Planning and Highways Lawyer

North Northamptonshire Council; Corby; Hybrid; GBP 52,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee Assistance Programme

Employee Benefits Scheme

Wellbeing support

HMRC rates travel

Employee Network Groups

Job summary

North Northamptonshire Council is seeking a Planning and Highways Lawyer to join its in-house Legal Services Regulatory Team. You will manage a varied caseload, draft and review legal documents, and attend Planning Committee meetings as the Legal Officer, providing expert planning and highways advice to clients and elected members.

The role offers a supportive, developing team environment with hybrid working and a competitive benefits package, including professional development and wellbeing

Qualifications

• Qualified solicitor, barrister, or FCILEx with current practising status.
• Evidence of continuing professional development.
• Attend Planning Committees as the Legal Officer.
• Experience in planning and highways matters; two of: general planning/highways advice; S106 negotiation/drafting; variations to planning agreements; policy/strategy advice; seeking Counsel on Judicial Reviews.

Responsibilities

• Manage a varied caseload under supervision or direction.
• Draft and review a wide range of legal documents using templates and adapting them as needed.
• Represent the Council at routine hearings, committees (Planning Committee monthly) and tribunals.
• Maintain accurate case records and billing on the case management system; contribute to templates and processes.
• Support governance, enforcement, and training across client departments; ensure compliance with legislation and standards.

Skills

Planning & Highways experience

CPD evidence

Attend planning committees as Legal/Offi

Education

Qualified Solicitor/Barrister/FCILEx

Job description

Join our Regulatory Team as a Planning and Highways Lawyer North Northamptonshire Council is an ambitious, exciting, innovative and supportive place to work. The Council is committed to focused service delivery to improve the lives of our residents. Are you a qualified lawyer looking for a career where your work makes a real difference to people's lives and communities? Join our Legal Services Regulatory Team as a Planning and Highways Lawyer and play a key role in supporting the delivery of vital public services across our local authority. As a Planning and Highways Lawyer within our in-house legal team, you will work on a diverse and rewarding caseload, providing high-quality legal advice to the client service and stakeholders whilst managing risk, resolving disputes, and ensuring compliance with the law. You will also attend Planning Committee once per month. As a member of the team, you will be supported at a senior level and by your peers in a growing and developing team of professionals. The team's focus is on enabling service delivery, to achieve this we adopt a partnering model with our clients, supporting them to deliver an ambitious agenda for North Northamptonshire.

We are looking for a Lawyer specialising in Planning and Highways to join our in-house legal team. The role will require you to undertake a caseload of work including:

• Manage a varied caseload of legal matters, ranging in complexity according to experience and under appropriate supervision or direction.
• Draft and review a wide range of legal documents, utilising standard service templates and adapting them as necessary to meet client requirements and expectations.
• Represent the Council at routine hearings, committees (including Planning Committee once per month), tribunals, and other relevant proceedings.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date records within the case management system, including full time recording, billing and file administration.
• Contribute to the development and continuous improvement of legal templates, precedents, processes, and working practices, promoting their effective adoption across the service.
• Support governance, enforcement, and project-based work, including the design and delivery of training to client departments where required.
• Ensure compliance with relevant legislation, regulatory requirements, professional standards, and Council policies.
• Provide general and specialist Planning and Highways advice on behalf of the Council to clients, colleagues and elected members and senior officers.

Our values define who we are and how we operate, by forming the foundation for how we interact with our customers, colleagues and provide our services. They are also at the forefront of our decision making and delivery and are: Customer-focused Respectful Efficient Supportive Trustworthy. Our key commitments help ensure that the priorities we make, now and in the future, maintain the necessary breadth of focus in those areas that we believe matter most.

You will:

• Be a Qualified Solicitor/Barrister/FCILEx
• Have evidence of continuing professional development
• Attend planning committees as the Legal Officer
• Experience in dealing with planning and highways matters, with experience in at least two of the following areas:
  • General legal advice on planning and highways matters
  • S106 Agreements - negotiation and drafting
  • Variations to planning agreements under s106
  • Advice on policy, strategy and procedure relation to Planning and Highways issues
  • Seeking advice from Counsel on specialist matters such as Judicial Reviews

We provide a range of great benefits such as an Employee Assistance Programme, an Employee Benefits Scheme, wellbeing support, travel rates at HMRC rates, as well as supporting a range of active Employee Network Groups.

Here at North Northamptonshire Council, we're transforming for the better, using all our creativity and imagination to create the best life for our local people.

You’ll find that we have a wide range of careers that may be more surprising than you think! Why choose us? We offer a vibrant working environment with:

• a competitive salary
• a pension scheme, where we pay a significant contribution on top of your contribution. It provides life cover and ill-health protection.
• lots of opportunities to develop your skills, knowledge and potential in a large unitary council
• generous leave entitlement (28 days, rising to 33 days) and bank holidays, plus the option to buy up to an extra 10 days
• hybrid and flexible working arrangements, where practicable for service needs to help you with a healthy work-life balance.