Team Leader (Contracts and Commissioning)

Swale Borough Council; England; Hybrid; GBP 57,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

A regional legal services provider in England seeks a Team Leader - Contracts and Commissioning to lead the Contracts and Commissioning team. This role involves providing legal expertise, managing complex cases, and delivering services across multiple local authorities. The ideal candidate will have a legal background with leadership experience and will work in a supportive environment, enjoying hybrid working arrangements and extensive benefits.

Benefits

Salary of £57,703- £64,906 per annum plus £7,000 market supplement

Local Government pension scheme

Generous annual leave plus time off between Christmas and New Year

Wellbeing support including confidential advice and counselling

Discounts on leisure and retail

Free parking across 3 Partner Authority sites

Qualifications

• Extensive post-qualification legal practice experience in contracts and commissioning.
• Experience providing legal advice to senior leaders in politically sensitive environments.
• A full, valid UK driving licence.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the Contracts and Commissioning team.
• Deliver high-quality legal services across all three local authorities.
• Provide high-level legal advice to elected members and senior managers.

Skills

Legal expertise in contracts and commissioning

Leadership

Political awareness in local government

Staff management

Education

Qualified solicitor, barrister or equivalent

Job description

Team Leader - Contracts and Commissioning
Mid Kent Legal Services
This is a full-time hybrid working role.

About Us

Mid Kent Legal Services (MKLS) provides legal services and advice across the mid-Kent area (to Swale, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells councils). The service covers a range of areas, including Property and Regeneration, Planning, Contentious, Contracts & Commissioning, and Corporate Governance. Working across multiple councils means a range of high-level, challenging and impactful work ranging from supporting the delivery of garden communities, to the redevelopment of large shopping centres, to letting very large contracts, to delivering affordable housing. In short, it’s a real opportunity to make a difference in an area with vibrant towns, beautiful villages and countryside and fantastic leisure and cultural amenities.

MKLS has a reputation as being forward-thinking, progressive and innovative, and is closely and strongly aligned with its partner authorities. It provides a supportive and nurturing environment with opportunities for staff to progress internally, and uses technology to maximise the effective use of lawyers' time. In short, it is a great place to work.

We are now looking for a Team Leader (Contracts and Commissioning) to join us on a full-time, permanent basis, working 34 hours per week.

The Benefits

• Salary of £57,703- £64,906 per annum + £7,000 market supplement
• Local Government pension scheme
• Generous annual leave plus time off between Christmas and New Year, and options to purchase extra leave
• Wellbeing support including confidential advice, counselling and flu vaccines
• Discounts on leisure, retail, and fuel and salary sacrifice schemes, including Cycle to Work and car leasing
• Generous sick pay
• Free parking across the 3 Partner Authority sites
• Season ticket loans for rail/bus travel

This is the ideal opportunity for an experienced legal professional with expertise in contracts and commissioning and a great leadership style to join our forward-thinking shared service and make a difference to the lives of people who live and work in the Mid-Kent area.

With extensive wellbeing benefits and a brilliant pension scheme, you’ll enjoy a rewarding career where your expertise is recognised, and you will also benefit from hybrid working, saving on commuting time and expenses on the days when you are not travelling to one of the offices.

What’s more, we offer outstanding working arrangements, with the majority of your time spent working from home and a 34 hour working week, including 1pm finishes on Fridays. On top of this, we offer a number of working options such as compressed hours, nine day fortnights, and part-time working, all within an inclusive and supportive working environment where your wellbeing is prioritised.

The Role

As our Team Leader (Contracts and Commissioning), you will lead and manage our Contracts and Commissioning team, manage a caseload of complex and high-profile contract and commissioning matters, and deliver high-quality legal services across all three local authorities.

This pivotal role combines strategic leadership with providing expert legal advice on contracts and commissioning, ensuring compliance with Lexcel standards and promoting the shared legal service’s vision.

Overseeing our team’s development, you will manage recruitment, training and performance whilst serving as the most senior fee earner, providing high-level legal advice to elected members, committees and senior managers.

You will also support the delivery of the partnership’s strategic objectives, maintaining up-to-date legal expertise and promoting the service internally and externally to improve understanding of legal procedures and build the MKLS reputation.

Additionally, you will:

• Lead training sessions, provide guidance notes and offer legal supervision
• Represent MKLS at external meetings
• Ensure compliance with council policies

This is an exciting time to join the MKLS Contracts & Commissioning Team with a number of large and high-profile projects happening across the Partner Authorities.

About You

To be considered as our Team Leader (Contracts and Commissioning), you will need:

• To be a qualified solicitor, barrister, chartered legal executive or have equivalent qualification and experience
• Extensive post-qualification legal practice experience in contracts and commissioning
• Experience providing legal advice and support to senior leaders and key decision-makers in contracts and commissioning law and practice
• Experience operating in politically sensitive environments
• Experience of staff management
• Experience of the successful performance management of legal fee earners
• Knowledge and understanding of the political nature of local government and the democratic process
• A full, valid UK driving licence

Other organisations may call this role Solicitor, Barrister, Chartered Legal Executive, Attorney, Legal Counsel, Legal Services Team Leader, Senior Contracts and Commissioning Lawyer, Commissioning and Legal Team Leader, Contracts and Governance Manager, Senior Legal Advisor, or Legal Operations Team Leader.

Webrecruit, Mid Kent Legal Services and Maidstone, Swale and Tunbridge Wells local authorities are equal opportunities employers, value diversity and are strongly committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all employees and all applicants for employment. Equal opportunities are the only acceptable way to conduct business and we believe that the more inclusive our environments are, the better our work will be.

If you would like to discuss this position, please contact Timothy Pyant, Interim Business Manager, on 01622 602155.

Closing Date: 19th October 2025
Interview Date: W/C 3rd November 2025

So, if you’re looking for a great new opportunity as a Team Leader (Contracts and Commissioning), please apply via the button shown.