Senior Lawyer (SEN)

The Guildhall Northampton

Northampton

On-site

GBP 51,000 - 55,000

Full time

5 days ago

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Job summary

West Northants Council is seeking a Senior Lawyer (SEND) to support the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities services. You will handle a varied caseload, provide expert legal advice, and contribute to policy development.

You will supervise junior colleagues, collaborate with external partners, and help keep the legal service up to date with legislative changes while delivering high-quality outcomes for children and families.

Qualifications

Qualified Solicitor with significant experience providing legal advice and representation.
Experience in SEND law or related area preferred.
Strong communication, advocacy and relationship-building skills.

Responsibilities

Provide specialist legal advice on SEND matters and conduct SEND Tribunal proceedings.
Advise officers, Members and services across the Council on SEND policy and procedure.
Supervise and mentor junior colleagues within the team.

Skills

Legal advice

Advocacy

Communication

Relationship-building

Education

Qualified Solicitor

Job description

Senior Lawyer (SEND)

About The Role

At West Northants Council, we believe every child and young person should have the opportunity to achieve their potential. As a Senior Lawyer (SEND), you’ll play a key role in supporting the Council’s Special Educational Needs and Disabilities services, helping to ensure children, young people and families receive fair, legally robust and high-quality support.

Working within our Law, Governance and Regulatory Services team, you’ll provide specialist legal advice on a broad range of SEND matters, supporting colleagues across the organisation while helping to shape policy, practice and decision-making. This is an exciting opportunity to join one of England’s newest and largest unitary councils and contribute to a modern, ambitious legal service where your expertise will make a meaningful difference to the lives of children and families across West Northamptonshire.

Whether you are already working in local government, looking to move from private practice or seeking a fresh challenge in a highly rewarding area of law, you’ll find a supportive environment where you can continue to develop your career and professional expertise.

What will you be doing?

You’ll manage a varied and complex caseload relating to Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, providing expert legal advice and representation across a range of matters. Your work will include advising on SEND law, policy and procedure, conducting SEND Tribunal proceedings, supporting Judicial Review cases and providing guidance to officers, Members and services across the Council.

You’ll work closely with colleagues, external partners and professional experts to support the delivery of effective services and positive outcomes for children and young people. Alongside your casework, you’ll contribute to major projects, support the development of legal services and help ensure the organisation remains up to date with legislative and policy developments. As a senior member of the team, you’ll also provide supervision, training and guidance to junior colleagues, helping to develop capability and share best practice across the service.

About You

You’re a qualified Solicitor or legal professional with significant experience of providing legal advice and representation in complex matters. Ideally, you’ll have experience in SEND law or a closely related area and be passionate about supporting children, young people and families.

You bring excellent communication, advocacy and relationship-building skills, along with the ability to interpret complex legislation and provide practical, solution-focused advice. You’re confident managing a demanding caseload, working collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders and supporting the development of colleagues within the team.

West Northants is a great place to build your career. We are committed to helping our people thrive through mentoring, coaching, development opportunities and a supportive culture that encourages innovation and continuous improvement. Above all, you’ll share our THRIVE values and our commitment to delivering high-quality legal services that make a positive difference to our communities.

Our benefits: you can also see our full list of employee benefits on our careers site here: https://www.westnorthants.gov.uk/spotlight-our-key-services-careers-and-our-partners/working-our-legal-teams

About Us

At West Northants Council, it’s about our people. People who thrive with ambition, bubble with new ideas, demand better ways of working, caring about every detail, and who never shy away from a challenge. Our culture is a gateway for new experiences. A place to forge new opportunities. To empower you in your career and unite you with like-minded people.

Our vision is ‘to make West Northants a great place to live, work, visit and thrive’. We truly stand by this and work hard every day to make this a reality. Our corporate values, THRIVE, stand for: Trust, High Performance, Respect, Innovate and Empower, they underpin everything we do and how we deliver services.

We are committed to ensuring diversity, equality, equity, and inclusion is woven into the fabric of WNC and everything we do, to enable all colleagues to develop and maximize their full potential. We are a disability confident employer, a member of the Armed Forces Covenant, and a Care Leaver Covenant partner

The following film was created by us to communicate our intentions - watch WNC colleagues explain what DEI means to us.

If you need additional support or reasonable adjustments during the application process, including needing the job description in another format or language, please email careers@westnorthants.gov.uk for support.

Please note we reserve the right to close the advert early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications, so we recommend applying as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

West Northants Council, where careers thrive.

Job Details