£45,750 - £57,402 per annum
 
Plus a Golden Hello Payment may be available for eligible candidates of up to £3,000
 
About Us: 
Bursting with culture, energy, and opportunity, the London Borough of Waltham Forest is a fantastic and exciting place to work. 
 
We are a highly ambitious borough. Driven by culture and the innate creativity of our residents, we have developed new and innovative ways to build our communities. Our Council is relentlessly resident-focused, insight-led, digitally driven and commercially minded; a Council focused on meeting the needs of our existing and future residents. 
 
London Borough of Waltham Forest is one of the Mayor of London’s Good Work Standard employers. This accreditation is a proof of our commitment to creating a healthy, fair and inclusive workplace. This includes fair pay and conditions, workplace well-being, skills and progression and diversity and recruitment. 
 
About the role: 

Join us, and you will be initiating and conducting care proceedings under the Children’s Act 1989. You’ll have a varied and challenging caseload, including all aspects of care and adoption proceedings and advice work, as well as matters in pre-proceedings.  
 
Key Responsibilities: 
We’ll be expecting you to give timely and accurate legal advice, deal with a complex caseload and stay up to date with relevant legislation. You must therefore be a qualified solicitor or barrister or Chartered Legal Executive with considerable experience and PQE.  

With experience in another local authority or large organisation, you’ll have accurate knowledge of practice and procedure in relation to child care law including, care and adoption proceedings, and private law proceedings. Advocacy experience  in a wide variety of care  proceedings in the Family Court is also desirable or at least a willingness to develop this skill. 

We are looking for professionals with excellent communication skills, both orally and in writing, and dedication to the job. You will work within a friendly, welcoming and supportive team where your professional development will be nurtured and appreciated day to day. 

With the determination to meet deadlines, you’ll work flexibly, including outside normal office hours if necessary. And, with your commitment to the role, you’ll have what it takes to a change a child’s life.   
 
Qualifications and Requirements: 
A qualified solicitor or barrister or Chartered Legal Executive with considerable experience and PQE.  
 
Terms and conditions: 
The below terms and conditions apply to this role: 

• Satisfactory employment references and CIFAS identity checks; 
• Satisfactory declaration of interest; 
• Satisfactory DBS check; 
• Continued professional body registration; 

Find Out More About These Opportunities
We recognise that moving roles is a significant decision, and we are keen to give prospective candidates the opportunity to learn more about our teams, the work we do and what it is like to work at Waltham Forest.

We are therefore offering informal in-person sessions at our offices at Waltham Forest Town Hall on Tuesday 16 and Tuesday 23 June 2026 between 10.00am and 4.00pm. These sessions will provide an opportunity to discuss the role, meet team members and view our offices. Attendance is by pre-arranged appointment, and candidates are invited to book a convenient time slot.

For those unable to attend in person, we will also be offering informal discussions via Microsoft Teams on 16 and 23 June 2026. These discussions will also be available by pre-arranged appointment.

To arrange either an office visit or a Microsoft Teams discussion, or if you would like an informal discussion about he roles, please contact the panel members:

Sahdiah Ikram (Sahdiah.ikram@walthamforest.gov.uk)  
Edna Wilson-Cole (edna.wilson-cole@walthamforest.gov.uk)  
 
We welcome conversations with prospective applicants and would be pleased to discuss the opportunities available within our Children Protection team.
 
How to Apply: 
Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications online by pressing the ‘Apply’ button below. This includes a supporting statement that outlines to us how your skills and experience make you a good candidate for this vacancy. 
 
We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.  
 
Equal Opportunity Employer: 
Waltham Forest is a diverse borough where diversity is valued and is integral to both, service delivery and employment of its staff. The Council is proud of its rich mix of communities and as the largest employer in the area, it works hard to respond to the changing needs of its population.

We use our statutory duties on race, gender and disability equality and best practice in respect of age, faith and sexual orientation to ensure equality of opportunity in the workplace. The Council is committed to meeting its 4 equality objectives: - Promoting equality of opportunity - Opposing all forms of discrimination, intolerance and disadvantage - Ensuring our workforce reflects the diverse communities of Waltham Forest at all levels. - Providing fair, appropriate, accessible and excellent Services to all. Respecting Diversity is a core Council value. 
 
To support the above and reduce the risk of bias in its recruitment activities, the council is operating an anonymous shortlisting process, which hides personal information that can identify individuals until their application has been considered for shortlisting. The council also operates a scheme whereby, for jobs graded up to and including scale SO2, internal candidates are considered first. This includes those candidates who self-identify as having a disability for the purposes of the Disability Confident scheme. For more information, please refer to our recruitment and selection policy. 
 
We are keen to support employees to balance their working life with other commitments. Therefore, wherever possible, we will consider working arrangements that suit an individual's personal circumstances whilst still meeting the needs of the Council. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below or feel free to discuss this during your interview. 

The Council’s preference is for online application. However, if you have a disability and are unable to complete an online application, please email recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk so we can arrange an alternative application method. 

Closing date: 24 June 2026
Proposed Interview Date(s): 3 July AM and all day 6 July 2026

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