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Lawyer - Advocacy

Please Note: The application deadline for this job has now passed.

Our Values

It’s great to know that you are interested in working with us at Coventry City Council. As a prospective employee, it is important that everyone who works for us is committed to our One Coventry values and shares our commitment to becoming a more diverse and inclusive organisation. 

 

Our Values are:

About the team we are recruiting to

Coventry City Council’s Legal Service is part of the public sector  providing in-house legal support to Coventry City Council. The team offers a professional comprehensive, tailor-made service to address legal issues of every description. The team is highly motivated, eager to develop and face challenges head on.

What is the job role?

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a talented advocate within the Advocacy team. We are looking for an enthusiastic and able lawyer to join our service and to represent the Council as our in-house advocate.

As a qualified Solicitor, Barrister or Chartered Legal Executive, you will require experience to handle Local Authority Children and Adoption cases in all tiers of court. There will also be the opportunity to carry out hearings in the Court of Protection, Education Tribunals, and Inquests, as well as in Adult Matters.

You must be self-motivated and able to provide a high-quality, client-focused legal service, as well as to work effectively as part of a team and establish good relations with client departments and outside agencies. 

Who are we looking for?

You will need good knowledge and experience of children and adoption law and have an appreciation of adult work, SEN Tribunal work, and Court of Protection cases.

You will have strong advocacy skills and be able to give sound, pragmatic legal advice on complex matters to officers and Members of the Council. 

Good organisational, communication, and IT skills will be required, as well as the ability to work to tight deadlines and give sound, practical advice.  You need to be able to draft legal correspondence and documentation, carry out legal research, conduct training sessions, and be able to assist in other teams, when possible, which will involve pre- proceedings work, duty and case management.

In your personal statement, please evidence skills and knowledge in the subject and person specifications, particularly addressing the following, applications will be shortlisted against these points:

  1. Your experience of conducting advocacy in public child care proceedings and placement/adoption proceedings, ensuring that you have demonstrated experience with both contested and unopposed applications.
  2. Your experience of drafting detailed position statements/skeleton arguments in relation to children matters and how those position statements/skeleton arguments were used.
  3. Your experience of working within a team where you will be dealing with conflicting demands, time pressures, and covering hearings at short notice as well as urgent hearings. How would you balance such competing demands and what experience have you got of such?

For full details on the application process please read the attached document on our jobs page labelled 'Coventry City Council Application Process'

Interview date 7 September 2022

About Coventry

Coventry is a lively, multicultural city, which embraces old and new. Around the modern city centre there are traces of history everywhere – in the old city walls, the timber-framed buildings and the reconstructed medieval Spon Street. But Coventry has always had an eye on the future, and is now firmly focused on regenerating and re-inventing itself to meet the challenges of the 21st Century. With major developments and new projects taking place right across the city, Coventry City Council is the place to be !

There's a huge buzz about the city – Coventry ranks as the 8th best city to live, work and do business in the UK, and it was the UK City of Culture 2021. We believe this will help put Coventry on the map for all the right reasons as you can feel the sense of local pride throughout the city. It also offers a unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to those joining us to play their part in it.

We genuinely believe that Coventry City Council is a special place. You will be joining Coventry City Council during an exciting time to become part of a team that contribute to achieving our visions for the city. We have made our council a place where we look after our people, making sure you're happy in your work and given everything you need to succeed. We've created friendly, welcoming workplaces where everyone is working towards the same cause, providing the best possible services for the city of Coventry.

As a council with improvement at its heart, we’re committed to making life better for the people who live and work in Coventry. We’re equally concerned with the quality of life enjoyed by our people, so by joining us, you won’t just be helping the community, you’ll be helping yourself too.

Not only do you get to work alongside great people that are helping to improve services for our community we offer great benefits too ! 

For your valued contribution we will provide a fantastic benefits package including;

  • Flexible working arrangements
  • Generous annual leave allowance starting at 27 days and rising to 32 days
  • Opportunity for Salary Match and Pay progression through multiple increments
  • Outstanding local government pension scheme
  • Learning & Development with access to certified courses.
  • Access to an award winning Occupational Health Team
  • Vibrant employee networks 
  • Lifestyle savings
  • Salary Sacrifice Schemes; Car Scheme, Cycle to work and more
  • Interest free travel loans
  • Payroll giving scheme
  • Workplace parking scheme
  • Maternity, paternity and adoption Leave
  • And much more

 

Coventry City Council

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