complex commercial contracts, procurement and governance.
• Experience leading and developing high-performing legal teams.
• Ability to influence senior leaders, elected members and stakeholders.
• Strong commercial awareness and sound judgement in legal risk management.
• Excellent communication, negotiation and relationship-building skills.
• Collaborative leadership style with a commitment to developing others.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership to a team of around 11 legal professionals.
• Lead development and management of the Contracts function for the council.
• Deliver proactive legal advice on complex contracts, procurement and governance.
• Shape corporate decision-making with strategic legal counsel.
• Manage resources, budgets and external legal spend.
• Drive innovation and collaboration across Legal Services and the wider organisation.
• Help unlock opportunities, manage risk and deliver better public outcomes.

Skills

Commercial awareness

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Negotiation

Strategic thinking

Education

Qualified Solicitor/Barrister/Chartered Legal Executive

Job description

Job Description

Salary range: £68,427 - £76,588 p.a. inc. London weighting

Contract: Permanent

Hours of work: 36 hours per week

Location: Civic centre and other locations from time to time

Lead the legal strategy behind services that make a real difference.

Every major council ambition starts with the right legal foundations.

From delivering multi-million-pound regeneration projects and strategic procurement programmes to supporting vital frontline services, your advice will help shape how Brent delivers for one of London's most diverse communities.

This is an opportunity for an accomplished commercial lawyer to take on a genuinely strategic leadership role, leading a high-performing Contracts team while influencing some of the council's most significant decisions.

Brent is one of London's most dynamic boroughs. With ambitious regeneration, significant investment and a bold transformation agenda, we're looking for a legal leader who thrives on complexity, enjoys solving challenging commercial problems and wants their expertise to have a tangible public impact.

The Role - Provide the legal leadership that enables public services to thrive

As Chief Lawyer - Contracts, you’ll lead our specialist Contracts team, providing expert legal advice across commercial contracts, procurement, governance and complex strategic projects.

Working closely with senior officers, elected members and corporate leadership, you’ll become a trusted adviser on high-profile, high-value matters that influence the future of the borough.

In This Role, You Will

• Provide strategic leadership to a team of around 11 legal professionals, fostering a high-performance culture and supporting colleagues to reach their full potential.
• Lead the development, continuous improvement and effective management of the Contracts function, ensuring an efficient, responsive and customer-focused legal service.
• Deliver proactive, expert legal advice on complex contracts, procurement, commercial and governance matters to Members, senior officers and corporate leadership.
• Shape corporate decision-making through strategic legal advice on high-profile and politically sensitive matters.
• Manage resources, budgets and external legal spend to deliver value for money whilst maintaining exceptional professional standards.
• Drive innovation, service improvement and collaboration across Legal Services and the wider organisation.
• This is a role where your legal expertise won’t simply interpret legislation—it will help unlock opportunities, manage risk and deliver better outcomes for Brent’s communities.

The Person - A strategic legal leader with commercial insight and public purpose.

You’ll be an experienced commercial lawyer who combines technical excellence with strong leadership and the confidence to advise at the highest levels of a large, complex organisation.

You’ll Bring

• A current practising certificate as a Solicitor, Barrister or Chartered Legal Executive.
• Significant experience advising on complex commercial contracts, procurement and governance matters.
• Experience leading and developing high-performing legal teams.
• The credibility to influence senior leaders, elected members and a wide range of stakeholders.
• Strong commercial awareness, sound judgement and a pragmatic approach to managing legal risk.
• Excellent communication, negotiation and relationship-building skills.
• The ability to balance competing priorities while maintaining exceptional professional standards.
• A collaborative leadership style with a genuine commitment to developing others.

Previous local government experience would be advantageous, but we’re equally keen to hear from senior lawyers from the wider public sector or private practice who are looking to apply their expertise in a role where every piece of advice contributes to better public services.

Lead with purpose. Influence with integrity. Deliver lasting impact.

Why Join Brent?

Because the contracts you advise on will shape communities, not just organisations.

At Brent, your work goes beyond legal advice. Every contract, procurement strategy and governance decision helps deliver better public services, support regeneration, protect public investment and improve the lives of more than 340,000 residents.

As one of London’s most ambitious councils, you’ll join a collaborative leadership team where your expertise influences key decisions, your leadership drives excellence, and your work leaves a lasting impact.

Benefits

We know people achieve their best when they feel valued. At Brent, you’ll benefit from:

• Up to 33 days annual leave (depending on length of service) plus bank holidays
• Excellent pension with generous employer contributions (LGPS)
• Hybrid and flexible working options available for most roles
• Supportive family-friendly policies for parent, guardians, and carers
• Health and wellbeing support, including access to eye test support and a 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme
• Financial support such as education sessions, childcare deposit loans, and season ticket loans
• Travel perks including affordable parking nearby, a Cycle to Work scheme, and great onsite facilities
• Learning and development opportunities to help you grow your career
• Access to My Brent Rewards with exclusive discounts on shopping, travel, leisure, and entertainment

Closing date: Sunday 18 October 2026 (23:59)

Additional Information

Brent Council values the diversity of its community and aims to have a workforce that reflects this and therefore encourage applications from all sections of the community. We positively encourage all applicants to self-identify their characteristics in the diversity survey section in the application.

We are committed to safer recruitment and safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Applicants should be aware that posts working with children, young people and vulnerable adults are subject to an Enhanced DBS check as well as other employment clearances.

The information we collect from you will be shared with Cifas who will use it to prevent fraud, other unlawful or dishonest conduct, malpractice, and other seriously improper conduct. Further details of how your information will be used by us and Cifas and your data protection rights, can be found here .

Brent has a positive approach to flexible working.

As a disability confident employer Brent welcomes applications from people with all disabilities, including “non-visible” disabilities and mental health conditions. We will interview any disabled applicant who meets the essential criteria. If you require reasonable adjustments to be made to any part of the recruitment process due to your disability, please contact us.