Lawyer - Contracts

Staffordshire County Council; Taunton; Hybrid; GBP 52,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous holiday entitlement

Flexi time

Annual leave purchase scheme

Employee discounts

Local government pension scheme

Optional car lease scheme

Staff parking discount

Job summary

Staffordshire County Council is seeking a qualified solicitor or Barrister to lead on commercial contracts and procurement matters within its in‑house Legal Services unit. You will advise on governance, negotiate with clients, and manage a varied caseload with minimal supervision.

The role supports a modern authority with flexible, hybrid working patterns and emphasis on training, progression and staff development. Interviews are scheduled in October 2026.

Qualifications

• Be a qualified Solicitor/fellow of CILEX with practice rights or Barrister.
• Proven commercial contracts experience in public or private practice.
• Experience representing and advising clients at high level meetings and negotiations.
• Clear and engaging communication skills, verbal and written.
• Demonstrated critical thinking and ability to work with minimal supervision.

Responsibilities

• Provide practical, grounded legal and commercial advice on commercial and procurement matters.
• Negotiate and lead client/project meetings, draft and advise on commercial contracts and related issues.
• Advise on the Council's Constitution and governance matters.
• Build internal and external relationships with honesty and integrity.
• Utilise critical thinking and work with minimal supervision.
• Adhere to the Legal Services Unit's LEXCEL quality standards.
• Record chargeable and non-chargeable time in the council's time recording system.
• Independently manage own caseload and files on the electronic case management system.

Skills

Negotiation

Communication

Critical thinking

Education

Qualified Solicitor / CILEX fellow / Barrister

Job description

We are a modern and progressive authority that is ambitious and empowers its employees to be courageous and innovative in their approach.

Staffordshire Legal Services is a large in-house corporate legal team, consisting of lawyers, trainees and support staff, with a key focus on staff training, retention and progression. The service supports the county council in the delivery of its objectives by providing quality services to support the Council's functions.

The successful candidate will undertake a rewarding varied caseload of commercial, contracts and procurement matters so previous experience of assisting/managing a commercial contract and procurement caseload within either public sector or private practice is essential.

There are a number of benefits to working at Staffordshire County Council including:

• generous holiday entitlement
• flexi time
• annual leave purchase scheme
• employee discounts
• local government pension scheme
• optional car lease scheme
• a staff parking discount scheme

We understand the importance of a work-life balance and currently offer remote working with attendance at our Stafford office on flexible patterns and in accordance with business need.

Main Responsibilities

Main responsibilities will include:

• Providing practical, grounded, legal and commercial advice regarding a wide range of commercial and procurement matters ranging in complexity;
• Negotiating and leading client/project meetings, drafting and advising on a variety of commercial contracts, projects and related issues;
• Advising on the Council's Constitution;
• Building strong internal and external relationships including high standards of honesty and integrity;
• Utilise critical thinking skills and working under minimal supervision;
• Adhering to the Legal Services Unit's LEXCEL quality standards
• Recording all chargeable time spent on matters and non-chargeable activity in accordance with the council's time recording system;
• Independently managing own caseload and files on the electronic case management system

The Ideal Candidate

The minimum criteria that will be used to shortlist for this role will be:

• Be a qualified Solicitor/fellow of CILEX with practice rights or Barrister with:
• Proven commercial contracts experience, within either the public sector and/or private practice with a comprehensive understanding of the law relating to contracts and knowledge of procurement and local government practices, including advising on internal governance, financial and procurement regulations;
• Experience in representing and advising clients at high level case related meetings and confident in negotiating, leading client/project meetings, drafting and advising on a variety of commercial contracts, projects and related issues;
• The ability to clearly and engagingly communicate whether verbally, digitally or in writing.
• The ability to demonstrate strong critical thinking and the ability to work with minimal supervision.

This is a hybrid role.

Interviews will be held during the week starting 12 October 2026

Please note: The minimum criteria in the ideal candidate section detailed above will be used if you are applying under one of our Interview Guarantee Schemes, detailed below.

About Staffordshire County Council

We are no ordinary county council:

Our Values:

The core of who we are as an organisation. Just like we all have personal values that shape our thoughts and behaviour, organisational values drive how we think and act collectively.

Our values were created and shaped by colleague feedback and national best practice and they sit at the heart of People Strategy:

We have a real sense of community spirit that brings our people together. This feeling of belonging means we are all connected to what we do and take pride in the difference we make every day for Staffordshire people. We are ambitious and our sights are set firmly on a better future.

We look forward and race ahead - that goes for your career too.

Our benefits

We recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive working environment where employees can achieve their full potential and achieve a healthy work-life balance.

In addition to your salary, as a member of staff, you will have access to Our rewards and benefits - Careers at Staffordshire

Our recruitment process

As an Authority we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Staffordshire County Council is an equal opportunities organisation and Disability Confident employer. We encourage applications from all background and communities

As part of our commitment as a Disability Confident employer, a Gold Award Armed Forces employer and our commitment to supporting care leavers - we offer a guaranteed interview as long as yourapplication meets the minimum criteria for the post.