Corporate Governance Lawyer

Cambridge County Council; Huntingdon; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Cambridge County Council is seeking a Corporate Governance Lawyer to provide expert legal advice on governance matters. The successful candidate will ensure compliance with statutory obligations and support the Service Director in various governance issues. This role requires an admitted Solicitor or Barrister with extensive experience in public law and corporate governance.

Benefits

Comprehensive wellbeing package

Buy up to 4 weeks additional annual leave

Flexible bank holidays

Paid volunteering hours

Access to development opportunities

Employee Recognition Awards

Discounts through Our Cambs Rewards account

Qualifications

• 5 years relevant post-qualification experience required.
• Extensive experience in corporate governance legal practice.
• Proven track record of providing expert local government legal advice.

Responsibilities

• Deliver specialist legal advice to clients including council officers and committees.
• Ensure compliance with statutory and contractual obligations.
• Supervise high-profile litigation and advise on the Council's constitution.

Skills

Corporate governance

Public law

Human rights legislation

Equality legislation

Education

Solicitor or Barrister qualification

Chartered Institute of Legal Executives Fellow

Job description

We are seeking a highly skilled Corporate Governance Lawyer to join our team. In this role, you will be responsible for delivering specialist complex legal advice to various clients, including council officers, committees, and elected members. Your expertise will ensure that the principles of good governance in decision-making are met in accordance with the regulatory framework. You will play a crucial role in ensuring the Council complies with statutory and contractual obligations, providing high-quality legal advice on complex local authority governance and public law issues.

If you would like an informal discussion about this role, please contact Emma Duncan, Service Director: Legal and Governance via email ([e-mail]) where an appointment will be made.

First stage technical interviews will be held virtually via Microsoft Teams on 25th June 2025.

Second stage interviews will be held at New Shire Hall, Alconbury Weald on 9th July 2025.

Our benefits

• A comprehensive wellbeing package to cover all aspects of wellbeing, both in and out of work, which can also be accessed by your family.
• Buy up to 4 weeks additional annual leave (pro-rata) through our salary sacrifice scheme.
• Take your bank holidays flexibly to better suit your personal circumstances.
• Make Additional Voluntary Contributions (Shared AVCs) to your pension with tax and National Insurance savings.
• Access to development opportunities, apprenticeships and qualified coaches to support your personal and professional growth.
• Paid volunteering hours each year so you can make a positive impact on our community during your normal working day.
• Access to Peer Support Groups through our IDEAL staff equality, diversity and inclusion network.
• Opportunities to nominate and receive Employee Recognition Awards.
• An Our Cambs Rewards account, giving you access to in-store and online discounts as well as our Car Lease and Cycle to Work schemes.

Take a look at our Employment Benefits Brochure attached to this advert to find out more.

What will you be doing?

You will support the Service Director: Legal and Governance and act as Deputy Monitoring Officer, providing expert legal advice on governance matters. This includes responding to queries, drafting legal comments, and offering guidance on governance issues. You will assist with constitution queries, report writing, and standards complaints, conduct legal research, and brief counsel. Additionally, you will attend meetings to provide legal advice, supervise high-profile litigation, and advise on the Council's constitution and protocols. You will determine the impact of new legislation, develop new methods and processes, and respond to information requests. Representing the Council at external meetings will also be part of your role.

About you

You should be an admitted Solicitor, Barrister, or Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives with a current practicing certificate and 5 years relevant post-qualification experience. We are seeking a professional with extensive experience in corporate governance legal practice, public law, human rights, and equalities legislation. You will have a proven track record of providing expert local government legal advice, operating in politically sensitive environments, and building effective relationships. Demonstrating awareness of equality, diversity, inclusion, and contributing to the Council's commitment to becoming a Net Zero organisation by 2030 is also important.

About us

Cambridgeshire is a great place to work and live with a diverse population, an urban centre in Cambridge, historic Isle of Ely, Huntingdon and St Ives as well as more rural landscapes.

Our four values are central to our culture, driving everything we do.

We are proud to serve the diverse communities of Cambridgeshire and want our workforce to be reflective of this diversity, which we firmly believe benefits our colleagues, the organisation and our communities. If you don't meet every single requirement in the job role but think this could be you, please don't be put off. We are committed to building a workplace that is compassionate and inclusive as well as diverse, so if you think you could be a good candidate for this role please consider applying and speak to the recruiting manager if you have any questions.

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, along with our employee network 'IDEAL' and self-organised peer support groups help us to foster an inclusive, supportive and safe working environment where people feel valued, respected, and empowered. We collect relevant diversity data for monitoring as part of the recruitment process to understand the diversity of our applicants and monitor any trends throughout the recruitment processes so that we can take meaningful action.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. We fully support providing reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process, as well as when you join us, and we encourage candidates to contact the Hiring Manager, whose details can be found in the advert, to discuss any adjustment needs. Some examples of adjustments could include additional time to complete an assessment or printing a document on pastel coloured paper with larger font size and line spacing. We would value talking about what might be possible to enable you to join us and thrive, so if there is something that would help you to do your best during your journey with us, please get in touch.

Visit our jobs and careers section to find out more about our wide range of learning and development opportunities; apprenticeships; our wellbeing package; staff benefits; our commitment to equality, diversity and Inclusion.

https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/council/jobs-and-careers