Senior Lawyer

Hoople Ltd; Hereford; On-site; GBP 59,000 - 66,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

LGPS

Career progression

Annual leave 31 days pro rata + bank/b

Flexible working

Employee Assistance Programme

Professional membership fees

Perks range (retail, leisure, health)

Job summary

Herefordshire Council is seeking a Senior Lawyer (Contracts, Procurement and Major Projects) to join a small team handling contracts, grants, procurement and commercial law. The role requires a CiLEX fellow with strong contract and commercial law knowledge and the ability to manage a caseload with minimal supervision.

You will provide legal advice to council departments, draft diverse contracts including JCT/NEC4, and contribute to service improvements within the Legal Services Team.

Qualifications

• Qualified Barrister, Solicitor or Legal Executive who is a CiLEX fellow with strong knowledge of contract and commercial law
• Experience with subsidy control, company law, contract and procurement law
• Experience drafting a wide range of contracts including JCT or NEC4
• Knowledge of Data Protection legislation is advantageous
• Ability to work unsupervised and manage a caseload with strong communication and analytical skills

Responsibilities

• Provide legal advice on a range of issues working with council departments
• Proactively co-ordinate and manage a large number of instructions
• Draft and review contracts including standard build contracts
• Support procurement and major projects with commercial law expertise

Skills

CiLEX fellow

Contract law

Commercial law

Subsidy control

Data protection knowledge

Drafting contracts (JCT/NEC4)

Unsupervised work

Education

Qualified Barrister/Solicitor/Legal Executive (CiLEX)

Job description

About The Role

Senior Lawyer

Contract: Permanent
Salary:HC12 £59,266 - £65,728 per annum
Hours: 37

Location: Hereford
Closing Date: 25th November 2026

The Role

Herefordshire Council are seeking a highly motivated and organised Senior Lawyer (Contracts, Procurement and Major Projects).You will be joining a small team of lawyers dealing with a variety of matters, primarily contracts, grants, procurement and commercial law.

This role will suit a highly motivated and organised lawyer seeking a challenge with an aptitude for legal research and willingness to contribute to the improvement of the Legal Services Team as a whole. Excellent client care skills and an eagerness to provide an excellent high quality service to our clients is a must.

We would welcome applications from applicants at any stage of their career and whether or not your expertise is in the public or private sectors.

What will you be doing?

As a Senior Lawyer (Contracts, Procurement and Major Projects), you will provide legal advice and assistance on a wide range of issues, varying in complexity, working closely with the Council’s departments in order to proactively co‑coordinate, problem solve and manage a large number of instructions.

About You

As a Senior Lawyer (Contracts, Procurement and Major Projects) you will be:

A qualified Barrister, Solicitor or Legal Executive who is a fellow of CiLEX with an impressive knowledge of contract and commercial law

You will be able to demonstrate experience and knowledge of subsidy control, company law, contract, procurement law and drafting a wide range of contracts including standard build contracts such as JCT or NEC4.

Knowledge of Data Protection legislation would be an advantage but not essential.

You will be able to work unsupervised and carry your own caseload. You will have excellent communication skills, refined analytical skills and the ability to deputise for more senior team members as required.

We Offer

A competitive salary, holiday entitlement, and access to our contributory pension and staff benefits scheme, which includes:

• Salary range of £59,266.00 to £65,728.00
• Enrolment in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
• Career progression: clear pathways to progress
• Annual Leave: 31 days’ annual leave (pro rata) plus bank holidays. You can also purchase an additional 10 days per annum during the request period
• Flexible working: including the potential for job‑sharing, part‑time hours and agile working.
• Employee Assistance Programme: 24/7 access to support and counselling
• Payment of professional membership fees (based on role requirements)
• Pick your perks – our benefits include access to a range of retail, leisure, holiday and health benefits. This includes savings, cash back and discounts.

Why Choose Us?

We're proud and excited to unveil our new recruitment video, a celebration of Herefordshire's people, places, and purpose. Set in the heart of England and filled with pride, compassion and possibility, the video brings to life what it means to work somewhere you truly belong.

At Herefordshire Council, every role matters and every person makes a real difference for our communities. We’re a team where people feel valued, supported and empowered to grow together.

Herefordshire is big hearted, welcoming and friendly. We have strong and independent communities and idyllic countryside, situated in the South West Midlands and bordering Wales. The county sits between Worcestershire and the Malvern Hills to the east, and Bannau Brycheiniog (the Brecon Beacons) in Wales to the west.

Historically Herefordshire has been the gateway to the Marches. We embrace partnership working. We are a member of the Marches Forward Partnership, which is a cross border collaboration between Herefordshire, Monmouthshire, Powys and Shropshire who are collectively working to secure funding to invest in the region.

The council priorities over the next four years are set out in the Council Plan, with four main areas;

People

We will enable residents to realise their potential, to be healthy and to be part of great communities who support each other. We want all children to have the best start in life.

Place

We will protect and enhance our environment and ensure that Herefordshire is a great place to live. We will support the right housing in the right place, we will support access to green spaces and we will do everything we can to recover the health of our rivers.

Growth

We will create the conditions to deliver sustainable growth across the county; attracting inward investment, building business confidence, creating jobs, enabling housing development along with providing the right infrastructure.

Transformation

We will be an efficient council that embraces best practice, delivers innovation through technology and demonstrates value for money.

Don't meet all parts of the job description?

Herefordshire Council is committed to strengthening a diverse and inclusive work environment which reflects the communities of Herefordshire. If you are looking at the next stage of your career and have a broad base of fieldwork experience, we can provide supportive and welcoming opportunities to help you develop your professional, management & supervisory skills.

Reasonable Adjustments

Our recruitment process runs in partnership with Hoople Resourcing. If you require any reasonable adjustments or alternative methods for the online application process, please contact the resourcing team by email: [e-mail].

Creating an inclusive workplace

We encourage our employees to feel empowered and to use their voices to help embrace diversity, promote inclusivity and shape our organisation. We have eight employee network groups, collectives of colleagues who often share identities, life experiences or cultures and offer support and community. They also play an important role in strengthening the voices of employees at Herefordshire Council.

Embedded in the Council's values is a commitment to listen to people's views and needs.

Commitments, Covenants and Statutory Obligations

The following candidates will be interviewed if they meet the essential criteria for the post they are applying for:

• Those who indicate that they have a disability. This is part of our commitment to the “Disability Confident” scheme.
• Those who indicate in their application that they are an Armed Forces Veteran or Reservist. This is part of our pledge to support the Armed Forces Covenant.
• Those who indicate in their application that they are a Herefordshire care leaver. This is part of our commitment to supporting young people leaving our care.

We take our commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults seriously and expect all of our staff, visitors and volunteers to share in this commitment.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children & young people and vulnerable adults. If you are offered this position, it may be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service check.