Solicitor - Children

Corporate and Commercial Services

Legal Services

Ref: SM3/OL-90536

Contract Type: Permanent

Salary: £52,555 - £55,678 per annum (SM3)

Hours: 36.40 per week

Based: Level 4, Civic Centre, West Street, Oldham, OL1 1UL / Working from home and office and with attendance at Family Court Manchester

Closing Date: Sunday 26th May 2024

Shortlisting & Interview Dates: TBC

Job Description & Person Specification.doc

Role Overview:

To provide the professional services of a solicitor to the Council and other bodies within the Directorate for Health and Well-being.

Key Responsibilities:

• To advise Council, Executive, Committees, Officers and Departments of the Council on legal matters primarily, but not exclusively, relating to all areas of Social Services including attendance at evening meetings as requested.
• Advocacy in contested and uncontested hearings in Court and when necessary instruction of Counsel at the Family Court, including the preparation and management of cases.
• Drafting and settling of legal documentation with particular reference to Children’s Social Care.
• Conduct of litigation with particular reference to Children’s Social Care and matters.

Key Requirements:

To succeed in this role you will need as a minimum:

• Extensive experience of advising Social work clients and their managers.
• Extensive post qualification experience in conducting child care proceedings.
• Advocacy experience including Contested Hearings at Court.
• Ability to advise competently in complex child care matters and to assimilate and advise upon evidential matters relating thereto.

Oldham Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

NB. - Any candidate that meets the criteria of our Guaranteed Assessment Scheme and meets the essential criteria of the role, will be guaranteed the first stage of assessment (whether that is an interview or another assessment, as appropriate).

Our Guaranteed Assessment Scheme supports candidates with disabilities, carers, those who are aged 24 or under and have previously been in or currently in care, and those whose last long term substantive employer was the Armed Forces.

Diversity and Inclusion:

At Oldham Council, we are committed to creating a fair and inclusive workplace that is as diverse as the communities we serve. We aim to develop a culture of respect, where differences are recognised regardless of background. We aim to be an employer of choice by engaging in fair and open recruitment processes and Applications are encouraged from all communities across the borough to create a workforce that represents the diversity of our population.

About Us:

Oldham is committed to developing a Co-operative future; one where citizens, partners and staff work together to improve the borough.  Anyone joining the council is coming into an ambitious organisation with big plans. We are working hard to build a brighter future for our borough and we need people from a wide range of backgrounds to continue delivering the best for our communities.

The Council has a clear set of Values and Behaviours, our Values outline how we do business and we share these borough wide with our residents, partners and businesses.  Internally we have translated these values into five cooperative behaviours which outline the priority areas of focus for all staff at all levels. You can view the Values and Behaviours on our Greater. Jobs pages Working for Oldham

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Please note that should a vacancy that has been released for internal or external recruitment be deemed suitable for an at risk employee, it can be pulled back at any point up to the post being formally offered to an external candidate or an internal candidate that is not at risk of redundancy. 

Right to Work in the UK from 1st July 2021.doc