Qualified Solicitor Childcare

Leicester City Council; Leicester; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexi-time scheme

Local Government Pension Scheme

Generous holiday entitlement

Hybrid working

Job summary

Leicester City Council invites applications for a Qualified Solicitor in Childcare to join the busy Child Protection legal team. The role covers public law childcare matters with advocacy responsibilities, supporting positive outcomes for children and families in Leicester.

Hybrid working is available, with a salary and benefits package that reflects Local Government standards. The successful candidate will handle a varied workload, maintain high professional standards, and engage in ongoing

Qualifications

• Experience as a solicitor in childcare/public law is essential.
• Strong advocacy and negotiation abilities with advisory capacity.
• Solid risk management and professional communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Manage a public law childcare caseload with quality legal advice.
• Undertake advocacy on behalf of Leicester City Council and handle potential judicial reviews.
• Maintain manageable workloads and pursue professional development within a growing team.

Skills

Advocacy

Negotiation

Advisory skills

Risk management

Communication skills

Organisational skills

Education

Qualified Solicitor (England & Wales)

Job description

Qualified Solicitor Childcare

Full Time & Part- Time / 37 & 22.5 Hours Per Week / Permanent and Fixed Term for 12 months

A welcome payment of £5000 will be offered to a suitable candidate with appropriate experience, to be paid following successful 6 month probation period).

This is an exciting time to join our well-regarded, friendly and supportive Child Protection legal team. We are continuing to grow the team and are now recruiting to two permanent posts and one fixed term maternity cover position. The expansion of the team reflects increasing demand for legal support and recognition of the important role our lawyers play in delivering positive outcomes for children and families across Leicester. We have focused on building a sustainable and supportive team structure that enables lawyers to manage a high-quality and rewarding case load whilst continuing to develop professionally. The focus of the team is on enabling quality service delivery, working in partnership with the client department to help ensure positive outcomes for children within the city of Leicester.

You’ll hold responsibility for a public law caseload, providing quality legal advice and support including undertaking advocacy on behalf of the Council. The team deals with a wide range of child protection legal work and there will also be opportunity for exposure to judicial review challenges. As such, we offer a challenging, rewarding and varied workload within a growing team that is committed to maintaining manageable caseloads and professional development.

This is a career graded post (LG Band 9 – LG Band 11). Appointment to a level will depend on the outcome of the selection process and experience of the successful candidate. Dependent on availability of work/vacancy at a higher level, progress will be by satisfactory performance, agreed at annual appraisals and through on-going supervision.

What you’ll need

You’ll have subject area experience and demonstrable advocacy, negotiating and advisory skills together with a good appreciation of risk management. You will be highly motivated with strong organisational skills and a pro-active approach which will ensure that you are able to successfully prioritise work. Your excellent communication skills, both written and oral, will ensure that you are able to work with a wide range of people and represent the service in a professional, client focused manner.

What we can offer you

Leicester City Council is an exciting and innovative place to work. We offer a competitive salary and an excellent benefits package. This includes a flexi-time scheme, membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme and a generous holiday entitlement. For an illustrative value of your benefits package, take a look at our benefits calculator. We work hard to ensure that our people are well supported, both at a senior level and by your peers. We will also give you the chance to both use your professional skills and expertise and develop new ones with a variety of training and development opportunities. Hybrid working arrangements are available, mixing both home and office working, but time spent at the office with colleagues is encouraged.

We are committed to recruiting a diverse and highly talented workforce as we continue to build a council that is fitting and representative of our great city. That’s why we have designed our recruitment process to put you at your ease, make you feel welcome and bring the best out of you. We will do all we can to make our recruitment process as fair as possible. To help you with your application, take a look at the ‘our approach to recruitment’ page.

Please note that the interview/Assessments will take place 4th November 2026 and 9th November 2026.