£53,460 - £56,805 per annum plus a £3,000 market supplement (pay award pending)

Join our People Team as a Senior Lawyer 

We are seeking an experienced Senior Lawyer to join our People Team for the Council’s Legal Services function, helping to oversee both in-house provision and external legal support. Reporting to the Principal Lawyer, you will play a key role in supporting the delivery of the service and providing professional leadership across the People Team.

The Senior Lawyer is responsible for delivering high-quality legal advice and leading complex casework.  The role helps to ensure that legal risk is effectively managed while enabling informed decision-making across the organisation.

Interviews will take place w/c 17^th August 2026 and will include a presentation as part of the selection process.

What will you be doing?

Assist in leading and shaping the People Team, setting direction, driving high performance, and ensuring the delivery of timely, solution-focused legal advice to client services.

Support the Principal Lawyer, ensuring strong governance, ethical standards, and that all Council decision-making is lawful and compliant. Provide line management of legal officers and legal assistants. To support the Principal Lawyer with line management responsibilities of up to four lawyers within the team.

Provide expert advice to client services on complex, high-risk matters.

Manage legal risk, involved in complex casework, litigation and ensuring robust risk identification, mitigation, and communication.

Play a key role in leadership, development, and management of a high-performing team, promoting professional excellence, continuous improvement and a positive, values-driven culture.

Budgets, ensuring efficiency and sustainability.

Drive service improvement, enhancing systems, processes, and digital capability to deliver modern, effective legal services.

Advocacy and representation, represent the Council in courts, tribunals, inquiries, mediation and negotiations. Prepare pleadings, statements of case, evidence bundles and associated documentation. Provide legal representation at Committees, Sub-Committees and any other Council Board as required.

About you

• Qualified Solicitor, Barrister or FCILEx
• Evidence of continuing professional development
• Experience in local government or wider public sector including strong knowledge of local government law, governance, the Constitution and decision‑making processes.
• Experience in a relevant specialist area to include Childcare, Adult Social Care and Education. 
• Experience handling complex, sensitive or high‑risk casework.
• Experience advising on governance, statutory obligations and public sector decision making.
• Up‑to‑date knowledge of legislation, case law and regulatory frameworks relevant to the council services aligned to the legal team. 
• Experience representing clients in courts/tribunals/hearings/committees.

Our benefits

Here at North Northamptonshire Council, we’re transforming for the better, using all our creativity and imagination to create the best life for our local people.

You’ll find that we have a wide range of careers that may be more surprising than you think!

Why choose us?

We offer a vibrant working environment with:

• a competitive salary
• a pension scheme, where we pay a significant contribution on top of your contribution. It provides life cover and ill-health protection.
• lots of opportunities to develop your skills, knowledge and potential in a large unitary council
• generous leave entitlement (28 days, rising to 33 days) and bank holidays, plus the option to buy up to an extra 10 days
• hybrid and flexible working arrangements, where practicable for service needs to help you with a healthy work-life balance.

We provide a range of great benefits such as an Employee Assistance Programme, an Employee Benefits Scheme, wellbeing support, travel rates at HMRC rates, as well as supporting a range of active Employee Network Groups.

Closing date: 9 August 2026

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