Legal Assistant Children Adults and Health

Durham County Council; Barnard Castle; Hybrid; GBP 20,000 - 25,000; Full time

Job summary

Join Durham County Council as a Legal Assistant in the Children’s, Adult and Health Team. This role involves supporting qualified lawyers with childcare and education law, developing your own caseload, and gaining valuable experience while contributing to the local community. Ideal for those starting a career in law, the position offers generous benefits and opportunities for professional development.

Benefits

Competitive salaries

27 days holiday, increasing to 32 days

Hybrid working options

Employee Assistance Scheme

Discounted gym membership

Qualifications

• 4 GCSEs including English and Maths required.
• Recognized legal qualification or significant practical legal experience sought.

Responsibilities

• Work with qualified Lawyers in the team undertaking Childcare and Education work.
• Deliver a wide range of duties ensuring efficient support to the team.

Skills

Communication

Organizational skills

Proactivity

Adaptability

Education

4 GCSE Grade A-C or equivalent

Recognized legal qualification or studying towards it

Job description

An exciting opportunity has arisen within Legal Services for a Legal Assistant who will be responsible for undertaking legal work allocated to the Children’s, Adult and Health Team

WHAT IS INVOLVED?

You will be responsible for working with the qualified Lawyers in the team undertaking Childcare and Education work . This is an exciting opportunity for you to be able to develop your own caseload whilst accessing quality supervision.

If you would like to begin an exciting career in law undertaking varied, high quality legal work supporting colleagues in providing excellent public service and making a difference within the local community this could be the role for you.

You will be a talented and enthusiastic member of the team and will deliver a wide range of duties in a timely manner, ensuring efficient support to the team. Being an exceptional communicator, the successful candidate will also need to be proactive in their delivery and adaptable in their working style in order to assist the team in meeting its objectives and requirements.

The team covers separate areas of law, child care , education , PII and Adult Social Care and so flexibility and a willingness to learn and develop in the role is essential. In return you can expect to receive learning and development opportunities, interesting and varied legal work, gain in-depth knowledge and experience in different areas of legal practice and responsibility commensurate with ability.

We encourage you to contact Andrea Fletcher via email [e-mail] or Julian Wilson at [e-mail] to arrange an informal discussion about the role.

WHAT WILL I NEED?

You will need 4 GCSE Grade A-C or equivalent (academic subjects including English and Maths). You also should have a recognised legal qualification either obtained fully or in part or be studying towards such a qualification (eg. Law Degree, Institute of Legal Executives or Para-legal Association) or have equivalent or have significant practical legal experience.

Please refer to the attached person specification for the full criteria.

REWARDS AND BENEFITS

We offer generous rewards and benefits that are designed to help you perform at your best:

• Competitive salaries and 27 days holiday per year rising to 32 days after five years continuous local government service.
• Option to purchase up to 10 additional days annual leave per year.
• Excellent work/life balance through schemes including job sharing, compressed hours and flexi-time (allowing up to 13 flexi days per year).
• Hybrid working (home and office working).
• Excellent contributory career average Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). Plus, top up options - Salary Sacrifice Shared Cost AVC scheme and standard AVC scheme for members of the LGPS.
• Wellbeing Portal and access to an Employee Assist Scheme.
• Wide range of learning and development opportunities including professional qualifications, coaching and mentoring.
• Employee Benefits Portal and Lifestyle Savings Scheme (discounts across a host of major retailers).
• Discounted DCC gym membership.
• Staff networks run by staff for our staff, including Race Equality and Diversity, Disability, LGBT+, Armed Forces, Carers, Menopause.
• Trade Union membership.
• A range of other salary sacrifice schemes such as car leasing.

Rewards and benefits are subject to individual terms and conditions.

Take a closer look:
Rewards and Benefits

SOCIAL MEDIA

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HYBRID WORKING

Durham County Council currently operates a hybrid working policy where a model of 2 days in the workplace and 3 days at home/remote will apply. This model is pro-rated for part time roles and arrangements are at managers discretion, alternatively you can work all of your contracted hours within the workplace if you prefer.


EQUALITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION

We are a proud equal opportunities employer and recognise that a diverse, talented workforce brings new ideas and new perspectives, which will facilitate growth and improvements to services.

We are committed to ensuring that our employment policies and processes are fair and equitable to all. We welcome job applications from everyone, and successful candidates are considered only on their skills and ability to do the job.

As a Disability Confident Leader, we encourage applications from disabled people and provide support throughout the recruitment process.

Take a closer look:
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion


INTERVIEWS

Interviews will be held week commencing 7th July 2025.

We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that can show they meet all the essential criteria and have indicated they have a disability, are a looked after young person, care leaver or a veteran.

HOW TO APPLY

In line with the County Council's Recruitment and Selection Policy, please note that we are unable to accept CVs. Applications must be submitted on-line via the Northeast Jobs portal.

Please use the ‘Person Specification’ section of your application form to demonstrate that you have the essential and where possible, desirable experience, skills, and knowledge. Candidates who do not evidence that they meet the essential qualifications and experience listed on the person specification will not be short-listed.

If you have any support needs or require assistance when applying for this role, please contact our Recruitment Helpdesk on 03000 26 27 27 (option 2), or the Recruitment Team via email at [e-mail]


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