Somerset Council
Senior Lawyer - CSC
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
Senior Lawyer – Children’s Social Care & Education Closing Date: 20 July 2026 Salary: £58,282 per annum (inclusive of Grade 8, with a £9,000 recruitment allowance until 30/06/2029)
About the Role
This Senior Lawyer opportunity offers the chance to apply your legal expertise in ways that create meaningful change. You’ll work on complex, high-impact cases involving children, young people, and families across Somerset, providing legal advice, advocacy, and strategic leadership.
As part of a supportive, collaborative legal team, you’ll influence decisions that shape local communities—ensuring robust governance, holistic support, and lawful decisions in challenging and sensitive situations. You’ll collaborate closely with colleagues, manage risk, and contribute to outcomes that make a tangible difference.
Role Summary
As our Senior Lawyer, your role is to:
- Provide specialist legal advice and advocacy in Children’s Social Care and Education, supporting services in complex legal and governance matters.
- Act independently with senior casework involving advocacy without supervision.
- Work collaboratively across Council departments, contributing to risk management and high standards for the benefit of vulnerable children and families.
Key Responsibilities
Case Management & Advocacy
- Handle a mixed caseload of Children’s Social Care and Education matters, including advocacy and legal representation.
- Act as a supervisor for junior team members, ensuring high-quality work, adherence to deadlines, and effective delegation.
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
Collaboration & Relationships
- Build and maintain strong working relationships across the Principal Lawyer, team members, and external stakeholders.
- Engage proactively with Councillors, Councillor Advisors, and client departments to ensure clear communication of business needs.
Risk & Service Excellence
- Demonstrate strong risk awareness, providing accurate, practical legal advice and navigating complex trade-offs.
- Contribute to service improvements, training, and best practice within the legal team.
What We’re Looking for
Essential Requirements
- Deep knowledge of local government law, including public sector legal frameworks and procedures.
- Ability to research complex legal issues and provide practical, reliable advice in clear, accessible formats.
- Minimum 5 years’ post-qualification experience (solicitor, barrister, or legal executive), with a record of handling high-value, high-risk legal matters.
- Exceptional advocacy skills—capable of representing matters confidently in court or hearings, as well as drafting sophisticated legal documentation.
- Strong analytical and drafting abilities, ensuring legal compliance, efficiency, and accuracy.
- Excellent communication skills, able to simplify complex advice for a diverse range of stakeholders (internal and external).
- Track record of balancing conflicting priorities, meeting tight deadlines, and producing high-quality work under pressure.
- Experience supervising team members, providing mentorship, monitoring performance, and maintaining service quality.
- utticommitted to high ethical standards with judgement and risk awareness, balancing risk against service delivery objectives.
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
Desirable Experience
- Specialist knowledge in areas such as children’s law, education law, or public law, relevant to local government.
- familiarity with the challenges and dynamics of local government or public sector work.
- Experience contributing to service improvement initiatives or delivering training for internal/external audiences.
Working Arrangements & Benefits
- Permanent, full-time role (37 hours per week)
- 33 days of annual leave (additional to Bank Holidays)
- Hybrid/remote working opportunities available
- Relocation package of up to £8,000 for employees relocating to Somerset
- Right-to-Work eligibility required (no sponsorship available)
About Somerset Council
You’ll be joining a council that places the needs of communities front and centre, prioritising accessibility, inclusion, and family well-being. Your contributions will align with our goal of empowering vulnerable children and young people, fostering strong governance, and supporting those who need it most.
Next Steps
For informal discussions, please contact: Kehinde Awojobi Head of Legal kehinde.awojobi@somerset.gov.uk
A full job description can be found under RP291.
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Skills
Location