Senior Lawyer (Contracts)

WMJobs; Stafford; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 75,000; 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's in-house Legal Services is seeking a qualified solicitor with expertise in commercial contracts and public procurement. You will manage a varied caseload, advise on large projects, and support governance and decision-making across the Council.

The role offers flexible working patterns and the chance to develop precedents and training for junior staff while delivering pragmatic commercial solutions with integrity.

Qualifications

• Qualified Solicitor, or CILEX with practice rights, or Barrister.
• Significant experience advising on commercial contracts and public procurement in local government/public sector.
• Experience supporting delivery of major projects and subsidy control issues.
• Ability to advise senior officers and elected members on complex governance/decision-making.
• Experience supervising/mentoring junior lawyers and staff.
• Experience contributing to service improvement and development of precedents/best practices.

Responsibilities

• Provide complex legal, commercial and procurement advice across a wide range of matters.
• Review, draft and advise on complex agreements including frameworks, contracts and services arrangements.
• Advise on major projects and coordinate advice across the project team.
• Work independently and manage own caseload with minimal supervision.
• Advise on Council Constitution, governance reports and decision-making.
• Supervise staff and contribute to training where needed.
• Maintain Lexcel quality standards and build internal/external relationships.

Skills

Commercial contracts

Public procurement

Governance advice

Major project delivery

Mentoring juniors

Education

Qualified Solicitor / CILEX / Barrister

Job description

Staffordshire County Council, 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 and 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

• providing complex legal, commercial and procurement advice regarding a wide range of matters;
• reviewing, drafting and advising on complex agreements including frameworks, construction documents, services contracts, ICT contracts, social care contracts, collaboration agreements, section 75 agreements and various central and local government grant funding and loan agreements including Subsidy Control considerations;
• advising on major projects and coordinating advice and responsibilities across the project team;
• working without supervision and independently managing own caseload;
• advising on Council Constitution, governance reports and decision making;
• advising on Local Government Reorganisation
• providing pragmatic commercial solutions to clients and identifying and managing legal risks:
• supervising staff, including deputising for the team seniors as required and delivering training where necessary;
• adhering to the Legal Services Unit’s LEXCEL quality standards;
• building strong internal and external relationships including high standards of honesty and integrity;
• recording all chargeable time spent on matters and non-chargeable activity in accordance with the council’s time recording system.

The Ideal Candidate

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

• Qualified Solicitor/fellow of CILEX with practice rights or Barrister
• Significant experience of advising on commercial contracts and public procurement matters within a local government, public sector or similarly complex environment.
• Experience of supporting the delivery of major projects, construction matters, complex commercial arrangements and subsidy control issues.
• The ability to advise senior officers and elected members on complex legal, governance and decision-making issues.
• Experience of supervising, mentoring or supporting the development of junior lawyers, trainees, apprentices or legal support staff.
• Experience of contributing to service improvement, knowledge sharing, development of precedents, procedures or best practice within a legal service.

Interviews will be held during the week starting 12 October 2026.

Our Recruitment Process:

We anonymise applications during shortlisting to ensure only relevant information is considered.

Our recruitment process clarifies that 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.

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:

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 your application meets the minimum criteria for the post.