Salary range: £56,436 - £62,742 per annum. Salary negotiable depending upon experience 

Work location: Westminster City Hall, 64 Victoria Street, Westminster, SW1E 6QP 

Hours per week: 36

About Us:

THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF AMAYA’S DEDICATION TO TRANSFORMING LIVES

Legal Services at Westminster is made up of a dedicated and diverse team of legal professionals committed to improving outcomes for families in the local community.

Amaya, a Senior Solicitor, is part of the team that focuses on child protection, adult social care and education. After starting in private practice, she transitioned to public law, working other local authorities for over 20 years, before joining the bi-borough Legal Services seven years ago. Her caseload is very wide-ranging, challenging and stimulating and she has dealt with cases that have involved Hague proceedings, as well as a case before the Supreme Court.

As part of a close-knit and supportive team, Amaya and her colleagues have worked hard for years, and they have built a very good reputation with the local Court (Central Family Court) and the judges. The team is keen to developing the next generation of social care lawyers to continue this important work.

Westminster staff are encouraged to participate and contribute to more than just their day-to-day role and volunteering opportunities are available. Amaya has contributed to training for Children’s Services and has collaborated with the Family Rights Group. She also actively supports wider council initiatives, including volunteering with the Climate Team, the Language Café, and mentoring care-experienced young people through summer placement schemes. 

The Role:
As a Senior Solicitor in our Social Care and Education Team, you can make your own powerful contribution to children and families across Westminster. Specialising in Child Care, you’ll work across the entire Council ecosystem to provide expert professional, procedural and technical guidance on all matters relating to child protection.

Your day-to-day will include both complex and routine legal cases — covering everything from care proceedings to PLO cases, age assessments to DoLs. You may be required to work on high profile, politically sensitive or financially weighted cases.

Acting as an advocate as appropriate, you’ll conduct proceedings, public enquiries, appeals and judicial reviews in the Courts and before Tribunals. Responsible for drafting, preparing and collating legal documents, advising on law and evidence, and interviewing witnesses, you’ll ensure that all procedural and standing order requirements are complied with.

Acting as a source of expertise and guidance to your team and senior colleagues, you’ll work to foster a culture of accountability, knowledge sharing and continuous improvement within the Council and beyond. 

Please refer to the Job Description for more information.

About You:
A qualified Solicitor, Barrister or Fellow of CILEX (or equivalent), you’ll have demonstrable experience of dealing with, and advising on, local authority’s duties and powers in relation to children and young adults. Bringing solid knowledge of childcare, Local Government and adult social care law, you’ll be confident advising on complaints and judicial review matters.

On a personal level, you’ll be a true team player with excellent negotiating and influencing skills. A strong public speaker, you’ll be capable of effectively communicating standard and complex legal issues to non-specialist colleagues. Your approach to work will be diplomatic, enterprising, and detail focused, and you’ll be passionate about improving outcomes for children, young people and their families.

This is a fantastic opportunity to join a supportive team of specialists putting people across Westminster first, and to supercharge your career in the process.

Westminster City Council is committed to supporting Care Leavers into the workplace. Care Leavers seeking their first job and who wish to be considered under our scheme, will automatically be invited to interview should they meet the essential criteria for the role.

The Council is committed to achieving diverse shortlists to support our desire to increase the number of staff from underrepresented groups in our workforce. We especially encourage applications from a Global Majority (GM), people who are Black, Asian, Brown, dual-heritage, indigenous to the global south, and or have been racialised as 'ethnic minorities' (formally known as B.A.M.E , Black, Asian and multiple ethnic) background and, while the role is open to all applicants, we will utilise the positive action provisions of the Equality Act 2010 to appoint a candidate from a global majority background where there is a choice between two candidates of equal merit. If you are from a Global Majority background you can self-declare this to the hiring manager as part of our positive action commitments. 

What We Offer:
Westminster is an amazing place. We are home to more than 200,000 residents from all backgrounds, over 50,000 vibrant and vital businesses and three-quarters-of-a-million people work in Westminster. Westminster City Council’s strategy is to work towards a Fairer Westminster. A Fairer Westminster is one in which our communities are at the heart of our decision-making and help to determine the city’s future. By working directly with our communities and other partners, we can build a more inclusive city that celebrates our diverse communities, and where residents, workers and visitors from all backgrounds will feel welcome and safe.

At Westminster City Council, we pride ourselves on being an inclusive workplace and employer of choice. We encourage and welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that, at all levels, represents the communities we serve. We champion equality, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued, has a sense of belonging and is empowered to be their best, that is the Westminster Way. To find out more about how we do this visit  https://www.westminster.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/public-health-strategy-policies-and-reports/equality-duties

As a forward thinking Council we appreciate that people work in different ways, therefore our staff benefit from working a range of flexible working patterns as well as Agile working.

The Council is a Disability Confident Employer. If you have declared a disability in your application , we guarantee an interview if you meet the essential criteria of the job. If you are invited for interview, you will be asked if you need any reasonable adjustments in order to attend, and we will make these wherever possible.

For further information or to apply, please click on the 'Enquire/Apply' button below.

Closing date: 19 October 2025

Interview date: Week commencing 27 October 2025