Senior Solicitor / Senior Lawyer

Wrexham; Wrexham; Presencial; GBP 60.000 - 80.000; Tempo integral

Benefícios oferecidos por esta vaga

Local Government Pension Scheme

Flexible working arrangements

Generous annual leave (up to 32 days)

Family-friendly policies and work‑life

Wrexham Reward Scheme discounts

Health & wellbeing resources

Resumo da vaga

Wrexham County Borough Council is seeking a Senior Solicitor to join its Legal Services team, advising on planning, highways and environmental matters. You will manage a complex caseload and lead a small team, delivering strategic legal advice to officers, senior leaders and elected members.

The role involves handling development applications, enforcement, major infrastructure projects, planning obligations, and highway agreements, with opportunities to guide governance and compliance across the

Qualificações

• Significant post‑qualification experience in planning and highways law.
• Experience of advising in a local government or public sector setting.
• Strong drafting, negotiation and advocacy skills.
• Experience of handling complex legal matters with minimal supervision.
• The ability to provide clear, practical advice to officers and elected members.
• Excellent communication and relationship‑building skills.
• A proactive, flexible and strategic approach to legal practice.
• An understanding of the wider challenges facing local government.

Responsabilidades

• Manage own complex caseload while leading a small team of lawyers.
• Provide strategic, practical, solution‑focused advice across planning and highways matters.
• Handle planning applications, development management, enforcement, and appeals.
• Oversee major regeneration and infrastructure projects.
• Manage Section 106 agreements and planning obligations.
• Oversee highway adoption, infrastructure agreements, and Section 38/278 agreements.
• Address rights of way and highways matters; assist in judicial review work.
• Attend committee meetings and support elected members; represent council in courts and inquiries.

Conhecimentos

Planning & highways law

Local government/public sector advice

Drafting & negotiation

Advocacy

Team supervision / mentoring

Clear advisory communication

Strategic and practical legal advice

Understanding local government issues

Formação

Solicitor, Barrister or CILEx Fellow

Descrição da vaga

Are you an experienced planning and highways lawyer looking for an opportunity to work on high-profile developments, major infrastructure projects and complex regulatory challenges?

Wrexham County Borough Council is seeking an ambitious and highly skilled Senior Solicitor / Senior Lawyer to join our Legal Services team. This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in supporting the Council’s Place Directorate, advising on a varied and challenging portfolio of planning, highways and environmental matters. Based on the Council's Place Team, the successful candidate will be a trusted advisor to officers, senior leaders and elected members on matters that directly impact the future growth and development of the County Borough.

About the Role

You will manage your own complex caseload whilst managing a small team of lawyers. The role will involve providing strategic, practical and solution-focused legal advice across a broad range of planning and highways matters, including:

• Planning applications and development management.
• Planning enforcement, injunctions and appeals.
• Major regeneration and infrastructure projects.
• Section 106 Agreements and related planning obligations.
• Highway adoption and infrastructure agreements.
• Section 38 and Section 278 Agreements.
• Rights of way and highways matters.
• Judicial review and statutory challenge work.
• Committee attendance and support to elected members.
• Representation of the Council in Courts, Tribunals and Public Inquiries where appropriate.

You will work closely with Planning, Highways, Environment and Regeneration colleagues, helping to deliver key Council priorities while ensuring robust governance and legal compliance.

About You

We are looking for a qualified Solicitor, Barrister or Fellow of CILEx with substantial experience in planning and highways law.

The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate:

• Significant post‑qualification experience in planning and highways law.
• Experience of advising in a local government or public sector setting.
• Strong drafting, negotiation and advocacy skills.
• Experience of handling complex legal matters with minimal supervision.
• The ability to provide clear, practical advice to officers and elected members.
• Excellent communication and relationship‑building skills.
• A proactive, flexible and strategic approach to legal practice.
• An understanding of the wider challenges facing local government.

Previous experience of supervising or mentoring legal staff would be advantageous.

Why Wrexham?

This is an opportunity to join a supportive and forward‑thinking legal team at a time of significant investment and development across the County Borough. We offer challenging and rewarding work, flexible working arrangements and opportunities to develop your career within a modern local authority legal service.

The Council is committed to developing its bilingual workforce and welcomes applications from candidates who demonstrate their capability to work in both English and Welsh.

Wrexham Council welcomes applications from suitably qualified candidates regardless of race, gender, disability, sexuality, religious belief or age.

Interested?

If you are a planning and highways specialist looking for a varied, strategic and rewarding role within local government, we would love to hear from you.

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact:

Rebecca Wright
Head of Service, Legal, Democratic and Registration Services

About Us

• Grymuso

The County Borough of Wrexham, located in North East Wales, is proud of its Welsh heritage and cultural identity. Over the years it has grown to reflect a population that is multi‑religious and multi‑ethnic and complements the diversity of our communities.

Centred on the city of Wrexham, which nestles between the Welsh mountains and the Cheshire plains, it’s a location that really can offer you the best of both worlds and we are proud of our city status (awarded in 2022 when we became the seventh city in Wales).

Wrexham County Borough Council is a unitary Council which delivers a wide range of services aimed at improving the lives of Wrexham residents and surrounding communities. We are committed to providing services through collaboration with local and national partners. With a focus on sustainable development, community wellbeing, and improving the lives of Wrexham residents and surrounding communities, Wrexham is a fantastic place to work, live, and learn.

The council is an inclusive employer with a workforce of around 5,500, offering diverse roles, training and development and rewarding career opportunities. Wrexham County Borough Council values innovation, bilingualism in English and Welsh, and welcomes applicants from all backgrounds.

As a Disability Confident Committed Employer, the council ensures accessible recruitment and support for disabled employees including offering a guaranteed interview (where essential person specification items are met). Additionally, veterans will receive guaranteed interviews under the Armed Forces Covenant if eligibility criteria are met (where essential person specification items are met).

Employee benefits include:

• Membership in the Local Government Pension Scheme
• Flexible working arrangements
• Generous annual leave up to 32 days
• Family‑friendly policies supporting caring and family commitments
• Work‑life balance and flexi time (dependent on role)
• Access to Wrexham Reward Scheme with discounts off leading retailers nationally and locally
• Health & well‑being resources, for example:
  • Healthy & Wellbeing Champions
  • Employee assistance programme with advice on staying healthy financially, mentally or physically:
    • Counselling (available 24/7, 365 days a year)
    • In‑the‑moment emotional support (available 24/7, 365 days a year)
    • Option to set health‑boosting goals with small, sustainable lifestyle changes
    • Connect health apps to track physical health and meet progress goals
    • Blogs, videos, recipes and more resources providing inspiration and motivation
    • Identify risks of developing leading lifestyle‑related diseases with mental health and financial scores
    • Legal, financial and consumer advice
  • Health and wellbeing events and campaigns throughout the year (e.g., November Health Day, Time to Talk Day, Mental Health Awareness Week, Sun Awareness Week, Menopause Week, Financial Health Week)
  • Menopause Café and guidance
  • Unpaid Carer Café and guidance

Our Council Plan (2023–28) sets out our priorities for this period and we deliver these by following the Nolan Values of public life (selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership) as well as our own Corporate Values: