Lawyer - Adult Social Care

Reading Borough Council; Reading; Hybride; GBP 52 000 - 59 000; Plein temps

Avantages offerts par ce poste

Generous holiday entitlement

Flexible working opportunities

Life Assurance

On-site day nursery

Season Ticket Loan

Lease car salary sacrifice

Résumé du poste

Reading Borough Council seeks a Lawyer - Adult Social Care to provide high‑quality legal advice across Adult Social Care matters. You’ll manage your own caseload, advise officers and elected members, and undertake advocacy where appropriate.

The role sits within the Berkshire Joint Legal Team, offering a collaborative, supportive environment with hybrid working to fit your lifestyle. You'll have a recognised legal qualification (Solicitor, Barrister or CILEX Fellow) and current practising

Qualifications

• Recognised legal qualification as a Solicitor, Barrister or Fellow of CILEX with current practising certificate in England.
• In-depth experience of providing legal services across local government.
• Experience handling complex legal issues and advising on sensitive matters.
• Strong written and verbal communication with ability to identify risks, issues and solutions.
• Ability to organise and prioritise a demanding workload independently.
• Commitment to teamwork, professional development and continuous service improvement.

Responsabilités

• Providing clear, practical and timely legal advice on matters within adult social care.
• Advising officers and stakeholders on complex or sensitive legal issues.
• Managing caseload effectively, keeping clients informed and meeting deadlines.
• Supporting Council policies, strategies and corporate objectives through high‑quality legal advice.
• Undertaking advocacy in court or tribunals where appropriate to qualifications and experience.
• Working collaboratively with colleagues to deliver an efficient, responsive legal service.
• Contributing to service development, projects, training and improvements to systems and processes.
• Maintaining accurate time recording and ensuring costs and income are recorded.
• Working in accordance with equality, confidentiality, data protection and legal compliance.

Connaissances

Communication skills

Judgement

Independence

Teamwork

Time management

Formation

Solicitor or Barrister or CILEX qualification

Current practising certificate in England

Description du poste

The job requirements are detailed below. Where applicable the skills, qualifications and memberships required for this job have also been included.

Job details

Salary £51,928 to £58,602 Per year

Contractual hours 37

Basis Full time

Region Permanent / Full-Time

Job category/type Adult Services, Legal & Democratic Services

Are you a qualified Solicitor, Barrister or Fellow of CILEX looking to develop your career in Adult Social Care law? We're seeking a motivated and capable Lawyer - Adult Social Care to join our Legal Services team. This is an exciting opportunity to undertake rewarding and meaningful legal work that directly supports vulnerable adults and helps ensure the delivery of high-quality services across Reading. Working closely with Adult Social Care colleagues, managers and partner organisations, you'll provide legal advice and representation on a broad range of matters while building your expertise within a supportive and collaborative legal team.

We seek the best talent from the widest pool of people as diversity and inclusion is the key to our success. Reading Borough Council is a Disability Confident Employer and is committed to the recruitment and continued employment of people with disabilities.

We support hybrid working, it's important to us that working arrangements are designed to enable our employees to excel and within this role you'll have the opportunity to work in a way that suits your lifestyle.

About The Role

As part of the Berkshire Joint Legal Team, you'll join a specialist shared legal service across Berkshire providing expert legal support across Adult Social Care, Children's Social Care, Education, and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). Working alongside experienced colleagues from a range of disciplines, you'll benefit from a collaborative environment, opportunities to share knowledge and expertise, and exposure to a diverse range of complex and rewarding work.

You’ll provide legal advice and assistance to Council officers and other relevant stakeholders, helping them navigate complex legal issues and make informed decisions.

As a Lawyer - Adult Social Care, you'll manage your own caseload and provide high-quality legal advice to officers, managers and elected members across a range of Adult Social Care matters.

You’ll need to exercise sound legal judgement, communicate complex matters clearly and sensitively, and ensure that your work is delivered to a high standard. You’ll also contribute to the development of Legal Services by sharing knowledge, supporting colleagues and identifying opportunities to improve working practices.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Providing clear, practical and timely legal advice on matters within adult social care.
• Advising officers and other stakeholders on complex or sensitive legal issues.
• Managing your caseload effectively, keeping clients informed of progress and meeting agreed deadlines.
• Supporting the Council’s policies, strategies and corporate objectives through high-quality legal advice.
• Undertaking advocacy in court or tribunals where appropriate to your qualifications and experience.
• Working collaboratively with colleagues to deliver an efficient and responsive legal service.
• Contributing to service development, projects, training and improvements to systems and processes.
• Maintaining accurate time recording and ensuring that costs and income are appropriately recorded.
• Working in accordance with the Council’s requirements on equality, confidentiality, data protection and legal compliance.

About You

You will be an experienced legal professional with strong technical knowledge, excellent judgement and the confidence to manage complex matters independently. You will be able to communicate legal issues clearly, identify risks and practical solutions, and build effective relationships with stakeholders at all levels.

You will bring a collaborative and flexible approach, together with the ability to manage competing demands, meet deadlines and maintain high standards under pressure. You will also be keen to support colleagues, contribute to continuous improvement and help deliver an excellent service to the Council and its partners.

To be successful, you will have:

• A recognised legal qualification as a Solicitor, Barrister or Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX), with a current practising certificate and entitlement to practise in England.
• In-depth experience of providing legal services across a range of local government services.
• Experience of handling complex legal issues and advising on sensitive matters.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to produce clear, concise legal advice that identifies risks, issues and solutions.
• The ability to organise and prioritise a demanding workload and work with a high degree of independence.
• A commitment to teamwork, professional development and continuous service improvement.

Experience in adult social care law and working within a local authority or a similarly complex environment would be valuable for this role.

You’ll be part of a team that relies on each individual to play their part to the best of their ability. As well as the colleagues that you work closely with every day, you’ll also be part of Team Reading, playing your personal part in making Reading a successful and vibrant place.

Our vision

Our vision is to ensure that Reading realises its potential as a great place to live, work and play, and that everyone shares the benefits of this success. Our values and behaviours guide how we will achieve this:

Work Together as one team - work collaboratively, with each other and with our partners, and demonstrate the Team Reading values in everything we do

Drive Efficiency - show initiative, be adaptable to change and put forward ideas to help improve delivery and efficiency. Take responsibility for our own learning and development and for reaching our potential.

Be Ambitious - be demanding of our own performance – striving to be even better – and be prepared to engage with and challenge leaders in a constructive and positive way.

Make a Difference to Reading - maintain the highest levels of customer service and be flexible and willing to provide the services needed at the time they are needed.

Our offer

We offer a supportive environment to grow and develop your career with the opportunity to put your ideas across. Innovation and ambition are strongly encouraged, and you’ll get a great feel for that working in our friendly and collaborative environment.

A competitive salary alongside a range of benefits including:

• Generous holiday entitlement - 25 days holiday each year plus bank holidays - rising to 30 days after 5 years and 33 days after 10 years' service, with the option to buy additional leave
• A wide range of flexible working opportunities
• Modern working environment at the Civic Offices in the heart of Reading
• Life Assurance - three times your annual salary (for members of the LGPS)
• On-site day nursery (Kennet Day nursery) rated outstanding by Ofsted
• Season Ticket Loan - a loan to help with the cost of your rail or bus journey, to and from work
• Lease car salary sacrifice scheme allowing you to lease a brand new, greener car for three years. The monthly fee includes insurance, servicing and road tax

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Closing Date: Sunday 8