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

Do you want to be free to stretch yourself whilst enjoying the practice of law and be supported to reach your full potential?  Are you tired of being stressed out by unrealistic billing targets?  Are you committed to supporting the local authority in safeguarding and promoting the well-being of some of the most vulnerable members of society?  Well, what are you waiting for? 

We are an in-house, public sector legal service, supporting Coventry City Council to make a difference to the lives of the people of Coventry every, single day.  

Besides being great people, our in-house legal team delivers a professional, comprehensive service, ready to deal with any legal issue.  As a member of this team, you will have the opportunity to work with people who are passionate about delivering the One Coventry vision and dedicated to growing and facing challenges head on.  It is one of our core values to support your career growth, and we will always find time to help you succeed.

What is the job role?

We are looking for an experienced and enthusiastic Lawyer in the People team to work across all aspects of Adult Social Care Work.  This is a full time, permanent position. 

Even pre-pandemic, this forward-thinking Legal Services team embraced agile working and currently, continues to work in a hybrid way, supporting flexible working (that includes the ability to boost your annual leave entitlement by up to 18 days per year!) enabling you to achieve that elusive, better work / life balance. 

The team also covers Children Social Care and Education work, and knowledge of those areas is helpful, but not essential.

More information about the People Team

An exciting and varied mix of work is covered by the People team, including all aspects of adult social care, mental health, mental capacity, immigration support, deprivations of liberty, Court of Protection work, inquests, together with Children social care (including pre-proceedings work), and Education law. 

If successful, you will have the chance to be part of this busy, supportive team and your role will be primarily focussed on Adult Social Care law. There will be opportunities to work in the other areas of law covered by the team, to develop your knowledge of the workings of local government, and to enhance and diversify your personal development, always with the aim of providing a high-quality legal service to our clients.    

Who are we looking for?

We are looking for an experienced Solicitor, Barrister or Chartered Legal Executive with good knowledge and experience of Adult Social Care work, to join us in this challenging and rewarding area of practice focussed on improving the lives of the citizens of Coventry. 

If you want the opportunity to be supported to develop your practice knowledge, skills, and experience, with an employer that offers flexible working practices, and will support you in your professional development journey, then this is the role for you. 

You will be responsible for managing a mixed caseload of Adult Social Care work, have strong drafting skills and be able to give sound, pragmatic legal advice on complex matters to Officers and Members within the Council.  Ideally, you should have some advocacy experience and be willing to cover hearings, particularly in front of the Court of Protection and we have an in-house advocacy team who can support you in this role.

You must be able to work effectively as part of a team and establish good relations with our Members, client departments, and partners.  Always customer focussed, you should understand the nature of local government in-house legal services and demonstrate a willingness to contribute positively to service development and continuous improvement. 

Good organisational, communication and IT skills will be required, as well as the ability to adapt, work to tight deadlines and give sound, practical advice.  You will need good drafting skills, the ability to undertake complex legal research, conduct training sessions, act as an advocate in courts and tribunals, and attend Council Member meetings. 

When applying for this role you will be asked to write a personal statement and in doing so, should demonstrate how you meet the criteria set out in the Person Specification and Job Description and include / demonstrate the following:

• An experienced Solicitor, Barrister or Chartered Legal Executive (Fellow),
• Understanding of the law relating to Adult Social Care, Court of Protection, Mental Capacity, Deprivation of Liberty and Mental Health and experience of managing a busy case load in this area,
• Experience of working with senior officers, Elected Members, and partner agencies,
• Knowledge and understanding of local government and administrative law.   

For full details please see the Job Description and Person Specification.

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

Interview date: TBC

About Coventry

Coventry has a proud, innovative and creative spirit that throughout its history has seen communities come together to tackle problems and bring about real social change.

We are cutting-edge, challenging, youthful, vibrant and diverse.

At Coventry we are committed to excellence in everything we do. With around 4800 staff from a range of different backgrounds, our aim is to recruit and develop talented people who will focus on our customers, take responsibility, work together and find better ways of doing things.

To deliver the best services to our residents, we need the best people working for us to make a difference to our communities.

If you join us, we will provide a fantastic rewards & benefits package which includes:

• Flexible working arrangements
• Generous annual leave allowance starting at 27 days and rising to 32 days
• Pay progression through multiple increments
• Opportunity for Salary Match
• An outstanding local government pension scheme
• Great opportunities to develop with access to accredited courses.
• Access to an award-winning Occupational Health Service
• Salary Sacrifice Scheme

Coventry City Council